RING

CHINESE FRESHWATER PEARL, STERLING SILVER

$100

Christine L. Sundt, Jewelry Designer

Pieces of metal, faceted or natural stones, colors, textures around me are the forces that help me shape and make my jewelry designs. I draw inspiration from art and nature, but seldom start with a firm idea of what my final design will be. My drawings are merely records of thoughts rather than plans or patterns. Works come together on my workbench as elements find each other through proximity, association, and chance.

I enjoy working in precious metals, but cannot resist the possibilities of other metals and even found objects such as coins, parts from old, discarded jewelry, and broken or shattered stone (the slate in some of my pieces, for example). I am inclined to produce geometric, highly stylized and polished pieces, despite the unstructured nature of some of these elements.

An increasingly common feature in my work is the ability to transform the look of the piece in wearing it. My rings are often asymmetrical and can be worn on either hand or another finger to produce a different look or perspective, and some of my pendants double as brooches. Other pendants can be transformed by changing the means of suspension – from pearls to gold or silver.

"Funktionslust (November 1 through December 15, 1996) was my first formal exhibition following six years of part-time study and practice in the Pacific Northwest. My pieces – one-of-a kind, never production work – are found in private collections across the country and abroad. My work has been sold at Gallery Goldsmiths in the famous Galleria in Houston, Texas, and at Peipers + Kojen in Manhattan