katharina vones’ silicone sea creatures

Susan Lomuto | Mar 10, 2009 | Comments 1

I’m attending Robert Dancik’s online masterclass, Amulets & Talismans. Last night Dancik spoke about marrying the components of a piece of jewelry (or sculpture) with the appropriate connections and the possibility of using those connections to draw attention to the piece. Robert Dancik, please meet Kathy Vones.

Black Pearl Sea Urchin Necklace

Inspired by botanical and marine life, Kathy Vones uses precious metal, freshwater pearls and silicone to capture the textures and patterns of deep sea creatures. In the Sea Urchin collection pictured here, tiny metal prongs reach around to gently hold the silicone shapes in place and the effect is magical. The necklace above sports prongs that are bent at varying angles and the sea creatures appear to be dancing, swaying, moving…study the shadows. For a very different effect, the prongs in the necklace below are slightly curved but ‘at attention’ and the sea urchins appear to be pushing up, bursting through, reaching out.

Sea Urchin, detail

In this body of work Vones explores a rich and varied color palette, the contrast of soft rubber and hard metal and the impact of different sizes, ranging from tiny clusters to large sculptures – the metal prongs make an important appearance in all but a few of these vibrant pieces.