A Jane Penman Necklace begins with the stone.  I have developed a natural and unique technique of cutting and polishing stones.  From there I fabricate sterling silver around the stone to emphasize it's natural qualities.  In the process the two separate units of stone and silver combine..... a piece of art emerges. These necklaces are "Landscape inside Architecture".

The stone in this necklace is a Stilliguamish Rhodonite.  The forty pound boulder that it came from was recently dregged out of the Stilliguamish River, not far from La Conner, WA.  It has unusual and subtle colors of a mauve-toned pink and a soft green, along with black lines. 

In making this necklace, as with all of my necklaces, I began with the stone.  Previously, I had cut interesting pieces from a slab, or slice, of the Rhodonite.  Then in shaping the stone for the necklace, the stone is my guide.  It's fun, as I really don't know the end result until I start polishing.  I do a subtle polish, just enough to show the richness of the stone.  I choose a low gloss finish rather than a glass-like look.  The result is a natural looking stone, which relates to the smooth matte finish that I put on the sterling silver.

I fabricate the silver around the stone.  This new design "happened", as a result of the smooth, low profile stone.  The stone seems to "speak" to me.  The silver work is a result of what works together.  The parts join together to become a single unit, a Jane Penman Necklace.   

Here I used fairly thick silver behind the stone, as well as on the top, sides, and lower portions, which seemed to reflect the elegance of the stone.  In finishing I brought the silver to a high shine and then used multiple grades of a specialized micron paper to achieve the subtle and smooth matte finish.