Mistletoe + Merlot – Aiken, SC – November 18 & 19, 2021

merlot & mistletoe

aiken standard

Mistletoe + Merlot Holiday Shopping Market – Aiken, SC

Join me for the Aiken Standard’s 4th Annual Mistletoe + Merlot holiday shopping event! It will be hosted at Newberry Hall in historic, downtown Aiken, South Carolina on Thursday, November 18 and Friday, November 19. This Holiday Market will feature forty vendors, including artists and artisans, selling a wide variety of handcrafted and boutique gift items and will give attendees a head start on their holiday shopping. It will be a ticketed event in order to limit the number of guests. I hope to see my Aiken friends there!

The information for this fun shopping event is below.

Thursday, November 18  from 6-9pm – Preview Party

Tickets are $25 and include one drink ticket and souvenir wineglass, cheeseboard and shopping bag for the first 200 guests. Heavy hors devours, desserts and wine and beer will also be available.

Purchase tickets for the Thursday Preview Party at https://tickets.aikenstandard.com/e/mistletoe-and-merlot-holiday-preview-party

Friday, November 19 from 9am-5pm – All Day Shopping

General Admission tickets are $5 for the entire day. Light snacks will be served.

Purchase tickets for Friday at https://tickets.aikenstandard.com/e/mistletoe-and-merlot-holiday-shopping-event-2

Newberry Hall

117 Newberry Street SW

Aiken, SC 29801

 

Helena Fox Fine Art Show – November 5 & 6, 2021

helena fox fine art helena fox fine art gallery

Helena Fox Fine Art – Charleston, SC

Helena Fox Fine Art represents my handcrafted silver designs and regularly carries a curated selection of my silver hollowware, flatware, home objects, and jewelry in their stunning historic, downtown Charleston art gallery. They are hosting a special event featuring my artwork on Friday, November 5 from 4pm-7pm and Saturday, November 6 from 11am-4pm.

I will exhibit a wider variety of my silver objects, original jewelry designs, and Christmas ornaments than what the gallery usually shows during this special holiday shopping event. I hope to see you there!

Helena Fox Fine Art

106A Church Street

Charleston, SC 29401

843-723-0073

www.helenafoxfineart.com

Save the Date!

Save the Date for Holiday Trunk Shows!

trunk show

This fall and holiday season I have a great line up of trunk shows scheduled, so please save the date! Below are the events I have scheduled so far and more details will be posted on my website Blog closer to the dates.

Helena Fox Fine Art – Charleston, SC – Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6

Mistletoe & Merlot – Aiken, SC – Thursday, November 18 from 6pm-9pm and Friday, November 19 from 9am-5pm

Silver Showing with The Charleston Silver Lady – Lexington, SC – Wednesday, December 8

 

Silver Sculpture Commission

Mother Earth Custom Silver Sculpture

silver sculpture

hand engraved

Mother Earth is a sterling silver sculpture my client Jim Johnson of New Castle, Delaware custom commissioned. Jim has commissioned numerous projects from me over the years and came to me with the idea for Mother Earth. It was inspired by an idea his late twin brother, who was an artist and welder, had years ago. The concept for Mother Earth was based on the idea all life originates from planet Earth. Jim wanted to honor his brother with this sculpture and he was very specific about the design down to every last detail. Based on his description of it from conversations and design sessions we had together, I drew the sculpture to scale of the actual object. After receiving Jim’s feedback and tweaking the design until it was exactly what he had in mind, I set about making it.

silver globesilver globe

Mother Earth is one of the most complex objects I have ever made and required many different technical processes. The 8″ diameter globe element was fabricated with silver wire for the longitude lines and silver sheet for the hand pierced continents. The waterspout and baby were both carved from wax and sent to a high quality casting company in North Carolina. The company made molds of each and cast them in sterling silver. The umbilical cord was made from silver wire and connects to the back of North America where Delaware is located. The finial on top was fabricated with silver sheet and hand engraved with the title Mother Earth on both sides of the sign. The entire sculpture was hand polished to a high shine, mirror finish.

silver art

silver waterspout

silver baby

This project required an immense amount of problem solving and was very time consuming to make, but I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. Working with Jim on this special project was a great experience and I sent him regular progress reports with images of the sculpture in process. It truly was a collaborative project and I appreciated his thoughtful feedback each step of the way. When I delivered it to him and he got the see it in person for the first time, to my delight, he was thrilled!

If you are interested in commissioning a custom object or jewelry piece from me, then please check out my website Commission page that has examples of drawings and finished pieces. My Commission Policy outlines the details of commissioning me to make something unique and special for you. Thank you for your interest in my work!

 

New Gorget Jewelry Series

New Gorget Jewelry Series

gorget pendant

Gorget Pendant Large

For the Daughters of the American Revolution American Heritage Competition “Rise, and Shine Your Light on Your Revolutionary War Patriot”, I designed and created a silver necklace based on my great-great-great-great-great grandfather Captain Joshua Hadley’s military service during the Revolutionary War. The design process required a lot of research and thought, which I thoroughly enjoyed and learned a lot from. To my great surprise and esteemed honor, it was awarded First Place in the Jewelry category and later received a South Carolina House of Representatives House Resolution. Details about both can be read on this Blog page. The necklace garnered such a positive response that I decided to do a spin off jewelry series based on one of the necklace elements, the Gorget.

The Gorget traces its history back to medieval times when it was worn as a piece of armor around the neck to protect the throat. Over time the shape, size, and function changed and by the 17th century it became a symbol of rank among military officers of many countries. At this point it was suspended around the neck with a chain or ribbon and was purely decorative.

silver gorget pendant

Gorget Pendant Small

The white crescent shape on the South Carolina flag is thought to be partly inspired by the Gorget. The original flag flown during the American Revolution Battle of Sullivan’s Island in Charleston, SC on June 28, 1776 had a blue background with the white crescent in the upper left hand corner. The flag played a prominent role in the battle that day and the Americans successfully defeated the British, which was a turning point in the war and led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

My contemporary interpretation of this historic form was inspired by its prominence during the American Revolutionary War in which my great-great-great-great-great grandfather Captain Joshua Hadley was a Continental Army officer. He participated in many important battles throughout the American Revolution, including the Battle of Sullivan’s Island. I feel the Gorget is my way of honoring that important event in American history and my ancestor. It also speaks to the place in which I live and Charleston’s important role in the early days of the American republic.

gorget earrings

Gorget Earrings

This new jewelry collection includes two pendants and one pair of post style earrings. Shop the new series and my other silver jewelry designs in my website store Jewelry category.