Vibrant Paper Flowers - Begoña Rentero Jewelry

Springtime flowers can help
revive a dreary autumn day -
especially when those flowers are handmade
 with silk and paper.
 

 Fiber artist Begoña Rentero creates
lush, layered, textural jewelry
in eye-popping colors.

 

 

  

  

   

Speaking of bright, cheerful fiber art jewelry,
if you’d like to revisit some of the

contemporary work previously featured

on this blog, there’s quite a lot to see.

 Click on each name to see designs

created by Ana Hagopian, Carol Windsor,

Francesca Vitali, Lydia Hirte,

Sabrina Meyns and Tia Kramer.

 

Each utilizes an innovative

approach to working in this medium,

most are self taught, and each of their creations

counters the preconception about jewelry

 having to be made with precious
metals and expensive gems.

And to see more of Begoña Rentero's work,
visit her delightfully cheery website.

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Paper and Structure Working Together - Jessica Beels Jewelry

Jewelry created by Jessica Beels is

innovative and imaginative.

She is a prolific artist with a distinctive style

that's recognizable by her signature

handmade paper and steel creations.

 On her blog she describes the many stages of her process
from building the armature, to making the flax and
mulberry paper, and finally adding surface treatments.
What is especially enlightening is to understand how
part of the process includes having
the stretched paper distort the form of
the underlying structure as it dries.

I make handmade paper from overbeaten flax and mulberry (kozo and gampi) fiber and place it, still wet, over reed or wire armatures. The paper shrinks radically as it dries, leaving a taut, transparent skin on the pieces. I particularly like the way high-shrinkage paper distorts its armature, lending an element of unpredictability to the process of completing each piece.  Often, I print the wet paper with inks and paints and, when the paper is dry, infuse the surface with wax to seal it and enhance its translucence. I am intrigued with how the opaque and sometimes reflective quality of the inks contrasts with the glow of the paper fibers.

Here are some examples of how

diffused light passes through the paper

and shows the hidden structure

underlying the design.

One can see how the paper

shrinks and wraps tightly

around her frameworks.

Continuous structural experimentation
has led this artist to
explore ever more diverse,
unpredictable and intricate designs.

Complex and creative things emerge from

these explorations, and by
using a narrow color range the focus
is directed to the shapes and textures.

It's obvious that her work is
inspired by many biological forms.
It allows for endless exploration of
nuanced shapes and silhouettes.

We found out on the artist's website that
some of her newest pieces are
 currently on exhibit

at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut.
x

The exhibition is called,

"Bijoux: The Origins and Impact of Jewelry"
and explores a broad view of the materials
that have been used in jewelry
over the centuries "from bones and fossils, to diamonds
and . . . explores the ingenuity of artists
to create adornment from a host of materials,
from the common to the sublime."
x

This artist's contribution to the exhibit is
" a three-piece jewelry set of paper-over-steel
work with pearls and gold leaf. The necklace is a spiky
Elizabethan-collar-inspired piece with echoes
of sea urchins and horseshoe crabs;
the bracelet is an open sea urchin form;
the earrings are a two-tiered spiky blossom form."


If you look closely, you can see the pearls
she has hand sewn into the corners.
What she doesn't mention is the fact that
these pieces are made with
 seaweed-infused papers.
It adds to the marine life aesthetic.

There is no doubt her innovative and distinctive
 style stands out in any crowd.
We can almost feel the spirit of the
artist in each piece.

x

"Bijoux: The Origins and Impact of Jewelry"

 runs until March 11, 2012

and more information can be found at the
Bruce Museum's website.
x

You can also find additional images
and information at the artist's website.

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Paper Beauty: Sabrina Meyns Jewelry

Handmade paper and

precious metal can transform magically

into exquisite petals and flowers

in the hands of an artist.

Jewelry created by

Sabrina Meyns is inspired by

the botanical world around us

while she inspires us with her creativity

and proficient skills in papermaking

and jewelry design.

Here's a snippet of how she describes her work

 on her website:

“For my work I draw my inspiration from the garden, focusing particularly on the late summer and autumn periods. I am especially fascinated by the delicate qualities of seedpods and the miniature elements that are seeds. . . The gold and silver details represent the precious seed held in their fragile vessels, waiting to fall and grow.”

We love the fragility and delicacy

in this brooch. The subtle, neutral

colors add to the effect.

It's fascinating to see her include the tiniest details

of each floral structure like the pistils, stamens

and minuscule seeds.

This brooch is almost translucent

yet shows each lovely detail.

Monochromatic tones enhance

the overall effect.

Last but not least,

when you create your own paper

you get to make the colors as intense

as you like.

Love it!

We want one of everything!

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Tia Kramer Jewelry

Paper is one of those mediums that has

never-ending possibilities.

The different ways in which it can be used

and assembled into countless shapes

can boggle the mind.

For Tia Kramer handmade paper is an obsession.

Her jewelry mobiles, easily labeled as Calder-esque,

are self described as "performative sculptures for

one’s ears, architecture for the body."

By combining sterling silver structures with handmade

paper, she creates pieces that are sculptural, 

ethereal and energetic.

Having honed her repertoire over the years,

starting with large-scale suspended-art installations,

Tia's work has evolved over the years

to become what one might call

'minuscule art installations' 

of personal adornment.

 Her artistic metamorphosis now results in 

jewelry designs that are buoyant, 

translucent and durable.

She creates her jewelry using her own

handmade paper and sterling silver.

It's all cold fabrication -

 bending the wire and wrapping the paper -

producing a soul-satisfying result.

Multiple layers and intricate designs

combine to form really enchanting pieces.

Here is a complex combination comprised

of a necklace and earrings that interconnect. 

They can be worn separately or together.

Either way they are

magnificent statement pieces.

We love the bright, cheery colors

and the bounciness of the design.

This neckpiece contains a necklace,

bracelet and brooch.

The interplay of positive and negative

space is intriguing.

Here's the bracelet on its own.

We love these earrings.

And these earrings, too.



We adore the endless combinations and permutations

created in her work.

We also love the myriad simpler designs that she creates.

 Regardless of size and complexity,

each is filled with charm

energy and motion.

The bottom line is we'd love to collect them all.

Enjoy!

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