Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 artful designs to check out at Craft Council of BC's The Earring Show

Playful metal molds, sea glass, handcut leather, and fine tourmalines are just some of the materials transformed into jewellery by more than 90 artists from around the world

By Janet Smith

Earrings by Ye-jee Lee.

DANGLING ETCHED GLASS, plant-based plastics, sea glass, and rose-cut tourmalines: these are just some of the media artfully employed at this year’s Earring Show—the Craft Council of BC’s signature event.

Opening May 9, the 11th annual exhibition of limited-edition and one-of-a-kind baubles raises funds for the organization’s programs and to help promote contemporary crafts in B.C. and Canada.

Here are just a few of the more than 200 pairs of earrings by over 90 artists from around the world, on view at the CCBC Gallery on Granville Island until May 23, and for sale online through August:

#1

Korean artist Ye-jee Lee (whose earrings are shown at top) juxtaposes and jumbles together collected metal molds for these playful conversation-starters. A boot, a bottle, a moneybag: the icons on these designs titled The Objects of Human carry a narrative all their own, in sterling silver, nickel, and handcut leather.

#2

Sherry Cordova’s CH Müller Rose Cut Tourmaline Earrings.

Microscopic sea creatures are the inspiration for artist Sherry Cordova’s one-of-a-kind Radiolaria earring. In a look the avid SCUBA diver has dubbed “marine fauna meets industrial”, she blends the wonderful sea tones of tension-set, rose-cut tourmalines with Argentium sterling silver and stainless Steel. The design’s inspiration comes from a radiolarian in the 1862 publication of microscopic sea creatures by Ernst Haeckel, appropriately titled Art Forms in Nature. Look closely and you’ll see the hand-texturing and -finishing, with burnishing of each setting on both sides of the metal to increase the light bouncing through the stones.

#3

Jasonda Desmond’s Pinion earrings.

Jasonda Desmond’s Pinion earrings are named for the flight feathers found on the wings and tails of birds—curved aerodynamically to catch the breeze. Using natural textiles and plant-based plastics, these delicate danglers are hand painted with crows flying over a pinky sunset.

#4

Waters Edge Silver’s Jessandra Phillips is based on Mayne Island, so it’s no wonder her work draws on the textures and shapes of the ocean, and uses materials like found sea glass and stones. These delicate, ocean-blue glass beauties, glinting with gold, look like they could have washed up on shore.

#5

Faye Hall blends collage, textile, and silversmithing into a whimsical look all her own. The West Yorkshire artist spent 16 years designing highly tactile fabrics for fashion and interiors, and builds each textural piece intuitively and organically. Here, a smattering of beads play off vibrant, chunky sculptural forms in an asymmetrical set of artful earrings.

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