Welcome to White Tideline Designs, handcrafted jewelry-as-art ~ sculpted watercolors in premier artisan beads & gemstones! Each piece is designed and handmade by me in my San Francisco Bay Area studio, an old African mahogany dining room table in my home - my vast and beautiful palette. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind design ~ you will be the keeper of this particular design.
'Autumn Tideline' is a break-out design after several months on hiatus from my design work. During my time away from the studio, I have delved, headlong, into the other and old worldly dimension of Old Wax Metal Casting ~ using sterling silver, wax & fire to form sterling silver shapes & findings. It is fitting to me that I use one of my connectors from my new-found SS casting work - a stunning, bright silver medallion of a sand-dollar. If you have ever done an exhilarating road trip up or down Highway 1, the iconic coastal drive that reaches from the silvery shores of California all the way north to the lyrical fishing village of Lund, British Columbia where Highway 1 officially ends, then you might understand the spirit behind my 'Dreamscape' design series and 'Autumn Tideline,' in particular.
As I worked on this piece last night, I kept seeing images of my many road trips along California's famous Highway 1. The lulling sea enroute to Big Sur where the surf moves in and out so slowly and lyrically that one almost expects mermaids to come wandering out of the soft waves to the endless beaches below. And Fitzgerald Marine Park, where I have stood at sunset on Christmas Eve, marveling at the bounty of the tidepools, filled with sea critters & wonder. And strolling along the promenade of Pacific Grove and the multitude of sea lions and otters *just there* - in the surf and then stopping for a nap in the sunshine at a pull-out and seeing whales breaching in the distance while my baby boy napped with me. It is this ribbon of Highway 1 which delivers up these incredible experiences, time and again. From Carmel to Malibu and Santa Barbara in-between, I wonder if there is a more beautiful stretch of highway anywhere in this big, wide gorgeous world.
'Autumn Tideline' is created around the stunning lampwork beads of four studio glass artists. From the glossy, encased tidepool lentil beads in which the tidepool is as if captured in a moment, standing still under the thick, elegant glass. Other lampwork beads include beautiful cream colored donuts detailed with clear scrolls along with beautiful textured discs. These glass-art beads help to paint a seascape wonder of a day spent on the water or at the beach browsing along the tideline which is a virtual treasure chest when the sea offers up her bounty, leaving all colors of shells, grasses & kelp, beach glass and driftwood along the tideline. Gemstones include handsome, large faceted citrine nuggets, small Baroque pearls, faceted aquamarine rondelles, sea-blue amethyst faceted rondelles, Mexican opal rondelles and clear quartz faceted rondelles. A Swarovski star and silvery along with a plethera of sterling silver, beads, spacers, rings, bedcaps and a tube bead add artisan-texture to the 2 strand bracelet design, providing beautiful contrast to the studio-made glass beads, creating an heirloom design that will transcend trend & time. A hand-cast sterling silver toggle clasp completes 'Autumn Tideline' which measures exactly 7.5 inches and can be resized at no additional charge upon purchase. Subsequent sizings will incur a modest fee for time, materials and postage.
About Me:
I design & create beaded bracelets, earrings & pendants ~ blending colors, shapes & textures like watercolor or sculpture in jewelry. My work can be found on Martha's Vineyard, a celebrated locale in many of my sea-inspired designs. A force behind my designs is the enduring high-end, heirloom quality of the materials I use and most especially the small group of glass bead artists I collaborate with whose work is original, sophisticated, interesting and modern. Their quality work is my primary focus and is the inspiration around which I create the rest of the composition. All beads I use in my work are top-quality artisan crafted, Swarovski crystal or precious/semi-precious gemstones. Solid, 925 (or higher) sterling silver is used along with vermeil gold (24K gold plated over sterling silver). No sterling silver plated components are ever used in my designs and hand-cast sterling silver findings are frequently used in my pieces, many of them made by me. 'Handcrafted before mass manufactured' is always the goalAs always, my ongoing muse is the tideline on the white beaches of Savary Island in B.C., Canada where I spend part of the year and have done since I was a child, taking in the quiet beauty of the sheltered sea just off the coast of Canada.
Very best wishes for a lovely day!