Kelly Morgen - About the Artist

Medium

Portfolio

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» Greek Goddesses
» Other Goddesses
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Kelly Morgen’s jewelry is designed to celebrate the ancient tradition of storytelling. Each necklace imparts a unique tale from the world's many different mythologies and legends, centering around the most resonate characters. In a world where disenchantment often abounds, she attempts to create a small niche where the fairy tales told by long-forgotten bedsides come alive again. These fables are, and have always been, a necessary part of the human experience: from the first fires of early man to modern-day Disney, we organize and clarify our own life events against the framework of these fundamental stories.

She begins each necklace by hand-sawing her design from sterling silver. She individually adds the 18k gold details (whether extra layers of fabric, a crown, or a smoke spiral) onto this silver base with a flame torch. Next she carves the goddess' face from an antique piano key and scrimshaws her features on top with a diamond-tipped pen. She then dons a combination of gas mask, goggles, head scarf, and apron, and proceeds to "buff" the necklace: a task which involves a rapidly spinning cloth wheel that polishes the metal to a lustrous finish. Finally, she beads the pendant using freshwater pearls, garnets, amber, turquoise, labradorite, or black sapphires, arranged in a unique pattern specific to each different necklace. Each necklace is signed individually on the bottom, to authenticate its originality.

She channels all her passion and emotion into every piece: love, sadness, frustration, exaltation... at one time or another, they all go into her work to produce fullest, richest art she possibly can.

Artist’s Statement:

"As an artist, I aim to celebrate the divine feminine by exploring the psychological relevance of ancient mythology through a visual medium. Each of my necklaces imparts a unique tale from the world's vast bank of legends, centering around the fables that are still a necessary part of the human experience today. By using a variety of precious metals, natural cabochons, gemstones, and ivory from recycled piano keys, I design and craft necklaces that honor this ancient tradition of storytelling.

I employ both aspects of my unique training from an Italian master goldsmith and a Cherokee shaman to create work that embodies a rare combination of the sacred and the contemporary. I begin each necklace by hand-sawing my design from sterling silver, next individually soldering 18K gold details on this base. I then carve the goddess' face from an antique piano key and scrimshaw her features on top with a diamond-tipped pen, before beading the pendant with freshwater pearls and signing the bottom. All these processes follow either the artisan traditions of the Florentine jewelers or the Native American silversmiths, further emphasizing the influence of cultural history that defines my artwork."