Volcano Art Center’s “Tiny Treasures” Exhibit Statement

for The Jewel Within by daniel edward rokovitz

You might think that living on the water of an island paradise, next to the most active source of creation on the planet would provide endless inspiration for an artist…and for many I know it does. My inspiration though often comes simply from the gem material I have on hand at any given moment...Mother Nature’s bounty seen through a gem cutter’s eye.   With a quick glance, a color or a cut stands out; intuition takes over; materials pair up like magnets, and a new piece begins to materialize.  Since I couldn't choose "special enough" pieces for my first invitational exhibit from the hundreds I had on hand, with the intention of creating a grouping specifically for the exhibit, I started from scratch. 

A single bead, that’s all it takes…in this case, the last bead from a strand of spectacular, natural hexagonal crystal quartz spires with a natural copper colored shading to the surfaces, cut like thick slices of bread…it was removed from an otherwise flawless strand due to a chip in the stone.  But, if one person’s trash is another’s treasure, and beauty is seen through the eye of the beholder, why not re-purpose it to create something…"special"?!?  Marry it with a Tahitian black pearl and some mixed rutiled quartz beads (crystal quartz with needles of accent minerals in colors of golden yellow, copper, black and green),...and a lovely pendant necklace appears as if on it’s own.

Pairing the mixed rutiled quartz beads with other focal materials was the logical move to create a cohesive grouping, and luckily an amazing fossilized seashell covered with drusy crystallization (a carpet of tiny calcite crystals), and a pair of olive green quartz “quills” met the call for inspiration.  A very neutral color palette for the group resulted, quite lovely and easily wearable, but not necessarily representative of my work overall.  I kept thinking to myself, “Where is the multi-hue tourmaline I so often use, and is such a great seller at the Art Center?  Will these be well received?  Are they special…enough?” 

It dawned on me while falling asleep one night, that there was an incredibly subtle theme recurring with these materials…the rutiled needles, the pearls, and the drusy were all forms of jewels encased in other materials.  They mirror my moniker, The Jewel Within, as they can symbolize the strengths and talents we possess as our own jewels within.  They can represent the hidden beauty nature and life have to offer, and artfully allude to the tiny treasures for which this show was named.  Although I didn't realize any of this while the work came together, trusting my intuition produced some truly unusual and beautiful artisan jewelry…representational, yet special…and in line with the show’s theme.  I suppose all artists question their choices…and trusting the art is our best way to answer.