Materials: Sterling Silver, Fine Silver, Druzy Quartz and 22k Gold Bi-Metal
Dimensions: 2 x 3/4 inches
Handcrafted pendant with 2 colorful druzy quartz cabochons in sterling and fine silver. They were soldered together using a sterling silver square which was embellished with 2 petite 22k gold bi-metal discs.
Photo credit: Kevin Olds
Francine Ruth
Jewelry by Francine
Sagamore Hills, OH. USA
I'm an artist because it allows me to express my creativity and share my love of art with the public. My aspiration is to spread the love of art throughout the country as well as to be a mentor to young artists.
I primarily work in sterling and accent in high carat gold. The materials I work with are chosen so that the end piece is elegant, feminine and refined.
My current work, influenced by nature, is polished and has a classic feel.
My work has grown out of my own maturity as well as an appreciation for the jewelry worn by my Mother. I am challenging the perception of art jewelry by standing near time honored, classic pieces, which have an added bit of fun.
While my formal education isn't in the arts, I've taken many classes to learn my craft including several classes at Bead and Button in Milwaukee, WI, several courses at the Cleveland Institute of Art and most recently at Flux Metal Arts Studio in Mentor, OH. I'm enrolled in a chasing and repouss? workshop in March 2014. I also teach various metalsmithing classes in the Northeastern Ohio area.
The exhibition explores metal works whose primary theme is color embraced as their primary visual focus, whether that be using colored materials, exploring creating colored surfaces, or encasing the object in color.
As the world's largest jewelry related internet site, Ganoksin strives to develop exhibitions showcasing work from around the world. This exhibition was open to all metalsmiths, professional and amateur, advanced and beginner.
In total 303 artists contributed 814 show pieces for the permanent online exhibition.
The exhibition was curated by Beth Wicker, President of the North Carolina Society of Goldsmiths in the United States, and Adjunct Instructor at Northeastern Technical College in South Carolina. Director of the exhibition is Hanuman Aspler, founder of The Ganoksin Project, the world's largest internet jewelry site.
Hue is one of the primary properties of color, it refers to the place the color occupies on the visual spectrum. Humans have used hues throughout time, to create cave paintings, to decorate themselves, their clothing and their housing.
Different hues have taken on different meanings throughout time. Gold traditionally has been a color of purity - the metal gold is relatively unchangeable, and the hue of gold has come to stand for gods and goddesses, for royalty, for durability and for purity. Red has often meant love, or passion. Hues often reflect the meaning of the seasons, with pastels referring to spring and the burst of new life after the pale hues of winter. Summer is reflected in vibrant, deep hues, followed by the browning of hues in the fall as plants go to seed and die, and the land turns fallow.
The worth of a hue has often been tied to what is necessary to make the pigment that creates the hue, and the expensive involved in the process. Often created from crushed stones that had to be mined and carried by caravan over thousands of miles, or from fermented roots of plants only grown in certain areas, or the carapaces of rare insects - the creation of hue in a way that could be used by man was an involved and generally expensive process.
In today's world metalsmiths have access to perhaps the widest range of materials and hues in the history of man - and in some of the most affordable ways ever.
This exhibition celebrates hue - color - as an integral, inherent element of the work. We talk of the "richness" of color, and examples of this abound here. One expects hues from the colors of gemstones used in metalsmithing, but we also have hues from some less expected places. Glass enamels are an ancient way of adding color, as are a variety of patinas. Today's artists also use synthetic man-made materials to add color in ways that didn't exist a century ago.
We invite you to enjoy this celebration of hue, and the ways hues and their use have changed over time.
