The Sagrada Earrings: Process + Inspiration

Some projects feel like omens.

You create something and wonder where or why that idea came to you, why the making process felt more profound than with other pieces. 

These were created for Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Were they somehow foreshadowing a path I’d later take with jewelry? Where I was forced to face something so hard, like death, and try to make sense of it in my own way? 

I love beauty. I actively seek it, so I couldn’t help but turn a painful subject into something colorful, surrounded by pattern and meant to symbolize the opposite of memento mori (remember you die), into memento vivere (remember to live). 

The skull, inspired by Carravaggio’s Saint Jerome painting, comes to life where the dead aren’t dead, but continue to bring life and bring joy. 

Inspiration

I recalled a trip to the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona in 2014. The stark black and white of the spiky, tree-like columns, glittering amongst the most beautiful rainbow stained glass windows blew me away. I was in awe of such a combination. I especially love how artists and designers portray the divine, the sacred. In architecture, to create a space to reflect that, feels like a particularly sacred act.

Sketches

The sketches for these earrings were messy. I knew I needed to just get into the studio and create. Sometimes, the design wants to be mulled over and tweaked on paper. Other times, I just need the materials and the process to speak to me.

With this general gist of a sketch, I hit the ground running.

Process

I sat staring at the computer screen as I painted the skulls. This was particularly hard to do because I had to be very specific about each paint stroke at that scale. The paint strokes had to be intentional, the colors had to work together to pop as my little copper canvas was less than an inch tall.

With and Without

With each paint stroke, I had to keep checking to see how the image was going to look under the faceted rock crystal cabochon. The skull face, and the details, would suddenly multiply. I needed to emphasize the contrasts so that the focus on the subject, the skull, could really stand out.

Enamel + Gems

I also experimented with enamel paint and a variety of gemstone settings. The enamel paint can occasionally be messy, especially when you’re working on something more precise. It’s a better medium for painting things like animals or portraits, rather than patterns.

Each gem had its own experimental setting. None of the settings are traditional and I had to learn to be ok with it not being ‘perfect.’ How can you bring something playful to an otherwise remorse topic?

Amuletic

What could add to the talismanic/amuletic quality of a design? Eyes, of course. I added this mostly for good measure.

Gems have long been known to carry layers of meaning, but so do certain images. The eye has always been a symbol to ward off evil, and I wanted the pink spinel gem to add a touch of femininity to the whole piece.

Sacred, divine, feminine.

And here are shots of the final design:

Thanks so much for reading.

Take care for now,

Caitlin