Hello, My name Suzan Rezac. I am a goldsmith, a jeweler, and a graduate from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. I have a master’s degree in Light Metals, AKA jewelry.

In front of you are exhibited three of some of my favorite pieces.

Let’s start with necklace titled SHATTERED.

This complex piece is about COVID 19 and the havoc it wrecked on our lives. It is also about loss and the imperfection of memories, symbolized through the shard-like shapes.

Sometime ago I lost my father. After his death I had to clean his house. He left behind a substantial amount of personal items: handkerchiefs, ties, letters, newspapers, scarfs, books, photographs, and so on…

Some of those objects brought back memories, but the memories were vague, imperfect. For instance, for which occasion did he wear this tie? Why did he read this particular book? When did he put this beautiful handkerchief in his pocket? It was simply impossible to have a complete recollection.  All that remained were broken pieces of residual patterns, like an impossible puzzle that cannot be pieced together.

Shattered is constructed and inlaid. By constructed I mean that each “bead” that comprises the necklace is hallow, not solid. Otherwise it would be too heavy to wear.

The inlay, or otherwise unfortunately called “marriage of metals” is a technique that uses different types of contrasting metal alloys. A negative shape is sawed out and its positive form is tightly fitted and soldered in the negative space. After soldering the pieces are sanded, waxed, drilled and strung together to form the neckpiece. The colors are brought up through the use of a patina.

Some of the materials used in in this piece are traditional Japanese metal alloys, shakudo is the black one, shibuchi the grey.  I like to use the color of the metals as a painter would use her palette.

Inlay is an exacting technique, with hundreds of soldered joints this piece took a few months to complete.

THE ECLIPSE

There was such a stir when the 2017 full eclipse of the sun happened.  I just had to make a piece about the event.

In retrospect the protective glasses one had to wear to observe the sun made me think of masks. As if the sun wore a black onet to shield it’s radiant face from the aggressive moon.

As in all of my work this piece is constructed and hallow.  The technique used in this necklace is called Keum boo. This ancient procedure was developed in Korea. Koreans believed that pure gold had healing properties. The wealthy Koreans would have eating utensils made out of gold, so when food touched the gold the health qualities were passed to the diner.

The less wealthy couldn’t afford such lavish expenses, so it is that’s how keum boo was invented.

A very thin sheet of 24K gold can be smoothed onto a plate of slightly heated fine silver. The bond is permanent.

In this pieces the fine silver has been oxidized black, contrasting with the bright color of the gold.

THE CASTLE RING

I like big rings. 

This ring is about height and endurance. It has several sources of inspiration.

The opening credits of “Game of Thrones,” a Jacques Brel song, and a trip to France.

It is after a trip to the Bordeaux region of France that I created this ring. So many medieval castles peppered the landscape, seemingly precariously perched onto steep cliffs and rock outcroppings. Reaching the sky, they have endured for centuries.

Jacques Brel wrote a song titled “Le Plat Pays qui est le Mien.”  In this song he sings about his birth country, so flat and dull, where the only mountains to be seen are sky reaching cathedrals, as mountains reaching the sky and lasting for centuries.

It is the usual norm that a man gives a ring to a woman. Usually a shy ring with the traditional diamond. Personally, I would prefer to receive a castle, a symbol of enduring love.

Thank you for your attention, and enjoy the rest of the show.