Artist Paulette Brooks presents a delightfully quirky portfolio of sculptural mixed media wearable art. See more of her work by visiting her website.
“Isolation Island: Sculpture #8 Man on Green Island” quartz, herkimer diamond, agate, figurine, rhinestone, moss, lucite, wood/glass cloche, 2.25″ x 1.25″ x 2″
To be an artist and creator, imagination is one of the obvious essentials, along with vision, talent, and perseverance.
“Isolation Island: Cuff #4″, walnut, ancient tusk, green fluorite, Russian cabochon, green road tile, moss, rosewood, figurines 5″ x 3.5″ x 4”
As a jewelry artist and designer of wearable art, I’ve always let my imagination run wild. I seek out new ways of looking at ornament and accessory… practicality be damned! The need to create is visceral and real.
“Isolation Island: Sculpture #60 Size Matters” tourmaline, ebony, gold cone spike, figurines, 3.5″ x 2.5″ x 1.75″
Many of my works sprung forth as “playthings” when my hands could not stand being idle or when my eyes just couldn’t stand one more second staring at a computer screen.
“Isolation Island: Ring #6 Lady on Gold Rock” oak wood with moss, bark, wood, rock, miniature figurines, sphalerite, 3.75″ x 2″ x 4″
I like to experiment with a variety of materials, both traditional and non-traditional. They range from recycled elements and discards to precious and semiprecious gemstones. I especially appreciate minerals in their raw and unpolished state. The diversity of patterns and textures, the magnificence of a crystalline world living inside a wonderful geode, and the spectrum of intense colors they display, are a visual and wearable pleasure.
“Isolation Island: Ring with Moss Dome #2 Bathing Suit Lady on Towel” rosewood, moss, figurine, 2″ x 1.5″ x 2.75″
As with my jewelry designs, these works are composed of unusual materials, found objects, and minerals. Some of the pieces are fashioned as wearable art, others as miniature sculptures. They were inspired during days isolated due to the Covid pandemic. I took many lone walks, always picking up discarded bits of debris along the way. and I observed people as they formed their own singular little pods on the park lawns.
“Isolation Island: Cuff #1″ pine wood, tile, metal, boardwalk wood, spring, string, glass, pyrite, herkimer diamond, figurines, moss, rhinestone, 6″ x 3.5″ x 6”
Each piece depicts an Isolation Island where miniature figures live off-the-grid, isolated amongst these found objects, wooden supports, grassy pods and crystalline structures. Each is meant to elicit a tiny story. Set, as in a one-frame scene from a film, you are drawn into the intimacy of the setting and left to ponder these little people who distance themselves on their own tiny islands.
“Isolation Island: Ring #8 Ladies with Bark” oak wood with moss, pyrite, metal, rock, tile, rhinestone, miniature figurines, 4.5″ x 1.5″ x 2.5″
My jewelry has been featured in editorials in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Times and a variety of craft and jewelry journals such as Ornament Magazine, Hand/Eye and the Contemporary Jewelry Handbook.
“Isolation Island: Sculpture #9 Black Girl on Island” grossular, herkimer diamond, agate, figurine, rhinestone, moss, lucite, wood, 2″ x 1.25″ x 1.75″
Additionally, my work has been shown in galleries throughout the United States and around the world. They include The Folk Art Museum of New York, the galleries at The Fashion Institute of Technology, Andrew Edlin Gallery in New York City, Eleni Marneri Galerie in Athens, Greece, Artistar in Milan, Italy and ICKS Contemporary Jewelry in Bruxelles, Belgium.
Paulette Brooks invites you to follow her on Crevado, and her other projects.
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