Absence

Polymer clay Stainless steel - PVD coating light gold Buna cord

7.0 x 4,5 cm
2.76 × 1.77
inches

Beauty in The Darkness
By Roberta Modulo (Nikah Costa)

Beauty in the Darkness is a collection born from grief and the slow, quiet return to self. Each earring is sculpted in black polymer clay—symbolizing the weight of loss—while delicate accents of gold/copper offer sparks of resilience and hope.

This collection is rooted in my personal journey as a bereaved mother. In the silence of absence, I turned to the act of making as a way back to myself.
The slow rhythm of shaping, layering, and refining became both meditation and survival. These earrings are more than adornment; they are vessels of memory, pain, and healing, carrying beauty where there was once only darkness.

By reimagining the ornamental language of soutache through polymer clay, this collection holds the quiet contradiction of being at once fragile and resilient, evoking how loss can erase and yet transform, leaving behind a self both altered and enduring. My work honors the possibility of finding light—however small—within even the deepest shadow.

Artist Bio:
Roberta Modulo is a Brazilian-born, Vienna-based polymer clay artist and educator. Her jewelry spans intimate, narrative pieces exploring themes of resilience, as well as bold, colorful statement pieces rich in detail and craftsmanship. Since 2017 she has developed a distinctive voice in polymer clay, exhibited in Vienna, and shared her knowledge through international symposiums, workshops, and teaching at the University of Arts Linz. Roberta continues to create work that balances storytelling, craftsmanship, and emotional depth.