Coily Long Drops

steel, 14k gold-fill

3 ½” X 3/8”

The Coily Chain series is inspired by the (sometimes) organized chaos that is wavy curly hair. It is made possible by a technique of coiling wire that gives me a wavy irregular pattern. I assemble the coils with contrasting gold rings to form a loose, perhaps wild and hard-to-control chain. For the earrings, I cut and coax these coils into smaller shapes, and combine them with gold in multiple ways, including: the gold links used in the full chains, ear backs/wires, fusing, soldering, and gilding. These shapes evolve from both traditional jewelry shapes and sculptural ones, and are scaled for the face. Working in steel, I consider that I am able to express the juxtaposition of strength and femininity in jewelry. As steel is lightweight and strong, it allows me the freedom to experiment and create larger original pieces, in a contemporary industrial style.

Artist bio:
Susanne Henry is a jewelry artist and metalsmith in Chicago. She works in steel, exploring structure, form, scale, movement, and technique. Susanne graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Industrial Design. She is a self-taught artist who has exhibited in many juried and curated exhibitions, including MAD About Jewelry in New York. She was featured in the article, Coming of Age, in Metalsmith Magazine in 2020.