california designers : objets d'artisans : the jewelry designs that are making news are one-of-a-kind pieces of miniature art - gold pendant and earring set

They bend wires, pound silver, gold and diamonds in shape.
Some people dig treasure in the hardware box and thrift store.
Others design stylish and quirky outfits for customers who ask for anonymity.
All work is isolated and develops style without influence from each other.
A garage in Southern California, downtown loft and back bedroomof-a-
Kind jewelry designers are creating striking unique pieces that are more art-like than decoration: spear-
Like a brooch that seems to have been washed on shore.
Woven silver bracelet with marble, textured-
Gold hairpin similar to the bridge.
Southern California's growing enthusiasm for wearable art is reflected in the booming galleries, enthusiastic collectors, and crowds of people participating in exhibitions of new works.
According to the gallery owner, the designs of local jewellers often appear in the ears, arms and chest of actresses such as Mary Steinbergen, Carol Kane and Susan Sidden.
"They know I have something special," says Joe Wilder, owner of Wilder square on Melrose Avenue, a gallery featuring unique and unusual jewelry.
"They came here looking for visual candy.
"The gallery owner agreed because the best one --of-a-
One attractive and affordable way to collect modern art is to buy mini sculptures.
Until recently, Southern California jewellers worked under the shadow of New York and Northwest artists, but this is changing.
Consumers eager to accept new ideas and spend money have a strong demand for unique jewelry. "L. A.
Has found its style, it is eclectic-
Everything is OK, "said Carol sowien, owner of Freehand, an innovative West 3rd Street gallery dedicated to one-of-a-
Arts and Crafts.
Six jewellers were selected after interviews with dozens of Zhubao merchants, gallery owners and collectors, reflecting the amazing diversity of local talent.
Their range of work ranges from the complex sculpture brooch of Valerie Mitchell and Debra Stoner to the classic gold of Yves Camina --and-diamond pieces.
Between pioneers
Whimsical marble is an avant-garde and classical Lieand-
A glass bead bracelet and earrings from Diane Comart;
Melissa Tucker and exquisite symbolic works in the southwest
The flavor of Ted Cavagnaro.
Diane comat
Like a former painter, neither gold nor precious stone is needed.
Instead, she painstakingly wound black or silver wires around beads and marble to make bracelets between gorgeous religious objects and kitsch in her 40 s
Heavy bracelet with deep
Some beads are characterized by surface or abstract swirls.
"I may have the largest collection of marble in the world," Komater said with a smile . ". The 33-year-
The old artist works in a neat garage behind the neighbor apartment building.
About three years ago, comat moved from Berkeley to Los Angeles.
She said that she was not influenced by any other jeweler and was not even willing to hire anyone to help her because of concerns that their ideas would undermine her work.
In addition to making bracelets, earrings and brooch that are now selling well enough to pay bills, Komater also dreams of becoming an excellent artist and "creating large wire sculptures ".
"Lois Lambert, director of the Santa Monica functional art gallery, said that Komater's jewelry attracted a variety of collectors ---
"From young and fashionable to conservative.
Komater's bracelet costs $200.
Earrings, about $65, in the functional art gallery, 2429 Main St. , Santa Monica.
YVES kamionves ves Kamioner perfected the design signature he called the "crack.
"He made cracks in gold and laid small diamonds embedded under the surface at the opening. The Belgian-born third-
A generation of jewelers recalled that when he was a child, he peeked behind the curtains of the jewelry store at home and watched his father bow and kiss the royal client's hand.
Kamioner, 33, rarely kisses a client's hand, but is willing to create anything they want with precious metals and stones.
"When my client left the studio, I knew exactly what she was thinking," Kamioner said . " Kamioner's original white studio comes with a illuminated window full of his latest work.
While he has designed 400 pieces of jewelry for Tiffany and is currently designing a range of jewelry for the new George boutique in Beverly Hills, Kamioner still likes to challenge one-of-a-
Good commission.
In recent years, he has crafted a $34,000 mini treasure chest filled with precious gems;
A $12,000 brooch depicting the Los Angeles skyline with gold and diamonds, a $100,000 gold cane with diamonds.
Kamioner's client purchased his work through the Freehand Gallery on 8413 West 3rd Street
Including rich and famous people ordering exquisite and expensive custom pieces, as well as local judges who recently commissioned an elegant and sophisticated wedding band.
Melissa Tucker, 30, is a film makeup artist and self.
Jewelry expert from Sydney, Australia, making complex crafts with sterling silver and copper.
Many Rabbits (
Because her parents never let her keep pets.
She likes fish because they are "smooth and sculptural ".
"I hope people don't get it wrong, my job is to connect with animals and the Earth," Tucker said . ".
Except for 14-
Karat gold and sterling silver, Tucker uses a copper accent.
Because she refused to use ivory out of respect for elephants, she replaced it with a milky plastic.
For special clients, she created custom
Sculptures decorated with feathers, bones and metal fragments.
She began making sculptures for her friends as gifts, as eyes --
Someone wearing a brooch
Tucker, who works in the back bedroom of a house in the San Fernando Valley, said that some of her work was strongly influenced by a recent trip to Australia, where, she met with the indigenous elders and other delegates of the tribal people.
Tucker's clients, including actress Judy Foster and Ray Dawn Chong, purchased her freehand work at 8413 West 3rd Street
Or wired square 7975 1/2 Melrose Avenue.
All in Los Angeles.
Earrings cost $90 to $120 and brooch $140 to $165.
Valerie Mitchell is a neat downtown loft workshop like a medical research lab that creates abstract, avant-garde
Inspired by avant-garde jewelry in the form of architecture and sculpture, it is as simple as a canoe.
Her hair accessories and brooch are reminiscent of the bridge, and in the new brooch collection, she fills the space between the metal parts with light cement.
An unforgettable shoulder decoration is similar to a kayak called a "raft ".
"I tried to apply for three.
Mitchell said: "The size of my jewelry, the form of sculptureyear-
An old graduate of the famous Rhode Island School of Design.
"My work also has the quality of an artifact, such as items that used to be useful, or something you might find in an old barn.
"Mitchell is an expert in electroformation, a process used to make hollow metal shapes that look heavy but feel light.
She uses a copper rod to place wax in a chemical bath and then runs the current through the bath, which forces the metal to fall off the copper rod and attach to the wax.
The wax melted and left a copper shell.
For some works, Mitchell processes the metal with a secret mixture of raw materials or porcelain glaze to create antiques
On the surface of the nail, ochre, patina.
For others, Mitchell covers sterling silver with 24
Karat Kim Vermeer
She allocates energy between creating limited energy.
Versions sold in more than 100 museums and shopsof-a-
Good works by galleries and private collectors.
The novelist Isabel Allende and Martin Cruz Smith are among the admirers who have collected her work.
Mitchell is well designed and expensive, and some brooch retail for more than $600.
They are for sale at Gallery M, 8649 Sunset Avenue.
And the sculpture is worn on 8441 Melrose Avenue.
All in Los Angeles.
Debra Stoner, 31, crafts weathering, danger-
With rusty steel and copper and original brooch-
Looks like a bracelet found in archaeological excavations.
She often uses ivory, pieces of pottery or glass she finds on the beach.
Stoner is an artist. in-
The residence of the metal department of the Oregon Academy of Arts and crafts, with typical jewelers from non-
Precious metals such as copper and brass, gold and silver.
She earned a master's degree in art from San Diego State University and started her career as a goldsmith and gallery manager in Davis, California.
"I have found out that I can work with any material," Stoner said . " She will go back to her Goldsmith roots and design a new production line.
"This material is no longer the most important," she continued . ".
"This is the design. "Stoner's top-of-the-
Line brooches and bracelets ranging from $150 to $240 for sale through the 2429 Main St. Functional Art Gallery, Santa Monica.
TED CAVAGNAROTed the silversmith of Cavagnaro reminds us of the traditional heavy silver jewelry produced by Indians in the southwest of the United States.
The 60-year-old carvagano of Venice is a self-
Teaching the craftsman, he added his talent to the tool hammer he made himself and the silver in his form.
His simple, unpretentious buckle and hammered silver beads are classic examples of silversmith craftsmanship.
Although his work has a unique southwest flavor, cavagano says he is doing Southwest-
Style jewelry became popular as early as appearance.
Cavagnaro made his silver sheet by hammering and bending, and it was very minor that anything was welded together.
"Jewelry making is a series of skills acquired the day after tomorrow," Cavagnaro said . " He works in a small attachment in the garage most of his working days.
"I am not a skilled draftsman, nor a great artist.
"In fact, Cavagnaro was a chemical engineer and photographer before he started melting silver coins and hammer them into various shapes about 13 years ago.
Of the hundreds of pieces he made, his favorite is still a sensual hand --
He did it a few years ago and is not willing to sell silver beads yet.
His quirky potato masher and whisk earrings are his favorites.
Most of Cavagnaro's jewelry costs less than $200 and can be bought from his studio in Prospect Ave 2241. , Venice.