Carly's unique one-of-a-kind pieces are fabricated in the same manner as the limited production pieces, but these pins, unlike the production pieces, are fired upwards of thirty separate times in the enameling kiln.
Often, to increase the luminosity and brilliance of the enameled colors, gold foil will be placed underneath the enamel powder before it is fired, creating a sense of depth and vibrance in the finished pin. In a few of these pieces you will also note the addition of 18k gold.
The one-of-a-kind pieces are inspired by the fractured and sedimentary layers of rock cliffs, and glacially produced marks on the rocks. Loosely rendered drawings of such in colored pencil eventually translate into pieces like these.
The subtlety of these pieces attracts viewers to further investigate each plane of silver, each line representing a crack found in rocks and cliffs, and the many layered blocks of brilliant enameled color.
Artist Steatment
My jewelry is inspired by the natural world. I am fascinated by cliffs revealing layers of sedimentary rock. I believe that the images that I see on my daily walks, give me a vocabulary. I often stop to sketch , or pick up a stone or a piece of bark. These small objects sit on my drawing table for weeks, sometimes years. When I sit down to design new pieces I look to them for inspiration, and try to convey something of what I see in them to others. I am also drawn to architectural symbols such as windows or doors.
The creation of art begins for me as a journey into a intuitive and playful part of myself. I strive to remain open to the creative process and let the pieces that I make come through me. To some degree I will influence this creation with the experience I have as a designer and perhaps more importantly through my experiences of being alive. My sketches are loose, fluid, fast, using drafting and colored pencils. Often these sketches also sit unused for many weeks until I am ready to hone the designs to working drawings.
It is the second phase of the process where I look for the beautiful line, and the design elements that I find interesting. My work is often described as painterly. I don't feel that I am a jewelry designer more than I am an artist working on a very small scale with materials I fell in love with at age nineteen.
I saw my first enamels at a local craft fair some 26 years ago and was inspired to purchase a kiln and sign up for a class. My quest for knowledge took me to Buffalo to study with renowned enamelist Bill Helwig, and on to an apprenticeship with Philadelphia jeweler Barbara Mail.
I attended Empire State College, a university without walls program associated with the State University of New York System. Through this program I was able to concentrate in the study of my chosen media of enameling, and earned a BPA ( the equivalent of a BFA) degree in 1978. I continued my study at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina where I was a scholarship student from 1980-84. Carly Wright lives in upstate New York with her husband and two children.
Materials: sterling silver, enamel
http://www.ganoksin.com/exhibition/var/albums/orchid/Carly-Wright/Cliff_window.jpg
