“Curiouser and curiouser” said Alice.

Indeed, the more I investigate the work of Lorena, the Mexican-living-in-Amsterdam industrial-designer-turned-jeweller, the more layers I find.

 

gemagenta – bunny ears – ‘cactus’ series pendant – clay, thread

 

gemagenta – gymnocalcium – ‘cactus’ series pendant – clay, thread

 

I first came across her work on Etsy, when her ‘Cactus’ series caught my eye, with its cool porcelain and richly coloured threads. These are gorgeous pieces, and I still love them for their fabulously tactile qualities.

 

gemagenta – old man cactus – ‘cactus’ series pendant – clay, thread

 

But then, one day I happened to visit her blog and discovered – The Little Prince. (If you are unfamiliar with this classic French story from 1942, you should really read it – a surreal tale of a small prince who lived on an asteroid with boab trees and a rose. Despite it being ostensibly a children’s tale, it is also filled with astute observations on human life and relationships). Lorena says she loved this classic story when she was young, and only rediscovered it recently. When she read it again through adult eyes, she said she was filled with joy and inspiration, and immediately set about sculpting these small pieces to be set atop rings.

 

gemagenta – rosa (the little prince) – ring, cast sterling silver

 

ZORRO ring - Infancia Series - Le Petit Prince inspired, silver fox ring, organic, delicate, animal, miniature, french, white, handmade

gemagenta – zorro the fox (the little prince) – ring, cast sterling silver

 

And then there’s more. Another visit to her blog recently has uncovered some completely fabulous pieces which not only look wonderful, but also push technical boundaries – these new pieces are cast from sugar models! So grainy, so textural, and so, so pretty. The patterns are inspired by Moroccan decorative patterns from ornamented tea glasses, carpets, henna tattoos, and Berber symbolism.

 

gemagenta – sukkar – pendant, cast sterling silver

 

gemagenta – ashum, ayn, hama & nana – rings, cast sterling silver

 

I am so looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next!

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With thanks to Lorena for generously sharing her images. You can find more of her work as gemagenta in her Etsy shop and on her blog.