Art Inspired by Life

Cambodia ~ oh Cambodia.. how I love thee.  With my feet planted freshly on the ground back in the US from a whirlwind trip to Southeast Asia, I have time to start posting about my experience. One such experience (too many wonderful times to count) was at Ankgor Wat, just out of Siem Reap in Cambodia.  My family and I purchased tickets in early November, it gave me time to study some of the places I'd like to see.  One such place was the ancient metropolis capital of Angkor Wat, built early in the 12th century.  It was built by the Khmer king of the time in honor of Hindu deity Vishnu.  I had first read about the ancient city a number of years ago when my husband handed a National Geographic with Angkor on the cover and said, "I want to go here someday".  I read about it .. and Yep! I wanted to go too!  Many moons later and over the years- we had tickets.  I thought about what it would be like often.  I thought about all the Mayan and Aztec temples I had seen- and how amazing it was that worlds apart in different times in history- All these temples were built up block by block, in mounds, up towards the heavens.  I remembered that I had this amazing piece of Hessonite Garnet- a great mound if you will... and how it was going to be my muse to parle my rising excitement for the ancient Asian experience.  With my hexagonal "temple" in the middle I surrounded it with 6 strong prongs~ symbolizing the backs of the slaves and elephants that that would bear the weight of the massive granite and limestone slabs.  Upon my reading a bit about the history of the civilization I also learned about their complex water system~ starting with the moats built as protection and sustainability around the great temples.  With the importance of the water I designed the ring to have a halo of diamonds~ a stone of great strength and importance. 

Alternative Bridal done Simple, Contemporary, yet Classic

I've wanted to do Bridal Jewelry for sometime now.

- at Ari O Jewelry we started fabricating rings in the summer of 2016. When I was in college all I made were rings- they were super fun and funky and well received, however when I opened up the gallery in the studio - I didn't know how I was going to size the rings up and down so that I could custom fit them to my customers.  In the late winter of 2016 I visited the Revere Academy in San Francisco, CA and took extensive courses on stone setting. It was there under the tutelage of a 5th degree master jeweler, that I found my confidence in the world of rings.  We started of with some simple, affordable designs, but it didn't take long for me to want to get more detailed and use precious metals and stones.. and so here we are today- with this little number- a Platinum, Salt and Pepper Diamond engagement ring for some wonderful folks I met this winter.  ... I can't wait to see where my path leads next!