Catherine Joan Petersen

Originally from Scotland, Catherine Joan Petersen has had 25 years of living in Alaska to provide inspiration for her block printed jewelry. Joan's journey to Anchorage, Alaska had many stops along the way including Germany and Panama but one destination stands out as the catalyst for the jewelry that Joan creates today. While studying graphic desi... gn in California she received a scholarship to study the ancient art of wood block printing in Taiwan. This left a lasting impression and encouraged the development of the same discipline of printmaking but on a minute scale. Joan's jewelry features a combination of graphic black images set on vibrant backgrounds of luxurious and resilient color. Wrappings of sparkling beads and silver wire unite to compliment the motifs on the earrings and necklaces. This medium is unique in the marketplace today and the delicate balance of both Alaskan and abstract, contemporary images appeal to a wide range of tastes from those who enjoy subtle or classic, whimsical or funky. Labor intensive and completely made by hand, Joan manufactures all of her jewelry by hand. The artwork for each design is sketched and then hand carved into a block. The base layer of each jewelry tile is a polymer which must be prepared and then pigmented prior to receiving the image itself. A thick layer of resin gives the glossy, luminous appearance but not the weight of heavy glass. Joan enjoys the creativity that jewelry design has offered her and is rewarded by seeing the product progress from a sketch to its finished form as wearable art. Joan's jewelry is meant to be worn every day and it is her wish that the recipients of these pieces of art have as much fun wearing them as she has had traveling the world that inspired their creation.Read More