Alishan Halebian
Jitter Bug Cuff
Water buffalo horn,
18K white and yellow
gold, freshwater pearls,
diamonds, rubies
PHOTO: SARA REYAlishan Haleb
Jitter Bug Cuf
Water buffalo
18K white and
gold, freshwat
diamonds, rub
PHOTO: SARA RETrends
boundaries.” “It was fun to make, and
it is fun to wear!”
Along those lines, Paul Klecka cre-
ated a multi-jet fusion plastic PA12,
which is nylon plastic infused with
glass bead that improves product
stiff ness and structural integrity.
“Removing the precious value of this
cuff forces the viewer to consider
the inspiration, artistry and concept
without the distraction of material
value,” Klecka describes, noting that
the cuff is structured completely of
concave dots, pure and elemental,
sans embellishment.
With a sense of humor, Jennifer
Rabe Morin’s Splat ring, created
in sterling silver, black jade and
baroque pearl, has a kitschy, relic
appeal. “It reminds me of a polka
dot falling from a distance and
landing on a hard surface to its
current form,” she describes. Also
playful is Elizabeth Garvin’s polkadot brooch, inspired by a vintage,
oversized playful pair of sunglasses
by Gucci with a polka dot-covered
wedge-shape. The design is built out
in layers of gold and silver from a
sail-shaped black onyx drusy, framed
with black diamond accents.
Inspired by movement, Mark
Schneider enjoyed pondering the
fl oating circles of a lava lamp as his
muse, refl ected in a green bubble
quartz drop, accented with round
multi-color diamonds and chrome
diopside set in 14K yellow gold.
Infl uenced by dance, Alishan
Halebian created his Jitterbug cuff
bracelet in organic water buff alo
horn set with small pink freshwater
pearls, diamonds, and rubies in 18K
white and yellow gold. The design
explores form and space. While Jose
Hess created earrings inspired by
fl amenco dancers’ costumes, in sil-
ver-plated 18K gold, with some partsand diamonds PVD coated in purple.
His earring design travels up the
ear and curves down the side of the
face, with fl exible polka dots danc-
ing in purple, gold and diamond.SPIRITUALITY
& SYMBOLISM
A number of jewelry artists also
uplifted their design inspirations in
circular forms to express meaningful,
spiritual motifs.
Susan Helmich captured the
whimsical and symbolic in her edgy
Lucky Ladies sterling silver double-
fi nger ring, nestling three hand-
carved red coral and black jade
dotted ladybugs in her connect-the-
dots design.
While Kent Raible designed a pol-
ka dot mandala ring, he described
as a spontaneous creation based on
the circular theme. “I wanted to work
large and with the feeling of beingKent Raible
Polka Dot Mandala Ring
18K yellow gold, 900
platinum, moonstones,
diamonds, pearls
PHOTO: SARA REYMark Schneider
Dots in Motion Pendant
14K yellow gold, green bubble
quartz, multicolored diamonds,
white diamonds, chrome diopside
PHOTO: SARA REY20 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST
18 Trends_PolkaDots_MayjJune20.indd 20 3/16/20 3:35 PM