Pendant by Sam Patania
I had a man come into my studio who wanted a pendant for his infant son similar to the name pendants seen in this area on Chicas. Last year his daughter got her name pendant and he wanted his son to have his own. His wife had died not too long ago leaving him and their three small children and he felt the need to have something to hand down to his kids. Possibly to commemorate their mom or as a symbol of some permanence in this world. Jewelry is the perfect medium for this. I love being able to help this way, I feel art is important but the degree I felt this for this man was more than usual.
His son’s name is Xavier and he is very young. He will not be able to wear this on his own for years. He will be able to wear it for family pictures and that is what the client wanted. The “X” pattern for this was easy to see. The client wanted a diamond in the center.
I lived in Iran for a year when I was a teenager. I saw Islamic art every day while there. I thought of the constraints of only making art for Allah as suffocating and it wasn’t for years that I realized the constraints were not constraints. The need to produce art only for God, to include only Biblical stories and no other were liberating. It was only my limited vision that saw this as suffocating. My change in attitude was all I needed to accept the limitless possibilities for this type of art. I do not produce my art with such constraints, as I saw it. But, I have many constraints that I deal with every day, price, sales and time to name the biggest.
When I get a client who wants something very specific like this I used to feel constrained. Now I try to see all my possibilities in every job. This job offered personal possibilities as well as possibilities in my craft or art. So I started with the “X” , I cut it out as I have cut out thousands of initials over the years. But I cut it thick, 14 gage sterling. I was going to flush mount the diamond in the center but half way through the mounting I realized I didn’t want to set the stone that way. I made an 18K mount for the stone and soldered it on and set the stone. The client and I had discussed how we wanted the chain to be attached, neither of us wanted it to just hang from the center. We both wanted it to follow the arms of the “X” upward around the neck. The engineering for this was new for me, I had to invent my way of getting this done.
I had fun making this piece and it meant something to the client and me. That is what I want my job to be as much as possible.
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One of the coolest thing about making things for people is that every now and then we play such an integral role in someone’s life situation; wedding rings, engagement rings, and gifts such as the one you were asked to make.
I agree on the constraints. We all limit ourselves in some ways. Sometimes in closing doors we open up many new possibilities.
I always look forward to reading your blogs :o)
Keep up the great work…