Everything is Transformed

This piece was inspired by a giant antler I took a picture of at the SF flower mart at a little place hidden in the back that carries all sorts of unusual odds and ends.  Any chance to carve something from wax, to make a representation of something that can be worn, this is my love, my meditation.  The 18k plate at the end of the antler carries the words of 18th century chemist, Antione Laurent Lavoisier from the book, Elements of Chemistry; 

Nothing is lost, nothing created: everything is transformed. 

Sometimes it comes together perfectly for the words and form.   It is tricky when managing a family, a business and a creative life, tricky to be present enough to even allow for the right words to appear. I found this in a book of poetry by one of my favorite poets and translators, Jane Hirshfield.

I have been stretching myself lately--- trying my hand at a few things I am not exactly naturally talented at.  For example, I just started taking my own pictures of my collection for the website.  You may notice a difference in how things look going forward. It may look funny for a while until I get better. With all due respect to our photographer, I just felt the shots were looking just a bit too enhanced-- so I thought I would try it myself using natural light.  Admittedly I am a total novice at this point.  My friend Sven Wiederholt came to the studio and gave me a crash course on photography and now I owe him a Black Dogwood necklace as a thank you.  Sven is infinitely patient, generous and talented.  I took the ones above and I really appreciate that the piece really does look like that, without enhancements, the writing is exactly that clear and the silver is darkened to that degree.

The Stag necklace along with other new styles, and a selection of fun new versions of classics are coming to our site soon, hopefully by the end of this week if we can get it together.  There is a lot going on here at the studio...pictures of our new showroom will be coming shortly!