Fairytales & Daydreams

winter 2019

 sterling silver

Chimera

This shoulder brooch is a hybrid composed of silver dove and hummingbird feathers, along with butterfly wings. Each hummingbird "scale" was hand cut with a jeweler's saw, hammer textured, and hand filed, then assembled with a peg and hole soldering technique. The dove feathers were done in chasing and repoussé, then the excess metal was cut away from the repoussé barbs, with each cut filed smooth. The butterfly wings were pierced, cut and filed, then applied with granulation. Once all of the pieces were assembled, a back piece modeled after the wings was added along with a double pin mechanism. 

Heart Key

sterling silver

fine silver

winter 2019

Heart Key is a concept piece designed in response to the traditional appearance of engagement rings, as a more personal, individualized alternative. The premise is that one would give their love a "key to their heart," which would be designed to represent the core self of the giver. Keys would be exchanged to represent the trust given to each other to take care of the other's heart. 

The base of this piece was sculpted in wax then cast, while the wings were fabricated and soldered to the base. While it is intended primarily as an object, this piece can be worn as a pendant. 

Sea Nettle

 sterling silver

spring 2018

These earrings were inspired by the fluttering grace of sea nettle jellyfish. Each tentacle was folded, stretched and formed with a forging hammer. They were then unfolded and fastened into the formed hood so that the nearly shoulder-length tentacles would swing and move.

Aliferous

sterling silver

spring 2018

From the Latin alifer, meaning "winged,"

Aliferous is a hybrid of different winged insects. I referenced various species ranging from butterflies and moths to dragonflies and cicadas, creating a new creature that appears to flit around the wrist. Each sterling silver wing was hand cut, pierced, filed, and textured. The bracelet is composed of eight hinged segments with an antenna-inspired clasp bringing them together. 

Kintsugi 

spring 2018

sterling silver

24 karat gold

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing cracked pottery with gold, making the piece more beautiful and precious for having been damaged. Modeled after a potted peace lily, this ring was created using hollow construction to form the ring base, with hammered leaf and flower forms soldered onto wire. Gold keumboo was then applied to the surface. 

Water dragon

cast sterling silver

keshi pearls

fall 2017

A creature made by the water in which it dwells. Water Dragon was created from multiple pieces of water casted silver that were arranged and soldered together. Water casting is the process of pouring molten metal directly into water, creating irregular and unpredictable forms. The silver "dragon" was then paired with a strand of keshi pearls to mirror the luster and irregularity of the casting.

fall 2017

cast sterling silver

sterling silver sheet

Meteorite

Meteorite is a pendant designed around the ideas of chance formation, fragmentation, and capturing a moment of movement. The process of broom casting best embodies these qualities of a meteorite shooting across the night sky. This method of casting entails pouring molten metal into water-soaked broom bristles, with the resulting metal taking the shape of the negative space between bristles. Two pieces of bent and scored silver were added to balance the visual weight of the cast piece, and to create a sense of speed and trajectory.

Photos by Atrayee Sarkar