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Bishop's Lane Series -"Eva On The Beach" bracelet/necklace, 22K gold, 14K gold, sterling silver, photograph, mica, aquamarines, beach glass, shells, barnacle, dupioni silk; hand-fabricated, granulation, patinaed, sewn. ©2004

When jewelry artist Loretta Fontaine visits California, Bishop’s Lane is the name of the street that leads from her sister’s La Jolla apartment to the beach. Once on the shore, Fontaine’s favorite beach combing area is under the cliffs in a hollow relentlessly eroded by the surf. Each new wave uncovers treasures - shards of shells and luminous sea glass, tumbled smooth in the sand. Two years ago Fontaine brought some of those finds back to her studio in Albany, New York and made a brooch/necklace entitled “Barnacle,Pebble, Shell, Photograph.” It caught the eye of gallery owner Jane Groover and Fontaine was asked to participate in Taboo Studio’s 2004 Holiday Show.

The “Bishop’s Lane Series" is the name Fontaine decided to call the suite of jewelry she made for the show. “I wanted to use my beach finds in the jewelry,” she recalls, “but struggled with choosing the photography I wanted to feature. Then I remembered a roll of film I shot in California on Easter Sunday in 2002. My sister Susan and I had dressed my daughter Eva in her crisp linen dress and set her barefoot in the sands of Children’s Beach. I dug out those photographs and choose snippets of sand, surf and sky to add to the jewelry.”

Fontaine’s favorite piece from the series is “Eva On The Beach”, a bracelet/necklace that features a tiny photograph of her daughter’s profile tab set in a sterling silver bezel under mica, and surrounded by a 14K gold frame. “Mica is a transparent natural mineral that cleaves into sheets.” she says. “I adore the way the golden coloring and imperfections of the mica add depth to the photography. For a few months I worked with prototypes before I was able to set the mica as I wished.” Placed around the photograph on darkly patinaed sterling silver shapes are vibrant aquamarines, colorful shells, gleaming beach glass and an auspicious red and white striped barnacle shard, all bezel set in 22K gold. A long hand-sewn tie of pale blue dupioni silk wraps elegantly six times around the wrist, or twice around the neck.