Gem Carver Helen Serras-Herman

(photo by M.J. Colella)

I've become very interested in gem and stone carving over the past couple of years. Helen Serras-Herman's work stands out and I've kept her in my bookmarks for a year and a half. Recently I wrote to her and asked if I could do a blog post about her work and she agreed and graciously gave me some things to post. Thanks Helen!



Helen Serras-Herman’s gem sculptures are inspired by people and mythology, especially from the ancient Greek mythology, and they often take the symbolic shape of gods, nymphs or fantastical creatures. Inspiration from the ocean or the desert is reflected in the choice of colors or textures. Her Gem Portraits are unique.

Her Sculptured Gems are all one-of-a-kind, signed and sold with a Certificate of Authenticity. All of her Jewelry Art is set in 18KT or 14KT gold or Sterling Silver, with a palette of bold gemstones. Several of her pieces have been direct commissions from private clients from all over the world.

Her diverse contemporary work is in the form of Gem Sculptures in the full round, reliefs or seals, and ranges in size from a few carats to several thousands of carats. Hard gemstones, such as Quartzes, Aquamarine, Topaz, Sapphire, Larimar and other gems with unusual patterns, brassy colors and natural mineral surfaces are featured in her artwork. Many of her works are scored with a distinct deep-line engraving structure that echoes her earlier large-sculptures style, and make them immediately recognizable.

The 18KT gold Emerald/Opal necklace “Echoes”, now in private collection, received the 1st Prize Award, in the Jewelry Division, in the People’s choice competition that took place February 2003 during the “Gem Art Gem Galleria Show” at the Historic Manning House in Tucson, AZ.

Helen’s latest theme series, “The Silver Faces Collection”, features beautiful carved gems and sculptured Sterling Silver centerpieces, which she carves by hand in wax and then casts. Her “Faces” are often woven on a backdrop of twisted and gnarled tree root images. “The Turquoise Ensembles” feature natural AZ Turquoise.

Her newest gem sculpture “The Omphalos of Earth” received the “Best of Show” Award in the 2006 fall exhibit “Pathways and Portals” at the “Tubac Center of the Arts”, in Tubac, AZ.


Please visit her website to see more of her artwork www.gemartcenter.com


“Serras-Herman is probably one of the most extensively trained artists working in Gem carving in North America – and it shows in her work…….Coming to gem carving from the vantage point of large-scale sculpture, Helen Serras-Herman creates miniature masterpieces underscored by centuries of art history” ….Cathleen McCarthy

Synchronicities Everywhere, Or Many Bangs to My Head

I keep thinking, like a mantra, "Our Mountain Scene Jewelry story is so good, someone's gotta love it." But, these thoughts have been tinged lately with anxiety and futility - caused by my not doing much about it, of course.

So...

Synchronicity #1
Then, I started reading Andrea Learned's "Learned on Women" and found a post on marketing with stories (posted on May 22) and commented there. She replied to me:

"After a recent storytelling webinar I presented, a woman emailed me to tell me the story of this very cool company founded by a guy who was really good at presenting the tale of his "brand" and the people who interacted with it. Needless to say, I went straight to his site and bought something. Two weeks later, I went back and bought something for my brother to share the fun story with him."

Synchronicity #2
Then, my post on the client story that made our eyes juicy, where a sister bought a mountain ring for her brother who is getting ready for a 4th tour in Iraq. The mountains are in Bishop, Ca where they grew up and he calls them "his".

Synchronicity #3
Then, yesterday's post on Doc Searls and "Markets as Conversations".

Now today, I hit the wall again, whining to Sandy, "I can't do this! I have no experience with marketing, business, etc., etc."

Synchronicity #4
Yesterday I realized that LadyK over at her Twisted Thicket blog had commented on our blog and added us to her links. How cool. Reciprocated, for sure. Thanks LadyK!

Synchronicity #5
Then, I started going through her links. You all do that don't you? Anyway, I landed on Luann Udell's blog.

Wow. If you need some inspiration, useful information and to laugh, I mean really laugh about the work you're doing that seems like a stinking waste of time - just click that link! Luann is truly a gem - and we can read all of this for nothing. I really wish I could reciprocate somehow that would be as meaningful.

The cake is here - She wrote a story about stories in November of 2005, that's just exactly what I needed, called "The Ultimate Story". The gist: as someone who gives talks to artists on self-promotion she came to realize that of the 5 W's (who, what, etc.) the "Why?" was the hardest. Clip:

"We all have a story to tell about our art. In fact, our art IS the story. Self-promotion is simply telling this ultimate, unique story about ourselves to others.

It's the process of getting your story about your art out into the world.

Why should we tell that story?

Because it is why people will care about buying our work.

The story is what will create the connection between us and our audience."

And, no one is going to do it for us, even the hired publicists won't do as much as we think, nor will they tell our stories with as much passion as we can ourselves.

OK - time to write the story...

New Link - thanks Doc Searls!

Whoohoo! Ok, trying to be a little calm, but I'm really just trying to get going with the blog thing after fits and starts for a year.

Anyway, I've been reading Doc Searls blog for a while now. He's a senior editor for Linux Journal, a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center where he heads ProjectVRM (Vendor Relationship Management), and co-wrote "The Cluetrain Manifesto" in 1999 with David Weinberger, Christopher Locke and Rick Levine.

For any small business people trying to make it on the web, you will be heartened by Doc's ideas about marketing and the internet. The Manifesto's first 3 theses are:

"Markets are conversations"
"Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors", and
"Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice."

Obviously, I was out of the loop because this was quite the buzz. But I highly recommend checking out all the links above if you haven't before. He had posted on 2 issues that I struggle with often: linking (or not) and relationships between vendors and clients that both really resonated with me. I left a long comment, a post from this blog actually, and Doc posted and commented back on his blog on June 11.

One thought has guided all my web design: to make it very clear that Sandy and I are just 2 people, working out of our home and that Sandy is a talented jeweler. Well, 2 thoughts, but, figuring out how to show this, both in design and tone has been a real challenge that keeps paying off. Here's the post to read in full, but the gist is that I've not utilized linking, yet we are making our living through web sales. People dream, use their search skills and find us - and then the stories, or conversations begin...

New Client Story Made Our Eyes Juicy

Ricki Hughlett bought a Bishop, CA mountains ring from us in May of 2006. She just sent Sandy an email and gave us permission to put her and her brother's story on our website.

“Hi Sandy,
I finally got to give the ring of the Bishop skyline to my brother. He was in Iraq when you made it for me a year ago. Well long story short is he is home at least for now. I wish I could have been there when he opened it. But he is in Texas now and won't be moving back to California. He loves it. His wife asked what mountains and he simply replied those are my mountains. We grew up seeing them everyday. I knew he would like it. So I would like to say Thank You for giving me a way to give a little part of home to him, and next year I will be getting a piece for my sister. I just wish I could truly convey how much it means with simple words. Got to go,take care. I'll be in touch. Ricki

By all means you have my permission [to use these emails]. I will try to get him to send a letter too. But time may run out as he is maybe being re-deployed to Iraq for a 4th time. Actually it is my younger brother. 20 year retirement is looming about 1 1/2 years away, just not soon enough.
Thank you again,
Ricki”

What gratifying jobs Sandy and I have!
Big thanks to Ricki and her brother from both of us.

Incredible Jewelry Resource

This morning I found an incredible resource for info on many aspects of jewelry creation and buying, including...

- Guides to gemstones and metals
- Various histories of jewelry art
- Production: from mining gems to lists of mines to blood diamonds to cutting gems
- Markets
- Jewelry Design
- Gemology and Geology
- Lists of designers by area
- Onsite galleries

Here's the link: Diamonds, Gemstones - Contemporary Jewelry Information

ENJOY!

Vacation to Arizona Ignites Creativity

Sandy and I finally took a 2 week vacation for the first time in years!

We went south through Nevada to Arizona and visited many hot art spots, like, Jerome, Phoenix, Sedona and Scottsdale. Seeing many different types of art and different media in different towns was not only educational, but inspirational. Those of us who own our own businesses often forget to stop working and not only relax, but learn from other artists. Being in nature, seeing mountains that look so different from our huge vertical peaks was what got Sandy really going...


We'd had a custom order for an Arizona pendant right before the trip. What an amazing piece! It took a lot of thought to get all the elements arranged in a way that matched the client's vision. The pendant is sterling silver with copper pots and a 14kt yellow gold crescent moon and measures about 1 1/2" in circumference.






So now, since we've been back, Sandy's created 2 new Arizona pieces - a man's ring and a pendant. Haven't photographed the pendant yet, but will post a pic soon.

Some Thoughts on Dirty Gold

I decided to address this issue here because we are all wishing and calling for honesty and transparency from our fellow humans.

Sandy and I stand for, in our hearts and our business, the creation of symbolically meaningful jewelry that will last for generations. Your grandkids may melt it down, but that’s their choice. The point is that our jewelry will last that long and we hope that if you buy something from us it will be meaningful enough for you to wear it.

Onto some facts…

Environmental and Human Costs

“Because most of the known gold deposits in the world are in microscopic form, the shiny nuggets of old are as dated as the miner and his mule huge industrial open-pit mines, usually using cyanide to retrieve the metal from base rock, are required to make mining economically viable...

“Gold mining, too, bears the scars of conflict, destruction, and human rights abuse. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, armed groups fighting for control of gold mines and trading routes have committed murderous crimes using the profits from gold to fund their activities and buy weapons.” No Dirty Gold , “Gold Mining and Conflict” http://www.nodirtygold.org/

Due to activist pressure, alternatives to cyanide are being sought. “Mr. Kowalski, Tiffany’s chairman, has tried to stay ahead of the controversy. He has broken new ground by buying Tiffany’s gold from a mine in Utah that does not use cyanide.” No Dirty Gold website

If you’d like to learn more about these options and the metals extraction process itself, click here.

Demand for gold and other precious metal jewelry climbs as people around the world make more money.

“In the Middle East, demand for gold rose 7.5% last year [in 2004] while demand for jewellery grew 12% and 16% in China and India respectively.” link

Precious metals are still being mined here in the US, though pressures from environmental lobbies and frightened residents may drive more mining to less developed nations.

Thanks to some organizations that are raising awareness, the jewelry industry as a whole is recognizing that they must address this issue. As a result, several national and international organizations have been created to design standards of conduct for the industry, from mining, to refining, to wholesale and retail. This may seem to be trifling, but the industry will work to secure it’s piece of the economy.

The “No Dirty Gold” campaign was launched 2 years ago by advocacy groups to highlight these issues.”But cleaning up dirty gold mining is not just a public relations exercise. It’s about making concrete, on-the-ground changes in the way that this metal is produced–changes that make a tangible difference to communities and ecosystems affected by mining operations.” No Dirty Gold Website

The Golden Rules call on mining companies to meet the following basic standards in their operations :

* Respect for basic human rights outlined in international conventions and law

* Free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities.

* Safe working conditions

* Respect for workers’ rights and labor standards (including the eight core ILO conventions)

* Ensure that operations are not located in areas of armed or militarized conflict

* Ensure that projects do not force communities off their lands.

* No dumping of mine wastes into the ocean, rivers, lakes, or streams

* Ensure that projects are not located in protected areas, fragile ecosystems or other areas of high conservation or ecological value

* Ensure that projects do not generate sulfuric acid in perpetuity

* Cover all costs of closing down and cleaning up mine sites

* Fully disclose information about social and environmental effects of projects

* Allow independent verification of the above

UK Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices is attracting the membership of large American retailers.

From their site, “The Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices was founded in May 2005 with Members from a cross section of the diamond and gold jewellery supply chain, from mine to retail.

Council Members are committed to promoting responsible business practices in a transparent and accountable manner throughout the industry from mine to retail. Their commitment aims to maintain consumer confidence in diamond and gold jewellery products and the trust of all interested stakeholders in their industry.”

Our Practices: For the small shop bench jeweler, recycling is a commonplace aspect of the jewelry making process. Whether a jeweler casts or fabricates, metal filings and dust from polishing are as ubiquitous as dirt in a workshop. Sandy sweeps his bench and shop surfaces and floor with a special vacuum and sends these “sweeps” to be refined, or in other words, recycled. This amounts to a significant quantity of metals. Any jeweler who wants to not only recycle, but also not throw away a profitable natural resource does so.

He has also acquired an awful lot of used jewelry over the years which we also send to be refined and recycled. Many of our customers refashion jewelry that they’ve inherited. We can melt these pieces ourselves or send them out for refining and refashion them into new jewelry. If you’re interested in doing this just let us know.

In jewelry fabrication, metal is often cut into shapes from a larger sheet using various techniques. Obviously then, there remain significant quantities of unused odd-shaped pieces left over from projects. We have boxes of such material that we melt for casting.

Casting involves the creation of a “tree” to which the individual pieces are attached, as shown in the picture below.

Everything but the rings can then be remelted and used for another casting. This is also a common practice. And, of course, we buy our materials from folks who are complying with new sound standards. Ditto for diamonds and other precious and non-precious gemstones.

The Bottom Line for us:

We all hope for continued prosperity for all people, and governments of industrialized nations demand this of less industrialized nations in exchange for helping programs. Yet, if we humans want to follow the Walmart and Target model, buying, buying, owning countless inexpensive and meaningless items, including jewelry, that we lose or forget about, then demand will continue to rise dramatically. This isn’t prosperity. It’s greed. And a kind of dull pacification. Makes me think of my grandma. She raised 9 kids by herself during the 30’s and 40’s and insisted on buying sheets and furniture and clothes that were expensive, because they lasted and were nicer.We can boost our immunity to advertising propaganda. And we don’t have to stop wearing jewelry.