Paz Sandoval
Garras/Wood Earrings
Foraged American sycamore
Hand carved and charred wood and sterling silver
Tree coordinates: 39.95184ÃÆ''Ã'Ã'° N, 75.20819ÃÆ''Ã'Ã'°W
1 3/4" x 5/8" x 1 1/2"

Artist Statement

A tree will tell you a story about life, growth and death

Essential to the air we breath, magnificent, strong, patient, and almost invisible to us, trees are silent witnesses to our life's events.
To turn a tree on a lathe is to reveal a story about growth, reproduction and death. I forage local trees after they have been taken down by arborists and storms. Each piece has the recorded coordinates of that tree's geographical location.
In 2019 driven by a strong desire to create from the materials that surround me, I embarked on a journey to explore the natural ecosystem of my city. I collected fallen logs and branches while I taught myself carving and wood turning. My work is exclusively made from species that are native to Philadelphia's rich and diverse urban canopy predominantly found in parks, cemeteries, vacant lots, and tree-lined streets.

To be adorned is to tell a story about one's identity

Jewelry is theatrical in nature and gives the individual the power to construct an idealized version of the self.
To be adorned is simultaneously a personal and public act of creating and expressing one's identity.
When we embellish our bodies, we are making a deliberate choice about how we present and perceive ourselves, and what we want to communicate to the world.

Artist Bio

Influenced by the punk counterculture movement of my youth I started making jewelry as a way of expressing my individualism and nonconformity. I make things in the tradition of the decorative arts and often borrow techniques from what is historically referred to as "women"s craft". My recent work in wood is an attempt to connect with the natural world of my urban surroundings.

In the late '80s I moved from Spain to the States to study at Tyler School of Art.

I am a full-time artist living and working in Philadelphia.

Donated By The Artist

https://www.pazsandoval.com/