Once again, Marylee Reisig will be hosting my Holiday Trunk Show at her beautiful gallery as part of Small Business Saturday. I think you will find Santa Fe Trail Jewelry is a delightful setting for your holiday shopping. I will have my latest works available and it is my hope that you will find something that speaks to you as you search for that special gift. Rumor has it that there will be some delicious munchies, along with tasty spiced cider and other warm beverages for you to enjoy as you shop.
I have been busy creating new works for this trunk show and would like to give you a preview of some of the items that will be available.
Every once and a while, Dan comes up with some ideas and suggestions for me to try with my work. This year he asked, “What if you just do a metal pendant, no stone?”. I thought about it for Treescapes. The next two pictures show how I used a metal only component in a bracelet and a pendant.
Treescapes – Bracelet
Since many of my Treescapes are asymmetrical, I thought adding the metal component to the side rather than the center would provide a more intriguing look for this bracelet. The center piece is not a stone, but actually Walrus tusk, which my friend, Jerry McClure introduced me to over a year ago. I love this material for what it symbolizes about the past, along with the beautifully rich colors and patterns. Jerry also cut this cab for me. The blue cabochon is Lapis, which I have not used that much, but Gary B. Wilson had a few of these that spoke to me this fall at the Denver Gem & Mineral Show. I added an extra jump ring to allow for some variation in how this will fit different sized wrists.
Treescapes – Pendant
This is just a very simple Treescape pendant. Since most of my Treescape earrings are just metal, it seemed like it would be a perfect companion if someone wants a matched set. My thanks to Dan for his support and the suggestions to experiment. I like the direction these subtle changes take Treescapes.
Next is a pair of my Express Yourself earrings. I’ve been working more on the leaves, adding stems and having them take on a more organic look with the spirals. I’m fascinated with reticulated silver, so I am using it in a few of these earrings as I like the texture. This pair has some slight asymmetry with the way I have arranged the pearls, leaves, and white buffalo turquoise. They are light weight and have that classic black and white color scheme that makes them perfect for wearing with just about everything!
Express Yourself with a Touch of Colorado
Soul Searching was one of my first series. So many of the pieces had a special meaning for me as I reflected about my life. Now I have decided to revisit this series with more of a spiritual aspect. My goal is to have a given piece resonate with someone and provide strength and encouragement. This particular bracelet is acid etched sterling silver that I have oxidized. I have applied a light matte lacquer coating to preserve the oxidation. The stone is Mookite. I see a distant mountain in this stone with the glow of a beautiful sunset in the background. As I viewed this finished piece, I felt a sense of calm and that is how it came to be called ‘Serenity‘.
Serenity – Soul Searching
As I was going through my available stones, I ran across these lovely oval shaped Chinese Writing stones, acquired from Gary B Wilson. I set them aside and in another box of my stones, I saw these elongated Onyx stones, which came from Rogue Gems. As luck would have it, when I set those aside it was right underneath the Chinese Writing stones and I saw these earrings. I knew everything had to be kept simple and clean. The beauty of these two stones families, combined like this, was all the earrings needed. I have titled them Pathways. They showed me the path to take in my creative process to make them. My hope is they will inspire their future wearer to follow their life paths as they are encountered.
Pathways – Soul Searching Series
The day I was pulling stones from my inventory proved to be a day of great pairings, just as the Pathway earring stones (pictured above) were. It truly did feel like I was being guided to put certain colors and stone types together.
In this pendant, New Heights, I have a deep green spider vein turquoise paired with the pastels of a Willow Creek Jasper. In the Willow Creek stone, I see another mountain in the distance. It made me think of Mt Kilimanjaro and that symbolized new heights for me. Again, I felt a strong need to keep things simple. The cross shaped top piece is one I have used in another pendant. As I revisit the Soul Searching series, I want to explore the use of the cross with single and multiple pairings of stones and metal.
New Heights – Soul Searching Series
I will end with this pendant from Treescapes. Once again, I think it was the two stones that found each other as I was going through my inventory. Dendrites in limestone, tree perfection. The bottom stone is a lovely, rich russet red Morrisonite that pretty much begged to be paired with the dendritic top stone. I’ve been asked if it is hard to part with certain works. This one will be hard for me to let go to its future home. Yet, if it calls to the right person, as it called to me, so be it.
Treescapes – Pendant
A special thanks to my husband Dan for all the great photos he took of my latest works for this blog post. I would also like to express my appreciation to all of you who read my blog, who have come to visit me during Art Hop this past summer, stopped by my studio on the Front Range Open Studios weekend and purchased my work. I have enjoyed visiting with all of you. If you live in the area, I hope you will come to the trunk show on November 30th, discuss my work with me and find that right gift for this holiday season.
Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.
Kathleen Krucoff 
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