Lithic Silver

5.5 x 1.5 x 0.4 cm

sterling silver, quartz, obsidian, resin, fabricated, carved, oxidized

Sherri is a metalsmith and jewelry artist who looks to architecture and her urban surroundings to find shapes, textures, and materials to include in her work. Her jewelry pieces are abstract snapshots of overlooked spaces: a heap of broken bricks and shattered glass at a freshly demolished house; an empty parking lot filled with watery potholes and broken asphalt. Her designs focus on texture, contrast, and form. She enjoys combining disparate and unexpected elements into cohesive and aesthetically pleasing pieces.

The Momenta collection was created as an exploration of the contrasts that could be created with structured forms, amorphous materials, and carved metal. The emphasis on simple forms with tactile textures was a driving element in the design process.

The earrings were all fabricated from sterling silver using traditional metalsmithing techniques. Sterling silver sheet was hand carved to create a dense, deeply textured surface as an additional design element. Crushed quartz, hematite, obsidian, and mother-of-pearl were chosen to represent the various surfaces and textures found in the city: wet asphalt, broken pavement, and shattered glass.

In Aggregation, small squares were fabricated and arranged into clusters. Four rotated squares were filled with crushed hematite and two were topped with carved silver. Loops of delicate silver chain were added to give movement and balance to the design.

Larger rotated squares were fabricated for Congruity. Dual elements are connected using an ellipse of silver. Carved silver and crushed mother-of-pearl were used for texture. The oxidized silver adds additional contrast to the mother-of-pearl.

For Lithic, trios of rotated squares were used in a linear design. Carved silver, crushed quartz and crushed obsidian were used as design elements. This pair combines the tactile elements of crushed stone and carved silver along with the visual contrast between clear quartz and dark obsidian.