Spring 2022 Inspiration: Prismatic Springs
Last summer, I once again had the pleasure of taking a three week cross country road trip with my partner, Jody. He and I were still living in Philadelphia at the time (I'm in Las Vegas now, if you missed that!) and we took a northerly route, with the final destination being Portland, OR, where one of my sisters lives. She's an artist as well, and we actually did a giveaway together that we announced during the time we spent together there!
One of our stops on the way was Yellowstone, what some people call the Disney of National Parks. I was excited for this park, but more in a "check it off the list" sort of way. I figured it would be cool since it was so popular, but I also figured it would be crowded, and perhaps I wouldn't really be able to enjoy the true awe of nature there.
Well, I've never been so wrong. The geological marvels that exist in this part of our country are unmatched. I saw bubbling mud pots like a witch's cauldron. I experienced boiling hot water, smelling of sulfur, burst forth from the earth and mist over me. But by far my favorite, were the GORGEOUS colors of these super heated hot springs.
This spring is deeper than a ten story building. The brilliant blues in the center appear so because water scatters the blue wavelengths of light more than others, reflecting blues back to our eyes. The brightly colored yellow and orange and green hues are actually from heat loving bacteria that live in the progressively cooler waters from the center of the spring. I just think that is so wild and cool. Even NASA has done research here!
I'm particularly susceptible to inspiration from vibrant colors, so this was an easy translation for me from hot springs to gemstone necklace.
I used a faceted version of the deep blue kyanite you've seen before - but this is a higher quality so it's much more glassy and clear. The fibrous style of kyanite has its place, too, but this called for less opaque gemstones, full of depth. Turquoise and kyanite covered the rest of the blue into green spectrum. I chose an electrifying yellow sapphire, sunstone, spessartite, and andalusite for the warm scope of colors.
As obsessed as I was with that crystalline kyanite, I didn't want the deepness of the color pull the collection too far into fall/winter. I decided to balance it out by creating several turquoise focused pieces (still surrounded by the Prismatic cloak of color) - always a favorite during the summertime!
Last, I fabricated the collection in both silver and gold. I love mixed metals, and both the warm and cool metals had their place in this colorway.
I hope when you wear these pieces it feels like a little adventure you carry around with you! I hope you can feel the power of the earth imbued in each one. In essence, these pieces are a love note to our natural world, using materials the earth itself has provided!
