Glancing Back, Looking Forward
I recently began using pre enameled sheet steel, forming it, soldering it, and creating simple forms that reveal the life cycle of the resulting piece. They are intentionally raw, their surfaces containing hundreds, thousands of little cracks. Solder is left on the surface, flux will come out over time, and because the steel is distressed (by forming), it will continue to shed bits of enamel. They will age and evolve, gaining rust, losing enamel while the diamonds and rubies on the surfaces will remain the same.
I am considering my own evolution and what it means to transition into the next period of my life. In a culture that values youth as the highest form of beauty in an industry (jewelry) motivated by beautification, these pieces reflect back the changes I see in my mirror every morning. This jewelry will eventually disintegrate leaving some lonely diamonds and rubies behind. (In my imagination, they are the true loser in the story). Optimistically, I want this work to “die” making room for what will come next. Part of my responsibility as an artist is to think of future generations and what they might need in order to make room for what jewelers sometime down the road will want to make.