Embroidered Earrings 5

hand embroidered cotton fiber, 14k gold filled frame + ear wire, brass backing

1.5” x 1.5"

My work centers around the use of sustainable production methods. When I integrate found objects and up-cycled materials alongside semi-precious materials and my own unique craft methods, I introduce these discoveries into a transitive context. As a result, my process is a derivative of my environment. Through experimentation, I endeavor to locate myself in my surroundings, as an artist—as a person.
To put it simply, my work is shaped by the materials that I encounter, and I hope to make those discoveries as interesting and beautiful to others as they are to me.
In this way, my experiences, my ethics—my very way of experiencing the world are all carried forward with the wearer, through the act of making.

Artist bio:
Nanette Pengelley is a queer, Jamaican-American jeweler and metalsmith from south Florida. She went on to study in Quito, Boston, and Florence. After graduating from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2015 with her BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing, Nanette has been exploring her practice within her brand, Hew Jewelry. She currently lives in Durham, North Carolina, and spends summers teaching in New England.