INSPIRATION

Like the Earth creates a gem over millions of years, I hope my jewelry connects you to nature and, over time, grows into a heirloom of sentimental value, connecting you to the natural world and to those you love and cherish.

It is impossible to separate my art from anything I do. My inspiration is rooted in my childhood: my father was an artist and educator and my mother was a gardener and lover of all things natural.  I grew up one of five children living in Eugene, Oregon. Both my parents channeled a love of art, whether it was in nature — in the woods, along the river, or in the garden — or in books we read, music we listened to and museums and galleries we visited. My parents taught us the deep and transformative power of art and the infinite beauty of nature. They both encouraged an exploration of the world in different ways.  

One of my earliest art-related memories comes from kindergarten. I was absolutely obsessed with the color orange. I could not get enough of it! I found the color completely stimulating; it affected me physically like nothing else. Choosing the painting corner during free-play over all the other options, I would lose myself in color. It was the beginning, I think, of my fascination with the subtle relationships between things, whether it be how I’m affected by color, or how one color affects another, or brushes to paper, or even in music— as a young musician I enjoyed the careful attention required to tune an instrument to get an exact tone. Subtle adjustments were so important — I felt and reveled in their significance.

After graduating from Reed College in Portland, Oregon with a degree in French Literature, I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and pursued my art while teaching French. I earned an MFA in Drawing and Painting from the California College of the Arts and have gone on to have a full and satisfying career as a working artist. I continue to exhibit my artwork regularly and my paintings are currently held in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art and the National Gallery on the East Coast. On the West Coast my work can be found at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the De Young Museum in San Francisco and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.

My love of designing with gems and metal has grown from the way I have always seen the act of painting itself, as based in an interaction between the mind of the artist and the material world; just like that young kindergartner who was so affected by color and light and the feel of paint on paper. Once worn, I love the way jewelry has the potential to become an extension of one’s body, affecting not only the wearer but those around her. I vividly remember my mother’s ring — we would lay in bed, reading stories at night and I would touch her ring while she read. I felt it was a link, a powerful conduit between the two of us.

A piece of jewelry can become part of one’s body and one’s life. It is my hope that my jewelry connects you to art and nature and to the people you love. ~ Laurie Frances Reid