Memento Mori : Remember that you are mortal

Diamond Skull by Damien Hirst


1930's Swiss watch


1810 skull pocket watch


Mary Queen of Scots skull watch


Heads up to one of my favorite sites/blogs BoingBoing ! They had this fabulous post about Mary Queen of Scotts skull watch and I followed the link and came to Watchismo Times , a watch collectors blog that showed also the ivory skull watch. This got me going and I added the Damien Hirst Skull. I saw a picture of Hirts Memento Mori (latin for "Rememeber that you are mortal) this summer and was totally fascinated and appalled by it. Hearst contracted a jeweler to create this piece for him. It took 18 month until completion, 8,601 diamonds were used and it costs now 50 million British pounds. I love skulls, I love jewelry. I have always been a fan of Memento Mori. But was this necessary? If the message of Memento Mori is to humble us and show that death is always present, than doesn't this message gets diluted by adding an obscene amount of diamonds to it. Isn't it actually misleading the viewer, because it is so breath taking dazzling? My greedy little it is enthralled with this piece, while my alter ego knows that the money would be better spent on food and medicine in a place where it's needed. Disgust and Delight can sometimes be close companions! Happy Halloween...

The color palette of my recent inspiration

I am playing around, looking for inspiration. it often just starts out with looking at the different materials , shapes and colors. I lay them out in a padded tray and move things around, wondering what will fit and go together. My daughter looked over my shoulder and commented how much she liked the look of my messy tray and urged me to take a picture. It looks like a mermaid's treasure...

Recent Jewelry Creations

I made this necklace for my friend Jovita. I learned this technique a while ago from a wonderful jewelry teacher, Lisa Claxton at Baubles and Beads. Spool-knitting with sterling silver wire is not so difficult, but more a matter of getting into a rhythm, so that the loops are regular and even. You also add a handful of different beads and mix them up, so they are random. I chose faceted onyx, gray pearls, faceted hematite and tiny faceted sterling silver beads. I also made Jovita a pair of earrings to go with it.

This necklace was a creation for my friend Georgette's mother in law. Tiny fresh water pearls hand knotted on yellow silk and as a stunning centerpiece 3 round cushion-cut champagne citrines.

Silver Ginkgo Leaves

I have been making these Ginkgo leaves for a while now. They are made of PMC (Precious Metal Clay). This is pulverized fine silver made into a clay-like substance. It has a higher silver content than Sterling Silver, which is 999, (meaning it is 99.9% pure) while Sterling is an alloy silver , containing 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper . It is stamped as 925.

PMC is just as pliable as clay and therefore ideal for impressions of textures. I paint 15 - 20 layers of PMC slip onto the Ginkgo leaves. Once the PMC is bone dry I fire it in the kiln at around 1650 F. The extreme heat burns of the binding agent and compresses the silver molecules. The piece shrinks a little bit. Also the Ginkgo leaf burns away. What is left is its impression in silver. Since each jewelry piece is made from a real leaf and each leaf is unique, each pendant is different. The texture of the veins on the leaf are as individual as our finger prints. The Ginkgo tree is prehistoric and its leaves have medicinal qualities.