Jewelry design is art. The miniature three-dimensional architecture cast into precious metals can be both intricately ornate or abstract and minimal. Since we lack as broad a color palette as painters, jewelry design must rely more on form and texture to bring forth what all art strives for, emotion. A successful piece is one that stirs emotion in the wearer. As designers, we are often following our own feeling as a guide for shapes and bends. The glimmer, the resilience, the symbology that is transferred by this intimate connection is a tremendously personal experience.
Art is imbued by a collective psyche. Generations of humans have admired Van Gogh’s Starry Night and it’s wide admiration holds new viewers to pause and feel deeper into the painting. Likewise, past connection with jewelry that has been an heirloom gifted by someone you love, holds a frequency that can transfer to you if you are open and receptive. Perhaps that energetic frequency is one of love, or hardship, or promises long kept. What allegories permeate your adornment? The messages within a piece are felt deepest during the time of silent sensory connection, a meditative gazing. While beholding any art, let your senses awaken your heart and mind, let the messages come forth.
Let a piece you wear build character. Carry a piece through the good times and the bad, but always stop to appreciate it for accompanying you on the journey. When you reflect upon this companion, feel it and see it as you remember the high points and the struggles that you overcame. See both it's beauty and it's scratches intertwine. Be grateful for the lessons and the life that you lived and the scars that you may now wear. Also, remember that any art piece you wear could be adorned by your kin in the future. Charge it up for them! This art that stands the test of time also connects generations.
* image is Steele Henry on Max Ackermann, Ohne Titel (Blau), 1964. Acrylic on canvas, 65 x 50.5 cm.