Wearable Art Blog

Melanie West of Raven's Clay

Maine jewelry artist Melanie West, who's been working with polymer clay for over eight years, is the creative force behind Raven's Clay, a wonderfully colorful line of nature-inspired jewelry.

 

Pond in the Woods with Mushrooms Necklace (polymer and rubber)

West is inspired by the forms, colors and patterns found in nature, especially biological forms, which are the main theme of her work. On her blog she writes: "One of my greatest inspirations is the work of Ernst Haeckel. He was a German biologist and artist who loved wild and crazy (my words) forms in Nature." 

Inner Wave BioBangle in Orange and Blue

West's "Bio” series is based on flora and fauna such as salamanders, snakes, brightly colored nudibranchs, cephalopods, bamboo and acorns. Knowing this, you can fully appreciate the colors and patterns in her work.

Nudibranch BioBangle in Green

West, who was a 2012 and 2010 Niche Award Finalist in Polymer Clay, has her work included in the Racine Art Museum polymer clay collection. The way this bangle appears so life-like is amazing!

The Maw BioBangle

West designs and creates each piece by hand. She then sands them until they are silky smooth, and finally finishes them off with a soft or luster finish.

Brooch in Neutral Tones- Spots, Dots and Cilia (West says about this piece, "Think peeking through a microscope.")

Aren't these striking pieces? What makes them so special is the the creative way that West represents the biological patterns that mean so much to her.    

You can see more at Melanie West, Raven's Clay or Etsy.

Vellies by Schier Shoes

I discovered "Vellies", or hand-sewn desert boots, while getting my daily fashion fix from Susie Bubble, reporting from NY Fashion Week.

These adorable 'desert boots' are handmade by Schier Shoes in the coastal town of Swakopmond, Namibia. There, a small group of tribal Damara men assemble every shoe by hand, cranking out about 20 pairs of boots in an afternoon.

Herbert Schier took over the business from his father Ewald, who founded it in 1938. Here's how Herbert Schier describes the cultural meaning of vellies in Fader:

"The vellie is a cultural relic for South Africans and Namibians in particular, but once you buy a pair, they become a relic for you too, a part of your story. Vellies gain character with time. They age with you, go through milestones."

Schier uses kudu leather, the hide of a wild antelope, which makes for a durable suede that doesn’t need a lot of care. He's even discovered a way to create iridescent colors, like hot pink.

The Neon Pink Toe Cap Erongo (below) is a favorite among the local Afrikaners in Namibia.

Schier's Creative Director, Aurora James, worked with artist Mickalene Thomas to create the custom Vellies below.

 

 

 

Schier with and Kyle Tregurtha, a close family friend, are going global, bringing Vellies to America with these bright new designs through a collaboration with retailer Opening Ceremony.

Erongosuede Vellie combines a flourescent yellow heel cap with a denim suede

A sneak peak of what's coming in Autumn/Winter 2013

As you can see, the newer Vellie models are souped up versions of their brethren, retaining the overall look and feel.

I hope that Vellies don't leave their humble origins behind as they make their way into markets across the globe. There's something charming about the simplicity of the original Vellies.

 

 You can see more at Schier Shoes.

 

Silver Wire Wrapped Jewelry by Sunflower

Kornelia Kubinowska, who lives and works in Krakow, makes silver wire wrapped pieces under the "Sunflower" label. Although she only started making jewelry six years ago, she's already developed a great sense of flair and design. Here are some of my favorite pieces of hers.

Silver earrings with amethyst, rose quartz and garnet

 

Silver earrings with aqua blue chalcedony, white pearls and garnet

Silver pendant with pink opal, ruby, rose quartz and pink tourmaline

 Silver earrings with kyanite and white-gray keishi pearls

Red topaz ring with a small black onyx bead

I'm a big fan of silver wire wrapped jewelry. I love the intricacy of it and the craftsmanship that goes into it. Plus, when it's combined with colorful stones, it becomes impressive wearable art.

I wish that I had seen some of this great work during my recent trip to Krakow. Meanwhile, you can see more at the Sunflower Etsy Shop.

Mabel Mae Designs

Here's some leather clothing that really pops -- beautiful colors and artful shapes made from leather and re-used furs.

Virginia Testa-Jeffery is a self-taught designer living in Upstate New York who created the Mabel Mae fashion line (named after one of her dogs). She finds most of the deer, elk, and goat hides for her work from local sources near her home.

I really like how her one-of-a-kind pieces flow -- they're unusually elegant.

Caplet (with "reused" fur)

Here's how Virginia described herself to me: "I am a self-taught seamstress and consider myself more of a 'worker' than an artist. I have sewn for most of my life, making my own clothing.... I absolutely love what I do. I see a leather hide and anticipate what 'it' can become and I am excited by that whole process."

The true creative spirit, Virginia told me that she rarely has a plan for most of her cape and collar creations, instead using a dress form as her blank slate. She even makes many of the closures using tree bark, seed pods, pieces of fur, or metal buttons.

Brown Leather Caplet

Virginia's inspiration comes from the hides themselves -- she prefers to follow the natural contours of each piece of leather. She explains: "There is something about the fact that they have lived in the wild and their skins show that life. There will be branch and scratch marks, fighting scars, and many times I will keep holes and scar marks in my designs and either embellish around them or leave them as is."

Virginia creates with the intention of keeping the animals' spirits alive: "The Native Americans have a saying that the spirit of the creator lives in each piece of art he/she creates. I personally like to think that it is the animal’s spirit that lives in each piece created."

 

Red Goat Skin Cape

Virginia enhances each piece with adornments that become focal points. She said: "To embellish the collars I will add everything from tree bark and seedpods to bone, large agates, and Japanese Sea coral.... The embellishing is the same as African Tribes, Native Americans, and other tribes throughout history [have done] to be noticed, to celebrate, to honor. I just apply a modern approach."

Elk Skin Collar in Brown with Arizona Turquoise, Swarovski Crystals, and Japanese Sea Coral.

 

 

Ruffle Deerskin Collar

 

Elk skin collar with with black animal bone, seedpods with gray opal Swarovski crystals, Black Needle Tourmaline.

 

I really love Virginia's strong sense of style. You can see more of her work at http://mabelmaedesigns.com/ or at the 37th Annual Crafts Festival at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on June 15,16, 2013.

Earrings by Kimberly McDonald

How cool is Michelle Obama?  Did you know that she wore a pair of handmade diamond jeweled earrings and bracelets at the inaugural ball?  Feast your eyes on those earrings, designed by Kimberly McDonald.

Irregular geode-outline earrings with natural yellow rose-cut diamonds.

The irregular shapes in the earrings are meant to be geodes. Geodes are formations that build up over time in spaces between rocks. They often contain a quartz shell lined with minerals that eventually form crystals. So, when you look at the irregular shapes of these earrings, you see a reminder of a natural phenomenom.

The photo below, taken from McDonald's Facebook page, shows the inside layers of hundreds of geodes. You can imagine how a whole geode fills the cavity between two rocks.

Here are several more pairs of beautiful earrings made by Kimberly McDonald.

 

McDonald, who lives and works in New York City, combines natural materials such as agates and geodes with untreated stones such as diamonds, raw emeralds, and baroque pearls. What a 'brilliant' approach! These earrings are electric.

This kind of beauty doesn't come cheap. McDonald's jewelry ranges from $1,800 to over $100,000.

 

 


McDonald's bio says she's committed to using an eco-friendly aproached by using reclaimed gold and wood as well as recycled diamonds and other precious stones. As she explains, “I like to think of each creation is an extension of what nature has given us."

I love the irregularity of these earrings, which gives them a bit of funk -- each pair doesn't match perfectly, but that's what makes them so interesting.

I'm glad that Michelle Obama has such sophisticated taste. Just as she has done in the past wearing the work of 'emerging' fashion designers like Jason Wu and making him famous, she has made the world aware of another young designer's work, this time Kimberly McDonald.

See more at Kimberly McDonald.