Kristi Hyde, Jeweler

Growing up in North Alabama, I spent much of my childhood playing outside, running around in the hardwoods, making believe of all sorts of fantastic things. The Tennessee River was my sanctuary. The cotton fields were pure magic, as I imagined them to be fields of snow in their white, fluffy bloom. The lotus pods, the cypress trees, the occasional fox or deer running through our yard… it all inspired my love and respect for nature. I have been connected to the natural world from such an early age, that it is inevitable that nature, by nature, is a force within my work.

Just as my jewelry designs are a celebration of nature they are also influenced by a pulse of my urban life, my love and appreciation for antique jewelry and ornamentation, and my degree in fine art.  I describe my work as being modern vintage infused with an organic design philosophy and having a fairytale aesthetic. There is a balance in asymmetry within my designs honoring the perfect imperfections of our natural world – a broken twig, the skeleton of a leaf starting to reveal itself.

I carefully select the botanical elements I use within my work. It is their overall form and the movement it suggests that ultimately determines how and why I encapsulate them in metal and use them in my designs.  With a knowledge and background in clay sculpture, I hand sculpt each of these pieces of nature using a metal emulsion I make from precious metal clays. Each piece is made with layers upon layers of this metal emulsion, thereafter going into the kiln for the initial firing process.

Once removed from the kiln, the seemingly delicate sculptures I’ve then alchemized from their biological nature into metal are sometimes given a kiss of 22k gold plating and stone settings.  Each piece is then polished and finished by hand with a liver of sulphur patina technique I have made all my own.   I achieve dimensions of color using my patina process that give the illusion of these precious metal botanicals as being all too “real”.

I believe the attention is always in the details.  The details can be simple or complex, nevertheless, this is where the magic happens.

Not only do I feel I have an attention to detail in my selection and making of the sculptural components, it is also found in my careful selection of materials.   The shapes, facets and colors of gemstones and pearls I incorporate into a design, and the method(s) I choose to construct every necklace, bracelet, pair of earrings or ring all feel serendipitous to me.

Each of my jewelry designs has a unique story to tell and no two pieces are just alike.  I often use leaves in my designs to feel as if they are floating on water, or suspended in time. I use hydrangea blossoms to create a graceful and whimsical garland to drape around your neck or to make a corsage you can wear on a wrist or a finger.  I feel my work embraces a feminine and wild spirit as they are sensual, playful, sculptural, bohemian, beautifully uncommon and always, One of a Kind.

American Craft Council Member; Carolina Designer Craftsmen Guild Member
BFA Illustration, Savannah College of Art and Design, 1998

Recent Exhibitions:

Little Black Dress – Mona Bismarck American Center for Art & Culture, Paris
Curated by Andrè Leon Talley –  July 3 – September 22, 2014

Galleries & Boutiques:

The Aviary  Atlanta
Twelve  Atlanta
Chivaree Gallery  Cashiers, NC
The Copper Fox Gallery  Leiper’s Fork, TN
The Carriage House  Decatur, AL
The Little Green Store Gallery  Huntsville, AL
The Zoo Gallery  Sandestin & Grayton Beach, FL
Berlue Boutique   Boca Raton, FL
The Pink Rooster Gallery  Ocean Springs, MS
ShopSCAD Gallery  Savannah, GA