Adieu To Market Street

 In my desire to streamline and simplify my personal and professional energies I have made the difficult decision to close my little store on Market Street.  The last day it will be open is December 24th.  I thank everyone for supporting me and my business over the years by coming in and trusting us to help you find not only the right pieces , but also the right words.

 I also am especially thankful to the wonderful people who have helped me run the store over the years. As the world’s tiniest retail space in San Francisco, it is a little boat with a one man crew!  I know it was off the beaten path and not the easiest place to find, even in plain sight!  As those of you who have visited the store will attest, we don’t have room to have a proper party to bid adieu to the special little place we called our jewel box.   Again, thank you for your continued support for what we do.  Thank you for letting us be a part of your lives, as we continue to put our energies wholeheartedly into our wholesale business and website. 

New Voices

 I understood love to be the very gravity holding each leaf, each cell, this earthly star together.

-Joy Harjo from The Woman Who Fell From The Sky

The excerpts I used in the last collection were primarily culled from the work of award winning Native American poet  Joy Harjo. Joy is a member of the Muskogee (Creek) Nation and of Cherokee descent.  Her book, She Had Some Horses is now considered a classic. Harjo has received several awards including the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society in America.  It is an honor to be able to use her work.

A few months ago, a friend brought me one of Joy's poems that he found on a San Francisco bus during National Poetry Month.  I put it up on my cork board in the studio to inspire me while I designed.  See that post here. Right away I knew I wanted to put her words on jewelry. I used parts that I felt reflected on hopefulness, awakening and resiliency. It is difficult to describe poetry but N. Scott Momaday does it well in his review of She Had Some Horses,  "The poetry here is of mythic and timeless character, native and lyrical in its expression, profound in its reflection of a worldview that is at once precise and comprehensive. There is much of the oral tradition here, much that is worthy of our closest attention and deepest respect.”

--Janice Mirikitani from Breaking Silence

 I recently started using the work of San Francisco Poet Laureate, Janice Mirikitani. Janice is described as a visionary, community activist, leader, poet and editor. She is also the Founding President of the Glide Foundation in partnership with her husband Reverend Cecil Williams.  My heart was warmed to hear that she was thrilled to have her words used this way. I am not a writer so I have a deep respect for the power of words, especially poetry.  I am always deeply honored to be able to work with these very distinguished poets and translators. I look forward to using more of Janice's poetry in the next collection as we only used it on a few pieces so far. Not only is she an award winning Poet Laureate, but also because of her work and commitment to the legendary Glide Memorial Church, Mrs. Mirikitani is a bit of a local celebrity here in San Francisco and we absolutely cannot wait to meet her in person. A visit to the studio is in the works for November.

We must recognize ourselves at last.
We are a rainforest of color and noise.
We hear everything.
We are unafraid.

Our language is beautiful.


-Janice Mirikitani from Breaking Silence

Transfix Us With Love, Make Believe, and Dark Flowers...

Transfix us with love.  --Joy Harjo from The Creation Story
 
As an artist sometimes I am just not ready, do not have the skill or concentration to embark on the idea that is waiting in the back spaces of my mind. One of these fascinations that has captured my imagination since childhood has to do with flowers.  My go-to-doodles were always magical, make-believe flowers, fanciful with bright red tongues and wild yellow stamens. To be honest they were a little psychadellic...and a bit phallic in hindsight.  I am fascinated with all sorts of things about  flowers:  how they move through their cycles and what exactly about them is so beautiful, which ones are my favorites and how to translate them into metal.

I decided to revisit the flower theme in my last two collections in a series of Dogwood necklaces. (See Fiore, a design from four years ago) I thought it would be interesting to capture the moment when the flower is in repose, just about to fall into decay and break apart.  

Wabi Sabi is a piece about the last part of a flower as it falls away, loosening a Tahitian pearl and tiny diamond.

Poetry is powerful; the words are short bursts of color, condensed into a sharp economy.  I like to think these dark flowers carry an ambiguous and mysterious poem all their own, completely open to interpretation as all poems are.

Black, Gold, Diamond and Pearl

It has been such a long time since I wrote a post I have forgotten how to rotate a picture.

When I take 'on the fly' phone pictures of our display before shows, I wish I would take a minute to actually straighten out the details...like the ear wires...or making sure the blackened dogwood necklace is actually IN the picture.  Well, here is a glimpse of my new favorites that we are just now putting into limited production in the studio.  The blackened pieces are a departure from the collection's signature look but I am truly loving working within a new vocabulary of black, gold, diamond and pearl.   

Our Coral Tiara is Getting Hitched

I have sold to Metier, the premier women's clothing store here in San Francisco since Sheri opened over 20 years ago.  They have one of the best retail store blogs in the country. I especially love the aesthetic and am a shopper there personally so when I heard my wedding tiara was included in the latest wedding post I was thrilled.. They did an absolutely fantastic job and the bride looks gorgeous!

Oh The Places You Will Go!

To mark this Summer's 'firsts' we have new, happy and 'au courrant' versions of the Cory and Colby bracelets . Remember the days...first time moving out, graduating from middle school, high school, college, grad school. My son is graduating from preschool but unfortunately he refuses to wear any of my jewelry yet...but he is about to make his first piece of jewelry any day now!

Around the Studio

Around Here...

Design Wednesday

Front of  'in progress' dogwood. I think I will be hanging little things like a Tahitian pear, a wee diamond briolette and some coral.

This is the back, although at this point I think I prefer it to the front.  This piece is a bit heavy so I am cleaning out the insides of the petals to make it a little lighter.

These pieces are getting ready to be a necklace and earring.  The larger one was originally carved from wax and the copper one is chased out of sheet using tiny hammers.  They are going to go off to be molded tonight.

Mother's Day on the horizon - by Ani

Hands change so much over the course of a lifetime.

Remember that tiny hand imprinted in plaster for mom to cherish?

Memories of mother's hands caring for you.

The Child's Hand bracelet reminds us to honor those mothers near and far, today and everyday.

Don't forget to show mom some extra special love on May 13th.

love is love's reward.

-Dryden

Childs Hand

this is an early one of a kind version of the Child's Hand, in 18k and moonstone.

When my son William was born I dedicated a sketch book to him. It includes letters to him from me, his father, grandparents, and close family friends. I add little journal entries when I remember just to let him know what he said that day or funny thing he did.  I also draw pictures of him from time to time.

 I sculpted the Child's Hand bracelet out of wax based on a drawing of Will's hand that I did while he slept. He was around 1 and we were newly in love. He is now 4 now and still the light of my life.

Dogwood Very Much in Progress

sterling, Tahitian pearl, diamond


I have been working on this dogwood necklace for my May collection. I ran to the caster's this morning to pick up this master.  I was super excited to see it in metal for the first time.  The petals are actually inside out--I love how the stem is wearing a little petal skirt.  I can't wait to finish it. Currently it weighs a ton.

To see if in the blue wax it was carved out of go two posts below.

Things Get Messy...

paper, wax, brass, copper, enamel

I read a quote by Kit White recently about letting the materials speak to you, instead of only working in your head, or drawing (or working on CAD). "It is easier to find new worlds than to create one."

I can't figure out why this picture will only go into the blog sideways.

In Progress

To draw a living line and not tremble from knowing it to be in danger of death at every point along its way, I must sleep in a sort of slumber allowing the sources of my life to flow without restraint into my hand, so that my hand ends by working alone, by flying into a dream, by moving without any care for me.

--Jean Cocteau

National Poetry Month by Ani

Poets have given us such inspiration and guidance

with their carefully crafted words.

April celebrates these treasured writers with National Poetry Month.

Jeanine has set so many favorite lines in harmony with her jewelry designs.

Take a moment this month to savor some poetry, in print and on metal.

Ani wearing her favorite piece from the Spring collection, the Tassel necklace.

The souls should always stand ajar

ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.

-Emily Dickinson

It's Coming Along

All In A Morning's Work

Since this morning I have been slowly carving this tiny flock of butterflies out of a chunk of green wax. I forgot to have lunch--it's already 3. I will go get some soba noodles from the hole in the wall down the street and then resume.

Thoughts

Inspiration in the Studio