River Market ArtSpace

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Nancy Brillos Henderson and her dog Skye	I discovered the art of self adornment with jewelry at an early age. Thanks to my Aunt Joy and her great fun passion for collecting and wearing jewelry. Auntie’s top dresser drawer was a treasure chest full of worldly colorful exotic jewelry she had collected on her travels. If I behaved myself, I was allowed to open her drawer and try on her treasures. I remember gazing into the drawer, studying each piece, and wondering its origin. Who wears this kind of jewelry? How should I wear this piece? I knew then jewelry was a special language, it told stories of places and people I didn’t know of, told of how people could communicate through the jewelry they wore. I was hooked. I had found a new language for expressing myself: the language of jewelry.
Years later, only one thing has changed about the way I view jewelry. I now design and create my own language through jewelry. My passion for self-expression with jewelry has extended into an even deeper self-fulfilling desire to create the pieces myself. I like working with various kinds of metal, like gold, silver, or unique combination metal such as mokame gane, a metal originating in Japan for sword-making. Each metal has its own unique characteristics when working with it; its own language. I am naturally drawn to ancient works of jewelry which were produced using many of the same metals and techniques I study today. Some forms of techniques I use are repousse, forging, casting, and fabricating. Looking at the old world jewelry, you will notice a variety of surface decorations for the metal. I enjoy the study and practice of these many decoration techniques as well. For example: granulation, reticulation, and Keum boo. When it comes to color, I love it. I usually apply color in the form of stones - being precious or found stones - that I might apply my lapidary skills on to custom fit the design. Other methods of color I use include enamels, colored pencils, and patinas for coloring the metal. In an earlier part of my life, I had the chance to take many design classes while earning a degree in ornamental horticulture. At that time I was applying design concepts to landscapes, using plants, rocks, and water. I find now that when designing jewelry all the same principles apply, I just change the materials. One added challenge of designing jewelry over landscapes is that jewelry must be wearable for the person using it. The design and materials might be perfect but if the fit isn’t comfortable it doesn’t work. Each piece of jewelry I make is a self-expression for me - a special language to communicate with. I hope the language of my jewelry will express itself to the pleasure of each who wears it. Jewelry artist Nancy Brillos Henderson lives and works on Wye Mountain, along with her horses, cats, dogs, guineas, and husband. Many design ideas for her jewelry are sparked from the everyday surroundings of rural living. Nancy wakes up to colorful gardens of collected plants including many old rose varieties. Unique sculptural pieces scattered throughout the grounds of the residence accent the gardens of color. Acres full of woods and wildlife add depth and drama to the scene while grassy pastures along with native wild flowers dot the overlying view. The huge expanse of sky that can be seen in this rural setting, offers sunsets unmatched anywhere with cloud formations galore. At night the sky encompasses all, releasing unlimited and unstoppable viewing of stars for unending imagination.

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