AURIOLUS
LATIN MEANING
GOLDEN – EXCELLENCE - PERFECTION
GOLDEN – EXCELLENCE - PERFECTION
ARTIST'S BLOG
Periodically I will be commenting on two
important elements of Jewelry Art
* The Nature of Art
* The Nature of Stones
ON THE "MAGIC" OF ART
Those
who know me well are quite aware that for me art transcends color and pretty
things. I state very plainly that I create both Jewelry and "Jewelry
Art". Both are important. Jewelry adorns the body and enhances an already
exquisite creation - the human anatomy. Down through the ages women (and men)
have used jewels to enhance their costumes - often elegant expressions of their
diverse cultures. I have traveled the world over and love them all - African
Tribal – Chinese Jade - American Southwest and a myriad of others each of which
has its own “element of elegance”. But that is not to say all jewelry is
Art - regardless of its origin. It may be finely crafted and a reflection of
the culture - it may be elegant and it may even match your eyes and the dress
you bought for that all important occasion. But is it Art?
For me
Art embodies a transcendental element with the power to change individuals and
the world around us. To me Art is "magic". Many of my creations are
works of art. Many are mere jewels for the purpose of adornment. I am fairly
good at both but creating mere jewelry is work while creating Jewelry Art is a
sublime time of play. Creating a work of Art is not easy mind you as it takes
incredible discipline as does anything worthwhile. But the joy one experiences
when a work of Art is complete is quite different than the sigh of relief when
completing a piece one hopes will sell. The latter often makes the former
possible and keeps one from that most dread of all artistic stations commonly
referred to as – “the starving artist”.
When I
create Art I use many mediums - rare stones that have healing power and quite
often chemicals (which have caused some on occasion to think of me as an
Artistic Alchemist – more on that later). I do always experiment and reach for
the unknown. I seek to create a jewel that will make the viewer contemplate
beyond the craftsmanship – perhaps even to cry with joy - which happens from time to time.
I marry my love of
history with a passion to create a work of wearable Art. I am a recycler of
Beauty from the Ages – one day a dabbler in alchemy and the other an Indiana
Jones of Jewels seeking the lost Stones of the Ages in the far reaches of the
world. I have traveled many times to places such as Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, the desserts of Arizona or
Dubai, Shanghai or the Outback of Australia to find those special almost extinct items that takes make my work to an ethereal plane.
I love
what I do and want my wonderful clients and friends to love what they wear –
not because it is “pretty” but because when they wear it something happens in
their deepest being – a certain inexplicable “magic”. When I create
a piece I want the wearer to ask: “Who wore this Jade Belt 4000 years ago?” or “Was
the original wearer of this Victorian Jewel happy or sad?" When I
create a tribute to an American Indian tribe like Paha Sapa I want the wearer
to wonder what it is like to stand in the very real place where it is believed
the four winds of the world meet and return to refresh mankind in the four
corners of the earth. This is not merely well
made meticulously crafted adornment - but the "Magic of Art".
Picasso put it this way… “Art is something sacred. It’s a word that we should be able to use,
but (some) people would take it in
the wrong way. You ought to be able to say a painting (or jewel) with its capacity to move us, is as though
it were touched by God.”
Andrew Wyeth put it this way, “You look at my pictures… there is
witchcraft and hidden meaning there!”
My
greatest desire is to create Jewels that contain an element of mystery and a
peek into the secret things of the past. I want to take the wearer on a journey
around the world through the portals of stone and time.
ON HEALING
STONES
There is
much discussion about "healing' stones. Some believe all stones have
healing capacity just as some believe that everything natural is good for you.
To the latter I often reply that arsenic is a natural substance but probably
not a good idea to ingest it in any substantial quantity. Many historians
believe that Napoleon succumbed to arsenic poisoning from fumes he inhaled over
the years emitted by the arsenic laced paints in the wall paper above his bed.
In those days people did not realize one could be poisoned accidentally in this
manner and arsenic was used in many different paints.
For example, Realgar (red
arsenic sulfide), orpiment (yellow arsenic sulfide), Scheeles green (copper
arsenite), and emerald green (copper aceto-arsenate) are all made with arsenic.
All of these are from eras gone by and I don't know of any arsenic-containing pigments that
are used in modern paint today. However miners who work in Cobalt Mines are still in
danger of being poisoned and those who work in the Cinnabar mines of
South America have shortened life spans as the material contains high levels of
Mercury. They would not agree that all stones heal.
My studio is often filled with dust from the stones I grind. I know their qualities and not all the characteristics are healing in nature. Malachite is a powerful stone and its incredible deep green can bring instant peace to the soul as the Chinese discovered thousands of years ago. If you have a powerful personality and want to wear something that emits power in a quiet and calming manner – Malachite is an important stone for you to wear. If you don’t like green or it does not match your eyes or wardrobe – take heart as there are others of various colors that will do the same. I am going to talk about them and many other “magical” characteristics of stones on this site.
However,
I do not recommend grinding Malachite stones without proper protective gear as
the dust can make you extremely ill. My Gemologist in Newport Beach who knows
stones well from one perspective was not aware of this trait and accidentally
breathed large quantities of the dust – once. He has not repeated that mistake again. In fact in
the wake of that event he asked me to catalog the dangers of various stones
as he knows I am aware of the traits of most – both common and rare. Diamonds
for example are a woman’s best friend so they say – but again – breathing
diamond dust will wreck havoc on your respiratory system. Diamond cutters
always wear masks.
What’s
the point? Simple – some things about stones are healing in nature and some
things about them are not. We have to have a balance and our thinking about
stones should be based on knowledge and not mere myth. There all sorts of web
sites these days which proclaim the healing power of this stone and the magical
power of that stone. Truth is there are few who really know what they are
talking about on the subject. One should
be a bit careful believing everything written by people with a superficial supposedly “mystical”
knowledge instantly acquired. What we need is an intimate knowledge born of exhaustive
investigation of the type Leonardo da Vinci acquired over years and transferred
to his art. I have spent the last 30
years or more seeking the truth about stones and will seek to pass along what I
have discovered.
On my
next blog I am going to talk about one of the most powerful “healing stones”
known to mankind. It is actually not a stone at all though many think of it as
such. It also has a “shadow stone” with an amazing history which I will discuss
as well! Leonardo da Vinci will be weighing in on the subject of “shadows in
art” so you will not want to miss this.
I will also be discussing more about “magic”
in art and specifically “alchemy” and where the word actually came from. I will
be discussing Harry Potter and Leonardo da Vinci as well. In my view Leonardo was
the greatest of all Alchemists and Wizards of Art!
Think
about it – Mona Lisa’s eyes follow you around the room and the smile of this
woman has mesmerized viewers for centuries. It has the highest insured value of
any painting in history ($100 million in 1962 or roughly $670 million in
today’s dollars). The Mona Lisa viewed one way is merely a few dollars of paint applied
by a Master of his Craft on a panel of Poplar wood (used in the day of Leonardo
instead of canvas). Or is it actually one of the great moments of history's world of “Magical
Art”?
See you
soon
Douglas
PS - Following are a few examples of some of the Jewelry Art on the Auriolus Web Site and the links to explore more- Enjoy!
https://www.auriolusjewelry.com/THE_WHITE_JADE_BELT.php#THE_WHITE_JADE_BELT
