High Strangeness
Cloisonne Vitreous Enamel, Metalsmithing, the odd opal or two
(Feb 2020, all pieces in private collections)
So if you are a paranormal-afficionado, cryptid-loving, alien-believing, all-things-weird-enjoying human being, maybe you already know this. But bear with me for the folks at the back who don't yet know what High Strangeness is - High Strangeness is a term coined in the 70's, where 'strangeness' was used to scale paranormal events, according to how much inexplicable weird stuff went down in each. Cases of high strangeness, therefore, were incidents that had a large number of 'strange things' things happening all at once. Not so much a lone witness spotting a chupacabra, and more a case involving alien abduction, time-travelling, crop-circles, and a bit of ye ole government conspiracy thrown in.
Romantic Moonlit Sasquatch Pendant
Nobody knows why he is feeling so romantic - is it the moonlight or is it cause he’s just spotted you?
This large piece was my first in blue/white tones, a colour combo I had used a lot in my previous work in illustration, and would use a lot after.
Romantic Moonlit Sasquatch
A closeup of the pendant, to show off the opalescence, so hard to see in a still image but so very vivid.
The Jersey Devil Ring
Mini Mothman Ring
One of my favoruite cryptids as a ring - mini to contrast with the maxi version of him you can spot in this gallery.
Conspiracy necklace Brooch
I made two of these - each unique in fabrication and also in the enamelwork - of TV’s experiencing ‘interference’.
Conspiracy TV Brooch/ Necklace
I made two of these - each unique in fabrication and also in the enamelwork - of TV’s experiencing ‘interference’.
Moonrise Over Loch Ness
The first time I went to Loch Ness, I drank rather lots of whisky on a boat there at sunset, the castle reflected in the hill-shadowed waters, all the while with my eyes glued to its surface trying to catch a glimpse of the fabled monster.
You'll be unsurprised to learn I did not spot the plesiosaur-like (though some witnesses have described it as walrus-looking) monster. As cryptids go, Nessie was the first of its kind I ever personally learned of - pre-dating even sasquatch in my psyche. I used to think it was a unique phenomenon but would later learn that many lakes of the world have in fact been reported to have Nessie-like creatures inside them. This defies the science of large creatures and closed-lakes and such.. which leads me to believe if real they must be somehow interdimensional, or ghost like, and not actual animals.
Here I enjoyed combining fabrication with jewel and enamel to create playful dimensions of my own.
Chupacabra Necklace
They Live Among Us Rings
For the consummately well-dressed conspiracy theorist I made three of these double rings, featuring a perfectly creepy little 'reptilian' eye inside the perennially 'secret society' shape of a triangle - joined by the visage of a sexy psychic 'grey' alien .
The reptilian eye was created in cloisonne vitreous enamel, while the alien head in solid sterling is from my own sculpture.
Prism UFO Necklace
This collection came around a year into my enamelling experience, and I celebrated by trying to create a prism effect in my work. I was suitably pleased with the results, and would take the experiments further in later collections.
Prism UFO Necklace
This collection came around a year into my enamelling experience, and I celebrated by trying to create a prism effect in my work. I was suitably pleased with the results, and would take the experiments further in later collections.
Crop Circle Ring
Swamp Thing Necklace
Miscellaneous swamp monster - was turned into a brooch/necklace for a cherished collector.
Swamp Thing Necklace
Miscellaneous swamp monster - was turned into a brooch/necklace for a cherished collector.
The Mothman Over Chicago Necklace
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘮𝘢𝘯, beloved West Virginia cryptid, perhaps need little introduction. Associated with the town of Point Pleasant where it was first seen uin the sixties, it was described as a man-sized bird with glowing red eyes and would chase cars and people and seemingly has a penchant for hanging round nuclear plants and bridges. Mothman limited its appearances to neither Point Pleasant or the sixties - in fact several Mothman sightings were recorded in Chicago as recently as 2019, with one of the sightings involving several witnesses.
I have no reason to give for why for the longest time, Mothman was my favourite cryptid. Perhaps its quite uncertain motives - ill, or benign? Or its essence - creature or spirit? That settles it in my mind and those of many as a totally delicious monster.
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Here I've depicted Mothman in mid-soar over Chicago skyscrapers.
Take a Walk on the 'Squatch Side Necklace
Featuring Bigfoot in that familiar 'sideways angry-walking sideboob pose' from the infamous so called 'Patterson-Gimlin' footage. Only I changed the time of day to night - Moonlight saved me the inconvenience of having to make a brown sasquatch, altogether a little too much like a gorilla if you ask me, and indulge in my love of playing with variations of blue glass on metal. In the light it's so much like labradorite, I really love it - and the opalescent birch trees in the back are downright pearly.