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Stories in Stone
Artist-jeweler Marianne Hunter digs deep to find inspiration in every gem.
By Jaime Kautsky
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Marianne Hunter
Photo by Eric Welch/GIA
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Marianne Hunter's jewelry is much more than a fusion of gemstones, metal and enamel. Each piece, she says, also represents a story she tells herself as she creates it.
"I start with an idea, and build a story as I draw. It could be an emotion, a feeling or first impression that I get from a particular stone, and it's elusive to capture. Learning to capture, understand and communicate those concepts is the trick," she told audiences during two April 4 presentations, part of the 2007 Museum Lecture Series, at GIA's Robert Mouawad Campus in Carlsbad.
Hunter took students, staff and invited guests through a virtual gallery of her work during her presentations, titled "Inspirational Interplay: The Collaboration of Artist and Materials," and shared how they could access the stories within themselves.
One piece, a necklace called "Kabuki Kachina, at the Peak of the World," featuring Yowah boulder opal and rose quartz, along with enamel, colored golds and sterling, changed the role of gemstones in her work. They were once mere embellishments, she said, then became integral inspiration.
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"Silks Shimmer in the Starlight" (top and above), a gold necklace by Hunter, is made of enamel, chalcedony, pearl, boulder opal and amethyst. The piece includes one of Hunter's signature poems and was featured in the GIA Museum exhibit, "Art in Gems: Gems in Art," in 2002. The chalcedony was carved by Steven Walters. The necklace was loaned by Marianne Hunter in memory of Sammie Dunn.
Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA
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"When I saw this opal, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of a place I've never been," said Hunter of picking up the stone for the first time. "I was standing under an ancient, snow-covered wooden shelter on a mountain in Japan. I was looking across a snow-filled valley at a distant mountain range, all in the glow of sunrise."
Hunter, an award-winning, self-taught metalsmith and enamelist, said she thinks there are "no bad stones," and that finding new material "gives you a whole new dance."
She added that artists' work will take new directions if they allow themselves to remember things they've seen, using their memories as reference libraries. Her own inspiration has come from subjects as diverse as an ocean crossing to Catalina Island, cave paintings of animals and the realm of nature. But, she stressed, a story doesn't have to be "a specific narrative; it can be about an idea or a time."
Hunter, who began making jewelry at 17 years old, only creates one-of-a-kind pieces. Many are commissioned, and all are engraved on the back with her signature and a poem about the piece.
"It's important to hold your client in your heart when you're working on a commissioned piece – to have thought about what is important and personal to them, what their preferences are, what positive feelings you have about them," she said.
Hunter suggested that recalling the stories behind a finished piece can help designers explain it to potential clients.
"People love to hear about why you used the images and materials you did, where an idea comes from and what it means. It gives them a bigger sense of what the piece is about and it means more to them."
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"Kabuki Kachina Wears the Blue Lagoon Twilight" is from Hunter's Kabuki Kachina line. "I like to work with kimonos," she said. "I like the color, the lines and the form as a canvas for storytelling."
Photo by George Post/courtesy of Marianne Hunter
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She urged audience members to follow their instincts when searching for their own artistic voice.
"Sense that there are stories and memories deep within you that can be brought out by gemstones," she said. "The more often you let yourself follow your intuition, the more you'll be able to trust it. Then bullheadedly, doggedly, passionately go after your finest work, every time."
Marianne Hunter's Tips for
Jewelry Designers
• Know as many stone dealers, miners and cutters as you can.
• Keep buying stones, and stick it out to the last parcel. If you don't have it, you can't use it.
• Make certain a client likes and understands your work before accepting a commission.
• Be patient with an idea. Come back to it later, and get reinspired.
• Scare yourself, and take on what you think is beyond you.
• Break your own rules – and everyone else's, too.
• Love what you do, and you'll have a good life.
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