Ellygator on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/ellygator/art/Ray-Shields-213020810Ellygator

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Ray Shields

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Description

(2011), each pendant is 2"x 2.5". Silver art clay (shaped, carved, fired, polished and burnished), recycled stingray leather, epoxy, silver black, silver wire.

I recently found three small stingray leather pieces at a garage sale and decided that I would recycle them rather than letting them go to waste. The leather has an amazingly glossy, pebbled surface, and I wanted to create jewelry that evoked the fluid and streamlined shape of a ray while allowing the material to be center-stage.

I carved recesses into the basic silver shapes and fired the silver. Then I made exact paper models that would fit into the recessed silver and duplicated them onto the leather. I carefully cut the leather and used jewelry epoxy to fix the leather pieces to exactly sit in the carved-out silver areas.

Two wire bails behind the shield shape hold the necklace in place and create the illusion that the shield is simply hovering before the neck.

I really like the luxurious yet understated feel of the pendants and the incredible tactile richness of the leather. I think I will wear these a lot this summer.
Image size
1010x1089px 1.29 MB
© 2011 - 2024 Ellygator
Comments62
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DonSimpson's avatar
This stuff used to be popular for covering sword handles and such. A fortunate find.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shagreen