I Gioielli di Madre Natura

Mother Nature’s Jewelry

The design of this work needed to be organic and reflect the land art theme, “Acqua, Pietra, Radici”. Using elements from the surrounding environment, the only materials I brought in to create this work were jute and cotton cords.

As a metalsmith wanting to create an artwork that represents my usual medium. I needed something as a replacement to my usual precious metal to create the structure of the jewelry for Mother Nature, so I used the natural fibers that in time will degrade naturally and hopefully will not cause harm to the environment of the river. I combined this with wood and other found materials from the river area.

When thinking about the tree’s structure and space to adorn it with jewelry, I considered a larger “necklace” and how the local fauna (in particular birds and bats) could interact or become entrapped by something that would fill the void above the main branch between the vertical branches to the left of the smaller “necklace”. I settled on the smaller chain-like necklace that could become a safe perch instead.

For the larger statement piece I created the “bracelet” that wrapped around the branch with a cascading feature that is perhaps less likely to entrap any wildlife flying around. The form started with a more organized plan and quickly gave way to an organic shape as if Mother Nature was guiding me in the process. The spiral twist of the knotted cords represents the flow of the water.

A section of the main branch has an opening where I lined up several white river stones. The stones represent granulation that is sometimes used as a decorative element in jewelry. This ancient technique was masterfully used in the jewelry by the pre-Roman Etruscan people who once lived in this area.

Other larger stones are placed strategically on the tree as “precious” stones like you might find in prong and tension settings in traditional jewelry.

The design process of this work isn’t very different from my usual jewelry designs. In traditional jewelry I need to think about the aesthetics, the materials, the wearer, and how one would interact with the jewelry. I considered each of these things during this project.

However, what is different is constructing something that isn’t meant to last like traditional jewelry does. I don’t know how long Mother Nature’s Jewelry will last and parts of it are likely already displaced as I discovered each day during the residency when I would have to locate the stones and replace them on the tree branch. How long will the necklace or bracelet remain before someone decides to cut them off the tree? Or will the tree remain standing after the next flooding of the river? It’s a curious thought and one that you have to be okay with when creating nature art. It’s not always meant to last.

Words that echoed through my mind throughout this experience is that no matter what man tries to control in the environment, when left alone Mother Nature will reclaim it eventually.