A Portrait of the Artist


The motifs featured in this jewelry came to me as I walked the lush roads in my beautiful little surf town, seeking a sunshiney disposition to set me up for my day. It began to seem that the plants and flowers, bobbing in the wind, must be speaking to us. Craning their green lithesome necks toward the sun, cheerfully nodding at me on my wander, I began to hear their wisdom. Grow. Stretch. Onward! Higher. You can do it. We can do it, together.

 

                     

I began creating artwork that riffed on the upbeat, decorative patterning of leaves and flowers that I memorized from Leucadian walks. The motifs riffed, too, on the inspired decorations that covered the oldest buildings of my former hometown New York, in bronze and copper, stone and steel. I began to see the networks of line and texture in paint as a conversation or a puzzle. One motif speaking to the next - each needing its space to expand in its splendor, but also needing its neighbor just the same. Much like us as people. One motif took the stance of a strongman, flexing and sure. Another is trying to take off in flight, pure energy. Still another has its guard up on either side, boundaries firm.

 Fine art by Aurora Mazzei, made of stucco and wax medium on cradled board.

Transforming them into jewelry, they have been hand carved in wax with love and attention, cast in solid 14k gold and set with diamonds. 

I create this jewelry as beautiful armor against the day to day, objects with weight and a sense of permanence and passion. They are for you and me, artful women whose inner world is colorful and complex. They collect your stories as you write them, and become imbued with meaning.

They want to make you feel dressed, artfully considered, luxurious. They love to be layered. They are just weighty enough to give you a sense that they are there. They have a human touch. They feel old and storied, and fresh and sweet. These jewelry pieces are there around your neck to paw at when you need to fidget, when you need a reminder of what you stand for, when you need to gather your strength, when you need to remember your mantras.