We were honored to be included, by invitation, to be a part of the I.M.A.G.I.N.E. Peace Now exhibition. World-recognized artist Boris Bally invited 150 metalsmiths from all over the world to participate in this traveling exhibition. We were each sent a inoperable and retired handgun that had been part of a police gun buy-back program. The pieces we were to make should:
1. Use at least one piece of the gun
2. Be less than 18" in any dimension
3. Weigh less than 20 pounds.
Here is what we came up with. A squash-blossom necklace that pays homage to the traditional Navajo jewelry design. We took apart the gun, took out the trigger, sliced up the barrel, and made a mold of several parts of the original. With a lot of jewelry kung-fu (years of know-how and experience) here is the resulting piece. It is brass with an anti-tarnish coating on it. The turquoise are all set into bullet casings. This is a very one-of-a-kind piece. It sold to art collectors on opening night of the exhibition at The Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston. Buy the book- it is a heck of a collection.
We took the idea further and made several more.
Each of these pieces are in private collections.
