May 21st, 2008
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The Lapis Tree by Cris Fisher, Queen of the Cat People
Lapis hearts, moonstone drops, quartz, glass, pearls, & sterling. Click the image for a hi-res version.
Based on “A Dirge For Prester John” by Catherynne M. Valente
“I took him to the river which churns agate against marble and showed him the thing we had made: a sapling, whose stem was of silver, whose leaves curled deep and blue, lapis dark as eyes, veined in quartz flaws. Tiny fruits of white opal hung glittering from its slender branches, and the moon washed it in christening light. This is hell, he quavered, as I stroked the jeweled tree. It seemed to shrink from him in shame. I touched his face, his unyielding neck; I wrenched his head towards me, and he stared into the eyes that blink from my breasts, the cobalt leaves peeking around my ribs like the heads of curious peacocks. At the ends of the earth is paradise; look around you, the earth is nowhere to be seen, I had whispered, and I do not need pearls.”
Ms. Valente never fails to include literal treasures in her work- luscious gems and precious metals- and has inspired me to make so many pieces of jewelry based on her stories. This passage reminds me of the alchemical aspect of love, transforming base people into precious creatures, which is the very nature of the human soul. But some get hung up on perceived costs and don’t realize it is given freely.
I’m also a sucker for lapis.
Cris Fisher
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May 19th, 2008
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The Blemmyae by Joselle Vanderhooft
21″ necklace made with cloisonne beads, bone, Botswana agate, glass, copper findings, and approx. 3″ carnelian pendant. Click the image for a detailed/hi-res look.
Based on “A Dirge for Prester John” by Catherynne M. Valente
Valente’s tale is a complex story about colonialism, religion and an incredible romance between a Blemmyae (the “anthropophagi” to which Othello refers in Act I of Shakespeare’s play) and a befuddled priest. It’s a story of scorching desert sands and madness, of Old World and New World, of love between two very different beings. It is a tale of dichotomies, religious, cultural, emotional.
This piece is made out of copper chain and copper findings, to match the desert sands of her homeland which Prester John “discovers.” Along with the carnelian pendant, she is made from cloisonne beads, bone, Botswana agate (the large black and white beads that look, appropriately, like eyes) and glass (the small black and white beads that look like eyes).
Joselle Vanderhooft
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May 13th, 2008
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Like A Heavy Dream by Mia Nutick
1.75″ pendant on a 13.5″ cord, mixed media on ceramic.
Based on “A Dirge For Prester John” by Catherynne M. Valente
I am a writer, editor, and sometime maker of shiny things. Once upon a time I realized that I had a pile of old dilapidated books of fairy tales with yellowed edges and pages falling away, and I hated to see these old books go to waste. I decided to make some collages using bits of the pages, and in cutting out words and phrases I happened upon the idea of making new poems and thoughts out of old fairy tale and mythic imagery. I wanted to make little poems into adornments for those who love the written word. I called these pieces Chimera Fancies — little pieces of altered art, old storybooks and glitter, fragments of dreams and mysterious messages from the Universe.
Mia Nutick
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May 5th, 2008
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19″ necklace with pendant.
Based on “A Dirge for Prester John” by Catherynne M. Valente
Valente’s tale is a complex story about colonialism, religion and an incredible romance between a Blemmyae (the “anthropophagi” to which Othello refers in Act I of Shakespeare’s play) and a befuddled priest. It’s a story of scorching desert sands and madness, of Old World and New World, of love between two very different beings. It is a tale of dichotomies, religious, cultural, emotional.
The presbyter hails from (quite literally) a different world, from comparatively colder and more austere Christian Europe, represented by the silver plate chain and sterling silver findings. Befitting his connection to the sea (and to further contrast the waterless desert in which he finds himself), his colors are blue: pearls, blue glass seed beads, dyed blue agate and blue glass as well as the vintage blue rhinestone in the antiqued silver cross (the little glass box above it reminded me of an ikon, so I used it, too).
Joselle Vanderhooft
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