ARTIST STATEMENT
Creatures of the Black Reefs pendant necklace and climber earrings were made using wax carving and lost wax casting, this collection is filled with whimsical forms and rich textures. Each piece is both a sculpture and a creature that dances with your movement.
To make the pendant, each detail was carefully hand carved in green wax, cast using a centrifugal casting machine, 22k gold and silver granules were then added using the Ancient technique of granulation. Black Tahitian pearls were set nesting in the center of the branches. Gaze into the pearl and you will see coral branches and yourself in the reflection – forming a mini under the sea diorama – and get transformed to another time and space.
The climber earrings were made using the same techniques with organic and movable details evoking creatures of the sea. Baroque black Tahitian pearls were made into drops peeking from underneath the coral. Their weight would balance with the branches and make them climb up the ears, blending body and jewelry into a new form with lots of movements.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
I design and hand make fine jewelry in 22k, 18k, 14k gold and silver using ancient jewelry making techniques including 22k gold granulation, filigree, Celtic torc, chasing and repoussé, hammering and forging, wax carving and lost wax casting. Each piece is handcrafted from start to finish in my Chicago studio using recycled precious metals with my zero waste policy. I believe there’s simple poetry in alloying gold, fabricating sheet and wire, creating forms and setting stones, as each step leaves marks of the maker. And during these steps, my piece takes on a life and personality of its own that cannot be mass produced. No two pieces in my line will be the same. It is naturally unique like the creator behind it and the person wearing it.
I have a design background, used to teach fine jewelry making and see myself as a custodian of ancient skills. Therefore my jewelry pieces are made the old fashioned way, with the added beauty of taking techniques from thousands of years ago and making them not only survive but thrive in our day and time.
Grand Prize Winner of The Art of Handmade Tahitian Pearl Contest sponsored by Black Market Pearls, Jewelry Arts Inc., Air Tahiti Nui, and Tahitian Tourisme.
© Lin Bader Design