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I want to revive pride in workmanship and
integrity of design in jewelry. I maintain that the art of jewelry
making needs a revolution. Close inspection of the treasures of King
Tutankhamun, the works of Benvenuto Cellini, Peter Carl Faberge, Rene
Lalique and others bears testimony to that fact. What was once a highly
respected art is now considered a pedestrian trade, or even worse, a
craft. The quality of workmanship, materials and design in jewelry has
suffered a sharp decline in the past 50 years.
My immediate goal is to re-instill pride of workmanship and design so
that jewelry making is once again thought of as a fine and noble art,
rather than a vehicle for the garish display of material wealth. Jewelry
should be made by people to adorn people. There are many classical
pieces that deserve to be reproduced as well as totally new pieces that
await execution.
Integrity of design should be stressed to the point that all parts of a
design reinforce and complement each other and enhance the human form.
Each piece should express an emotion and elicit a response that
transcends language and cultural barriers. It should be a timeless,
universal essay on aesthetics that will stand by itself and communicate
without assistance.
The finished piece should look as well by itself as it does when worn
and should utilize both positive and negative mass. The positive
mass merely defines a small part of the piece--the nucleus which is
space that is displaced by material. |
Negative mass is expressed by borderless,
infinite space. This increases the size and scope of the piece in the
eyes of the viewer and leaves the definite total shape open to
individual interpretation--it envelops and involves the wearer and
changes and grows with time relative to the individual's imagination.
Each piece should be made from the best materials available so it will
endure and be handed down and perhaps dug up some thousands of years
from now. If the design is honest, it will be a timeless statement from
one human being to the rest of humanity. The piece should be made with
as few tools as possible and all unnecessary or redundant steps deleted
so that through conscientious, rhythmic workmanship the idea flows from
concept through the ultimate tool (MAN) to the finished piece and takes
form as if by magic.
From what I have seen, very few people care about bringing integrity
back to jewelry. Most of the jewelry I have seen is either trite and
made by a machine, or clever and badly made by a person, with little or
no thought to workmanship, durability or function. The finished piece
should be worth more than a multiple of materials cost. The design,
which is basically intangible, should have a value of its own.
I want my jewelry to become your personal treasure that you'll be proud
to imbue with tradition and pass down to future generations. |
