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43 ORNAMENT 38.1.2015 David Updike "We hiked through the forest there, and I picked up seed pods and brought them back. Out of a whim, I put them in the kiln and burned them out and cast them.* And I just started experimenting with them." The success of these early experiments led her to push further in this direction. In addition to the pods, you will also find butterfly wings, cactus leaves, magnolia buds, and star anise, among many other forms, cleverly integrated into her designs. Some of these elements remain very much what they are, like the tiny bees that appear on many pieces, looking like they have just landed to extract some nectar from the glistening stones and precious metals. Other forms are more abstracted, as in the Monarch Necklace, on which the elegant butterfly-wing patterns are inlaid in twenty-two karat gold into sections of smooth oxidized silver, the contours of their joining accentuated with constellations of small diamonds. Sometimes a stone takes center stage, as in the Ruby Cuff, which features a bold ruby in an oval frame of lustrous twenty-two karat gold studded with diamonds. Branching Out From The Natural World This is set atop a cuff of oxidized silver with the abstracted monarch-wing pattern inlaid in eighteen karat gold. A moonstone ring, meanwhile, features a milky-white orb set in a thick, diamond-strewn eighteen karat gold overlay that seems to flow like lava over the grooved patterns in the oxidized silver below. In the radiant Mexican Fire Opal Necklace, the deep vermilion gem appears to erupt from within its setting, like a glowing sun captured in a delicate frame of silver twigs and flowers. "This piece has more of a Victorian flavor than most of the line," notes Myers. "I carved the branches. I will often take natural elements, manipulate them, cast them and include them. However, these branches were modeled in wax after bamboo. Oftentimes natural forms are too heavy to be wearable or comfortable. This was the case in this piece." The ubiquitous bees in Myers's recent work seem like an apt mascot for the industrious artist herself. But they also carry a more ecological message: An avid gardener, she is aware of the crucial role these delicate creatures play in our survival. "There would be no garden without "The collection is about contrasts in texture, color and materials."