five petal flower collage

laser etched mop, ink, ox ss

35mm x 40mm

I see my jewelry as layered paintings- collages with dimensional elements that allude to a story. The stories are about loss, something that touches us all eventually, but also about the beauty of life. If I can make death and the subsequent feeling of loss something beautiful, I can soothe my fear of future loss. We all carry these experiences of life and loss within the inner layers of our being, and I see my necklaces as a way to wear these moments on one’s outer layer.

In my wearable work- i have been searching for ways to bring out the storylines of how I used to paint. Imagery- color- layers- are all constant pursuits of mine. I combine gemstones and mother of pearl with the laser, etching either actual flower silhouettes from my walks outside in nature or imagery from vintage botanical illustrations. All symbolic of the cyclical nature of life and death, beauty, growth and the connections we hold dear and precious to us.

Artist bio:
Kelly Jean Conroy was born in 1983, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Growing up in New England and being raised by an artist mother and engineer father who encouraged making and painting, eventually led her to attaining her BFA from Syracuse University in Art Education and Painting. She completed her MFA in Jewelry Metals from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2013. She is currently teaching metalsmithing at Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School, and metalsmithing courses at Massachusetts College of Art and Metalwerx. Her work focuses on life cycles in nature within a jewelry format. Her specialties are enameling, working with natural materials: carving bone, piercing mother of pearl, and casting. kellyjeanconroy.com