Friend, patron and mentor Lona Bjornsen commissioned a bracelet using a huge piece of Landers turquoise in a style made popular by my grandfather. She wanted the bracelet to be my own and not a copy of my grandfather’s work. I loved that challenge. I feel that I was able to keep in the parameters she asked for and stretch them enough to really please myself.
Working with an expensive piece of turquoise like Landers is nerve wracking just like setting a large diamond. The thing about a diamond is that it could be replaced much easier than a piece of Landers. One more thing about this turquoise is that it is much larger than any other piece of Landers I have ever worked with. It could never be replaced and I found the nerves coming up when I set it. It is a nice thick piece of stone so that was not the concern, it’s just that any stone can break during setting.
Bracelet by Sam Patania
I have been granted more patience in my craft by who ever grants such stuff and am enjoying more detailed work. I made the round elements or charms with different stamps that I have from previous family generations, all made in the Patania studios. Some of the charms have round edges and some have scalloped. Each is unique. I cut out the bracelet’s back so that the charms would seat and stamped the bottom of those charms so that from underneath they are visible.
Inside of Landers Charm bracelet
This bracelet is a nice heavy weight, 164 grams finished.
Side view Landers Charm bracelet
This piece took me longer than I thought it would because I needed to engineer it on the fly. It is hard to judge how much room , visually, that I will have when the bracelet is bent. A flat drawing cannot tell you how much space you will end up with. Lona is very generous and asked that I make it how it needed to be made and not stuck to a design I had drawn. If there was one thing I could wish into existence it would be the ability to draw better, or at all. But, I have stopped struggling about my drawing and accept that I am a 3-d thinker.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Peggy Wilson, Harbor Jewelers 04.24.09 at 4:02 pm
What a wonderful, provocational sculpture! Always love your work.
Beth Wicker 04.25.09 at 10:10 am
I see why this took you longer! Love the contrast between the textured, recessed middle and the raised, high polish edges. The beads dimension really works well, and the dark areas on the beads help pull your eye back down to the bracelet base, then their bright bits pull you back up and out to the edges. Very successful piece!
Vicki Kataja 04.25.09 at 10:58 pm
This bracelet is absolutely gorgeous. The design works incredibly well. Thank you for posting this for us!
shelbyvision 04.27.09 at 8:36 am
that’s beautiful, Sam. A nice blend of tradition and originality, and of course, superb craftsmanship.
Polly Spencer 07.03.09 at 8:48 pm
Sam, thank you for admitting that you’re a 3-D thinker. I’ve struggled for years with the inability to draw what I’m visualizing. I think I will no longer worry about being 1-D challenged!
Jackie 07.05.09 at 5:48 am
What a truely wonderful design, I love its stength and beauty.