On Wednesdays, we look at artist statements and discuss the best vocabulary to describe an artwork. Today’s piece is called Two-Tone Nebula with Diamonds Ring by Martha Seely Design.
This is the artist statement from the Jewelers of America website:
The Martha Seely jewelry collection is designed with the distinct sensibility of Scandinavia – with clean lines and elegantly minimal forms. The jewelry is often understated and always contemporary and chic. It does not follow trends – but sets them.
The collection pays tribute to the incredible universe in which we live and takes everyone who is interested on a personal exploration into the planets, stars, nebulae and windswept cirrus clouds.
Jewelry has the amazing ability to convey the distinct character of the wearer as well as enhancing her beauty. Each individual brings who she is to her jewelry. Martha Seely Design’s desire is that the woman who owns and wears her jewelry will wear it as a talisman and as an expression of her own uniquenesss. And Martha’s goal is that her jewelry makes each woman feel elegant, put-together, strong and beautiful. And ready to face the world.
In the first paragraph, the artist describes the style of her jewelry. She uses the phrase with the distinct sensibility of Scandinavia, which means it feels like it came from the region of Europe near Denmark, Norway, or Sweden. Then we see a lot of adjectives describing what that style looks like. Look up some of these adjectives. Do you think they are accurate? Are they the best words to use to describe this style? At the end of the paragraph, we see this sentence: It does not follow trends – but sets them. It means this designer does not make pieces like everyone else or follow what is currently popular. Instead, she says, other designers follow her style.
In the second paragraph, the artist describes her inspiration for this collection of jewelry. She compares her designs to things we see in the sky and in space, like the images below from NASA and the Hubble Telescope.
In the third paragraph, she talks about how the jewelry makes the person wearing it look more beautiful and shows us what is special about that person. In the middle of the paragraph, it says that the woman who owns and wears her jewelry will wear it as a talisman and as an expression of her own uniqueness. A talisman is a magical object that will bring you good luck, so she’s suggesting that this jewelry will do the same thing. She also says it is an expression of her own uniqueness, which means it helps the person wearing the jewelry to share her special qualities with others. At the end, the designer describes how she wants women to feel when they wear her jewelry. The phrase put-together means everything you wear goes together very well. And ready to face the world means you feel powerful and that nothing in the world can stop you.
What do you think of this piece and the artist statement? Do you agree with my comments? Do you have questions about the vocabulary? Do you want to suggest a piece for me to discuss next week? Leave a comment below!
I’ve chosen 5 words or phrases for you to focus on today. They are in bold. If you don’t know them, look up the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, and other forms of these words. You can find links to Merriam-Webster dictionary sites at the bottom of this page.
To see the original posts at Jewelers of America, click the links below:
https://www.jewelers.org/find-a-jeweler/member/MTAwMDE3OQ==
https://www.jewelers.org/jewelry-gallery/product/Njc0MQ==