BSBEE DESIGNS
Interview with ArtistCloseup Magazine
“For me, I try to create little snapshots of animal life, or sometimes just open the viewer’s eyes to the beauty of unusual stones, and through this, better appreciate our planet and all that it holds, and all that may be at peril if we ignore it.”
Peaceful Marsh, pendant
“Shrinking Refuge”, pendant based on a photo which was initially not given attribution but a year later won a best photograph award. My apologies for not having the attribution
Shades of the Ocean, ring
“[...] the skills gained from carving prior to surgery training naturally informed my decision to train in plastic surgery in general, and more specifically in pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgery. My three-dimensional sense, attention to minute detail, and medical training endowed me with a different skill set than I could have built in a traditional jewelry career, including an innovative, surgically informed approach to sculptural construction.”
“My love of nature, Asian-inspired art, and Art Nouveau designs have influenced the creation of one-of-a-kind wearable sculptural pieces.”
“I have been most influenced by Lalique and the many less well known but equally creative artist of the Art Nouveau period. In addition, given the roots of Art Nouveau in Asian art, particularly the Japanese arts of the Meiji Period. ”
“Many of the polar themes have been inspired by the photography of Paul Nicklen and Christine Mittermeier, both renown National Geographic photographers and founders of Sea Legacy, as well as my personal experience traveling and photographing in both Antarctica and the Arctic.”
Chrysoprase Cicada brooch
“These themes, along with those inspired by my photographs (and others) from Africa, Asia, and South America have led me to create pieces that tell a story, and when possible, bring attention to our current climate crisis and encourage a closer look at how our lives are impacting the lives of animals on land, sea, and in the air. ”
“What is your creative process like?”
“Perhaps it is easiest to answer this by describing a collection of pieces designed around a unique stone called Marra Mamba tigereye which is a stone native to Australia, combining tigereye, jasper, and hematite. ”
On a Clear Night You Can Almost See the Bear, pendant (pictured above and below)
“Slices of these gems create amazing images of canyons at night, and western landscapes. My first view of one of these stones immediately called up the image of an owl in flight, lit by a lightning bolt, and I carved the owl and set it in the scene (Night Flight).”
“More recently another piece almost matched an image of a night sky in Sedona, with the sky filled with stars. The piece I created, used a similar theme but reduced the multiple stars to the Big Dipper creating the constellation with inlaid diamonds, but then set the stone in a frame which has bear created by chasing in silver. The piece is titled, ‘On a Clear Night you can almost see the Bear’ [...]”
Jelly Love, pendant
“Not infrequently, a ‘picture’ in a particular stone, will lend itself directly to [...] the creation of my ‘mini, wearable, sculptures.’”
American Craft Exhibition (2010)
Wells Gallery at the Sanctuary Hotel, Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Faust Gallery, Sante Fe, New Mexico
Milan Jewelry Week (2022)
Night Flight, pendant
Canyon Wren on the Canyon Rim, pendant
Exhibition History
For art exhibition or publication outreach, custom jewelry inquiries, use of images, or other general questions regarding my work and experience, please feel free to reach me:
bruce@bsbeedesigns.com
“Another large opal piece featured the colors of the deep sea, and I wanted to create a jellyfish. While I thought to make the bell of the jelly in silver, I carved it in quarts to get the translucence of a jellyfish, and then when placed on the opal surface, while lines within the opal suddenly created the tentacles of the jellyfish.”