To the Point

Petit Giza rings

 Spade ring set

 arrowhead ring set

+

Plenty of new designs up in the shop, getting ready for the holiday season! The rings are part of a series called "The Point." If you haven't seen the movie of the same title, I suggest you do so immediately. I designed a little pointy triangle ring for a friends birthday, and I fell in love with it so much I decided to make them in varying sizes, like an insect sized version of the great pyramids. 

Also new in the ring department are the Arrowhead and Mountain ring sets. They are sold in pairs, one is a larger cut-out ring, and its smaller pair is the interior space of the larger ring. Very appropriate for gift giving! 

I carried the arrowhead design over to earrings, adding the hand crafted brass dangles to a row of tiny bone beads. The batik earrings are a new option of my dagger design, and the beaded earrings at the end I have available in many colors! 

But A Dream...

+

New listings up in the shop today! 

I hope to be creating more pieces like the above, the big yarn necklaces are a personal favorite, inspired by 1970's fiber art and artists like Sheila Hicks. I've mixed cotton yarns with cowrie shells, historically used as currency and a sign of wealth, and executed the designs in macrame and knitting techniques that take patience and time to create. These pieces serve as a reminder of our connection to the natural world and all its riches, hand crafts, and the lost art of patience. 

Calder

 here.

 here, here.

 here. 

 here, here.

 here.

 here.

here. 

here. 

+

Though he was a prominent figure in almost all my art history classes, well known for his kinetic sculptural mobiles and abstract paintings, I never gave Alexander Calder much thought as an influence in my art. While I do love the individuality of it, the images of his work didn't register far beyond the 'oh thats pretty' part of my brain. My recent discovery of Calder's metal jewelry gave me a better understanding of the artist, bridging the mental gap (for me, at least) between his playful abstract paintings and his airy mobiles. 

The use of abstract shapes to create interesting wares must always be quite literally balanced by the reality of kinetics, gravity, and all those other pesky scientific realities. It's like he has taken the visual impact of his painting and combined it with the kinetic skills of his sculpture with results that are truly delightful, no matter how seemingly unwearable. 

A Peace Treaty

+

I've completely fallen in love with the mood and products from A Peace Treaty, and their story (as well as the story of each collection) makes the love that much sweeter. 

found here, all images and below text via A Peace Treaty

"A PEACE TREATY IS AN EVOLVING COLLECTION AIMED AT CREATING ETHICALLY-PRODUCED, ARTISAN LEVEL ACCESSORIES AND APPAREL FOR THE LUXURY FASHION MARKETPLACE.

Born in 2008, as a personal pact between Farah Malik, a Pakistani Muslim, and Dana Arbib, a Libyan Jew, A PEACE TREATY creates employment for skilled artisans working in places of socio-political strife, effectively supporting their technique and craft while elevating their products to the level of high design for an exclusive and international fashion audience.

Inspired by the hand-crafting cultures of the Middle East, Asia, South America and Africa, A PEACE TREATY was conceived when Arbib and Malik met while living in Rome. The two discovered that they shared both a love of high fashion and a desire to increase awareness of ancient, disappearing crafting traditions. Intermingling Arbib’s strong background in graphic, textile and product design with Malik’s history of developing multimedia marketing campaigns for social justice and human rights, they set about connecting discerning fashion connoisseurs with cache, boutique level artifacts from places typically seen only negatively through the media lens.

Each season, A PEACE TREATY travels to a particular region and seeks out local village artisans to re-define an accessory, designing limited edition pieces in style unique colorways. Each jewelry or scarf collection resuscitates ancient handmade textile and metalsmithing techniques that are at risk of extinction. Working with craftspeople in eight countries and injecting life and trade back into local economies, A PEACE TREATY employs artisans with above fair trade wages and invests in creating income generation opportunities for out-of-work artisans, disabled and widowed women."

Zulu Love Letters

+

The Zulu people of South Africa have an incredibly rich history of adornment, their jewelry also acts as signifiers of life stages and relationship status. Young girls would make 'love letters' to give to boys who would wear them to show they were spoken for. These aren't just colorful patterns, they are able to be 'read' by one another. 

Each color means a different thing, and the patterns on diamonds and triangles also have significant meanings that the maker intends to express. They will also make for themselves a matching anklet/bracelet/necklace, showing to all that they are in love. Through a woman's jewelry one could read how old she was, if she was being courted or married, even if she was a widow. 

Their love for color and pattern carry over beautifully into basket weaving as well. I find it fascinating how many of the patterns seen here and the patterns of Native Americans are similar. Don't the baskets almost look like something you could find in New Mexico? 

images from: here, here, here, here, here, here, here. 

Jewels and Treasures

+

I recently stumbled across a book called "Ethnic Jewellery," with an amazing amount of photos and information on jewelry from different non-European countries (and a bit of pre-Colonial America as well) and I haven't been able to put it down since. The day before I found it, I had been working on the drawing below based off a photograph of a beautiful African woman covered in jewelry and felt the urge to learn more about what she was wearing, so I like to think this book actually found me. 

All images above from Ethnic Jewellery, Edited by John Mack

Speaking of jewelry, this Saturday was the last day of my jewelry design course, so I tried to get as much soldering in while I had access to the torch, results below. Very exciting! I just ordered a large piece of brass and plan on making a bunch more like the one on the top right.

Below, some gems from my recent treasure hunting trip. 

+

Follow me on Instagram: @Christijay 

to keep up with my projects, jewels, adventures, and creatures! Just click the camera link in the sidebar.