a favourite returns — natalie holtsbaum: exquisite earrings
It’s been more than decade since her last Handmark showing, but jeweller extraordinaire Natalie Holtsbaum is back – and with stunning results. She has just delivered the most exquisite earrings to Handmark Gallery.
In the intervening years, Natalie has been personal ‘Art Maker’ for MONA’s David Walsh and Kirsha Kaechele, an incredible journey that even included making ‘vagina shaped’ cutlery. But Natalie is tinkering with her own jewellery once again, and has dropped off a small collection of earrings to Handmark. “It’s been pure, exquisite joy,” she says.
All have long drops and round tops in a style that dates back to ancient Egypt “where goldsmiths crafted metal and stones into shimmering pendants earrings. This is a shape that traces a line through time, and I have always been fascinated by how certain forms return again and again, as if they refuse to leave the human imagination.”
Some of Natalie’s earrings glisten with glorious gemstones. Pendants of indigo topaz and faceted green amethyst. Others embrace a cutting edge ‘sculpting medium’ that she developed. This involves replacing gems with epoxy pendants coated in a special German paint that shines with ground mother-of-pearl or nine carat gold. “This is something special. It adds magic.”
Natalie Holtsbaum’s new jewellery is on show at Handmark Gallery