Like most children, during sunny days I filled my pockets with shiny river stones and shells. At night I watched the moon rise, a silver sphere with pockets of shadow. These are the things, along with copper (which seems almost liquid to my eyes and fingers) that inspire my jewellery designs — the natural things of earth and sea.

Stones have always held my imagination, drawing me to them, their creation embedded in the universe’s impetus to become.  When Earth herself began swirling, her core becoming dense with molten elements, the mysteries that started with an infinitely small spark of energy had begun to manifest. In the 13 to 15 billion years that followed, the semi-precious gemstones I use in my jewellery were created.

The organic shape of shells has changed little from fossils found embedded in limestone worn away by wind and water. Abalone swirls with blue and green hues, highlighted (it seems) with the rosy glow of dawn and dusk, while mother-of-pearl glistens like the moon’s reflection in water. Coral, like shells, come from biological processes that result in mineral matter. Shells and coral find their way into my jewellery.

Finally, I sometimes include glass baubles, man-made crystals, and fair trade Kazuri beads in my creations. Compared with the eons it took for stones to form and the ancient art of pottery-making, glass is relatively new. Inspired by rock quartz, the making of clear glass was not perfected until the Middle Ages.

So these are the materials you’ll find in my jewellery: stones, coral and shells, sterling silver (a reminder of Grandmother Moon), copper (probably the first metal to be used by humans, according to the Smithsonian), and occasionally glass, Swarovski and Czech crystals, and fair trade Kazuri beads of African clay. The patterns that I tend to replicate from nature are curves and circles. When you hold these pieces of jewellery — made to adorn your body and sooth your soul — imagine all that has gone into their making.

Discover Kathryn’s jewellery

Saturday, September 27: Kathryn will be at Bloomfield for the last time this season. Look for my canopy in front of Hand Works on Main Street.

Saturday and Sunday, October 4-5: Stop by Kathryn’s home and studio (during the Tweed & Area Studio Tour) at 6770 Old Hwy 2 – about 5 km east of Shannonville. Look for the silo with the green and white striped roof and the yellow farmhouse.

Saturday, October 25: Look for Kathryn at the Trent Hill Grannies for Africa Jewellery Show and Sale, St. John’s Auditorium, Bridge Street West at Canrobert St., Campbellford.

Saturday and Sunday, November 1-2, 8-9: Kathryn’s jewellery will be on display in the tea room at the 30^th Annual Country Christmas Craft and Gift Show and Sale, The Farm House, Green Point, County Road 35 (east past the bridge over the Bay of Quinte at Hwy 49), Prince Edward County.

Saturday and Sunday, November 8-9: Kathryn will be at the 17^th Annual Christmas Craft Show & Sale, Picton Arena – Community Hall, 375 Main St., Picton.

Friday through Sunday, November 28-30, Kathryn will conclude the season with Creativity Kingston, Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, Kingston.

In addition to these events, discover Kathryn’s jewellery at ArtPlus Gallery, Belleville, and at the Galloping Goat, Black River, Prince Edward County.

More pictures of Kathryn's work