Recently, I've been fascinated with jewelry and accessories that use live or formerly alive materials. Static, tragic, beautiful, frozen in time, given new life.
What I find most interesting is the abstract use of animal parts in a way that still remains organic. Typically, I would recoil at the use of
pig intenstines in a necklace or
birds as brooches, but this time I'm very intrigued.
Catarina Hallzon necklace made from pig intestines and silver
Julia deVille brooch made from a sparrow, silver and goldI'm starting to think my brain is evolving into this sick little thing since I don't even eat land animals, yet I find myself drooling over jewelry made from
horse teeth. But, and a big but, I do use leather bags, wool sweaters and cashmere cardigans. Hm, hypocrite, much?
Warwick Freeman brooches made from horse teethSebastian Buescher is one artist that I was continually drawn back to. Each of his pieces need closer and frequent inspection. He uses a variety of mediums, mainly aquatic creatures and elements of nature, that give his jewelry a clustered look; brimming with life and ideas. As I was going through his search results, I found his
personal blog and another called
Walking the Gray Area. Reading through his blog was a pick me up in the middle of the day because it's filled with positive reflections and quotes. The latter posts the dialouge of 23 pairs of studio jewelry artists, which
Sebastian is one of, along with a few of my other favorites like Terhi Tolvanen and Jorge Manilla. Walking the Gray Area let's you know what these artists are experiencing, thinking and feeling, and how all those factors are then channeled into their jewelry.
Here are some images of Sebastian's Hadal Realm collection:
The Balance (wood, starfish, crystal, urchin spines, silver)
Encrustathon (granulex, rubber, crystals, urchin spines)
Mountain Range (stingray skin, moonstone, epoxy, metal)
Encrusterium 8 (unknown materials)
White Death (ceramic, shark jaw, epoxy putty, metal)
"The Hadal Realm, also known as the Hadal Zone, is the deepest part of the ocean. I am comparing this place with the human subconscious mind and find that the two have far more in common than you may suspect. It is the vastness in both that fascinates me, along with the quantity of stuff that is collected and stored in its 'darkness'. Everything we see, smell, hear, do, think, and whatever else we encounter through any of our senses, is stored in our subconscious mind. It is all there, perfectly in tact." - Sebastian Buescher
