beetlejuice
Susan Lomuto | Jun 01, 2007 | Comments 2
some of you may remember the beetle wing necklace crafted by brazilian polymer clay artist paulo guimaraes back in 1999. it was pictured in the gallery pages of victoria hughes’ chameleon clay and remains a favorite of mine today. i was excited to find more jewelry inspired by the same simple shape when i came across 
john moore’s juicy elytra collection.
“Using anodised aluminium and silver I explore the colour and repetition of a shape based on beetle wings to create bold, organic forms. Movement, noise and smoothly blended colours stimulate the senses and beg the wearer
to play.”
take a look at how the same repeating shape translates into several different designs. and the 
earrings do double duty – you can wear them closed or flared.
i think well executed touches like this help elevate any artwork to an ‘ahhhh’ level. ahhhhhhh…..
moore dyes the metal sheet, then hand cuts and files each piece before assembling. read about his process here. quite beautiful.
These are quite beautiful, but no matter how hard I try, I see not beetle wings, but press-on nails. Hmm, what does that say about me?
i chuckled when i read your comment holly – yes, i can see the press on nails shape too – and i am so NOT a nail person. right now mine are an odd shade of blue/brown/red/gold…acrylic paint and ink stained!
moore’s work is not only aesthetically pleasing, but beautifully engineered. i am intrigued by the earrings. i think he said that he discovered how to reverse them while making jewelry with pistachio shells for a thesis project. so cool.