My Stone Art Jewelry necklaces feature unique stones that I have organically cut and shaped. They are then finished with polishing that is low sheen. Some of the polishing is achieved with polishing wheels and belts on lapidary equipment. Next, a slow 12" leather covered wheel with a polishing compound follows. The final touch is the use of diamond polishing compounds on a flex-shaft power handpiece. The number of polishing steps varies with the stones, as some stones are more difficult to polish than others. I want to bring out the best of the natural characteristics of each stone, but not so much shine that it takes on an artifical, glass-like appearance.
From here, another magical stage gets underway with sterling silver. Sometimes I know immediately how I want to enhance the stone with silver. Sometimes I have drawn it out either for this stone in particular or at another time without a particular stone in mind. But often, I just start playing with tempered silver rods and find out what works together. At this point the silver and stone elements seem to belong together, become a unit. The elements of stone and silver seem to guide me. This is the magic. They are now "Landscape in Architecture"....... a Jane Penman Necklace.
Smalls Jane Penman necklaces are scaled down in the "Smalls Collections". There is a smaller stone, tube, and cord. Because of the size there are some special designs. One such style is a narrow Bridge of silver rods with the stone riveted to a sterling back piece.
Singles, or single stone necklaces is the basic necklace that I first made before I began Stone Art Jewelry. The necklace is all about the stone. It consists of the stone, a tube for the cord, and the cord. I use silver that is heavier than the norm for both the bezel that wraps the stone and for the silver sheet that becomes the back of the necklace. The tubes, whether curved or straight, are individually chosen for each piece. Many sizes of tubes are often tried before getting the one that is balanced with the piece. I use three diameters of tubes and two thicknesses of cords. The rubber cords are a standard 18" length but 16", 20", and 24" are also available. Custom lenghts can also be made.
Beach Rocks Before I began cutting and shaping stones, my first necklaces featured beach rocks. With the vast array and infinite subtlities of beach rocks, I continue to make necklaces with beach rocks. I was influenced by growing up in Seattle with regular trips to the Pacific and Puget Sound beaches. Now I can walk to the beach, but my favorite beach is only fifteen minutes away. Yearly, I make my way to the beaches of the Olympic Peninsula and way up the coast of British Columbia to the "Sunshine Coast". Each beach has it's own characteristic type of rocks. In my studio my beach rock bins are labeled with the beach names.
