Sterling Silver/Fine Silver

This piece was inspired by the elaborately patterned nests made by paper wasps, beautiful works of art that rouse feeling of both marvel and alarm simultaneously. I was attempting to push the lines of filigree in scale and dimension with this sculpture, with the filigree filler wire set in the frames in “waves”, a departure away from the more traditional scroll technique that I had been previously using.

This was a labor of love that took about two years, working on it while I was making other projects. It was finally finished it in time for the 2024 SNAG conference Adorned Spaces exhibition “Connected by Tradition”, which included seven artist showing their individual skills and styles in filigree.

The Paper Wasp Nest has been exhibited at the 2024 CraftForms Exhibition in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It has also voted “Best Use of Nature” by my SNAG (Society of North American Goldsmiths) peers, an amazing honor.