rainbow hematite

Each Eastern repousse segment was freehand forged individually, framed in planished round wire, and highlighted with 24k gold keum boo. Each rainbow hematite was set in a 22k gold bezel with sterling, scroll-worked wire to add space and light for contrast. The repousse shapes are inspired by ‘rumi’ designs in Islamic art. Like an ‘arabesque’ is an abstracted leaf, a ‘rumi’ is an abstracted bird or insect wing, and also the name of a 13th cent., Persian, mystic poet, Jalaluddin Rumi. As the necklace came together, my further abstracted and three-dimensional forms reminded me of chocolate confections, sprinkled in with gold and colored sugars – a tribute to a poet who wrote of light and love.