FAR NORTH DRY GOODS

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The Terrain Series

A closeup of one of the terrain pendants. This one is longer than it is wide, with multiple layers of silver stacked and fused to each other to create that appears to be a stylized contour map.

The Terrain Series draws inspiration from the winter landscape. During winter, snow softens the contours of the ground and seems to reshape them as wind drifts and strips the snow across the land throughout the season. These pieces started out as experiments to capture the experience of standing in the midst of an expanse of snow-covered ground, with smooth and occasionally lumpy layers that glint and sparkle in the sunlight.

The same elongated terrain pendant as shown above, but from a different angle.
The clasp and catch of the elongated terrain pendant.
A foreshortened view of the elongated terrain pendant to emphasize the textures.

I tried various shapes to frame each mini terrain. The pendant below has a trillion shape and is formed on a convex curve to compliment the layered contours.

A closeup of the trillion-shaped pendant with its silver rollo chain.
Another closeup of the trillion-shaped pendant with its silver rollo chain, taken from a different perspective .
Another closeup of the trillion-shaped pendant with its silver rollo chain, taken from yet another perspective .

Each pendant is made from sterling silver that is layered together and fused until the silver becomes distressed on the surface to mimic the texture of snow-covered ground.

A pendant with a round frame.
A different pendant, but with a round frame of similar size to the pervious image.

Lighting ends up being the most critical element for each pendant. Dramatic lighting changes how to contours appear from every direction. Conversely, flat lighting gives imparts a flat and muted appearance, just as the sun plays on the landscape outside. None of this is a revelation, but it is interesting to see the phenomenon play out on such a small scale.