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I am a Mendocino County jeweler working mainly in silver, semi-precious
stones, and pearls. My style ranges from the traditional to the modern,
and is completely unique. All of my pieces are individually handmade, and
are therefore one-of-a-kind or in small series with repeating motifs. My
training is with David Laplantz at Humboldt State University, at Monterey
Peninsula College, and various Mendocino Art Center workshops and
assistantships.
I am presently working with my company Ling-Yen designs and my website
www.ling-yendesigns.com.
I have curated and exhibited in several shows in the past. I also have
shown in Point Arena CityArt Center, The Pacific Grove Art Center, and The
Mendocino Art Center. I am featured in the winter 2000 issue of
Metalsmith, and The Monterey Herald Life & Times 2001.
I define jewelry as creations which are useful, artistic, symbolic,
identifying, and an expression of personal ideas. In my earring line some
of the motifs I use are leaves, birds, and windows. When these elements
and others are integrated into a piece they can represent new beginnings,
changes, hope, and further growth in oneself. The materials that I enjoy
using most are sterling silver, copper, gold, pearls, and semiprecious
stones. My intentions for each one-of-a-kind piece are that it is clean
looking, distinctive, and artistically rendered.
The pieces with the Asian-like faces are inspired by the feminine,
graceful, and romantic scenes of the Ukiyo-E period of Japanese art. The
piece Unmentionables has different faces, all expressions of surprise,
serenity, wonder, and ecstasy. On the back of the piece there are hidden
hand cut flowers, roller printed leaf patterns, and scenes of paired
lovers. Ukiyo-E, or images of the floating world were representations of
the everyday life of Japan in the 16th through the 19th centuries. This
piece brings together my own interest in the expressive power of faces,
while exploring the serenity and grace of the everyday in my own time.
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