Emma Eckert's Pendants
Emma Eckert produces an eclectic mix of artwork, from photographs to fashion, but for prior year’s El Rito Studio Tour in Northern New Mexico, Eckert offered an interesting collection of pendants to Tour visitors.
Her pendants come in two varieties: photographically inspired and found objects.
Eckert talks about both styles of pendants.
“The first of the two styles that I’ll have available at the El Rito Studio Tour are the resin-based pendants – the Mortal Remnants series, so named for the little bits and pieces of organic matter (plant and animal) that have been found over the years (or given to me) and give the pendants their unique look,” Eckert explains. “Even the bases for these pendants were provided by a friend – these are truly ‘found art’ pieces: one-of-a-kind. The second style is a photo pendant (and also some earring sets), with a glass cabochon set over images that I created using a kaleidoscope-effect action I made in Photoshop. All of the images are original shots that I took, and then transformed them into the Drishti pendant and earring series. A drishti (view or gaze) is commonly used in yoga and meditation to focus and concentrate the mind. In Sanskrit, drishti can also mean a vision, a point of view, or intelligence or wisdom. The idea behind these pieces was for them to serve a dual purpose: they could be used as a meditation tool, like a mandala, for an external gazing point, but also as a reminder that it is perfectly acceptable for the wearer to focus on oneself from time to time, to nourish and heal the body and soul.”
Eckert says she will have approximately 25 of the Mortal Remnants available and 18 of the photo jewelry (pendants and earring sets) pieces. The photo sets come in a little gift box with a small print of the original image used to make the design along with the story of where and when the image was taken. The Mortal Remnants are one-of-a-kind by nature – the way they are composed just can’t be duplicated. The photo pendants are also all one-of, even though she could have made several exact copies of each image, she decided that the series would be stronger if there was only one of each design and shape made. She already has a second series in the works, with totally different, new images ready for Drishti 2.0, but those, she says, won’t be available for a few months.
She says the biggest “hiccough” she encountered was that “Some of the resin pendants just didn’t work out as planned. Resin is a tricky media to work with, so some of the designs that were too three-dimensional didn’t work. For the photo pendants, the hardest part was creating a template to print out the images at the correct size and proportions for the jewelry. It wasn’t really difficult, just time-consuming.”
Pre-Tour response to the pendants has been good, according to Eckert.
“The response has been wholly positive,” Eckert says. “I actually modified how I am presenting the photo pendants based on the buyers interest in knowing how their particular pendant image was created, so I started including the small print of the original image as well as the story behind the image to give a more personalized connection to the work. This will be the first time my resin pendants will be available for purchase, though I’ve received great feedback from people who I’ve shown the work to. For the time-being, I’ve decided against offering the resin works online at least before the studio tour, to give those who stop by first choice – a reward for getting out and supporting the local art scene.”
Eckert says that she’ll be showing other things in addition to pendants at this year’s Tour.
“I have a few different clothing designs that I will have examples of and will take orders for,” Eckert explains. “I have a silk kimono-style wrap — great to go over an evening gown, or for an elegant beach-wear cover — that I have in three different butterfly/sacred geometry inspired designs. I also have some nice silk scarves that are printed with images similar to the drishti designs – ‘Desert Kaleidoscope’ fashion – and some fractal-patterned leggings and dresses. I’ll also have a select few photo prints of some new drishti images and some of the flower fairy fauxtography (whimsical digital photo collage) series I’ve been working on.”
The fractal-patterned leggings seem apropos for an offering from Eckert since she, when not creating her art or pursuing her photography, is the Fractal Foundation Education Director, so for those who wish to be fashionably attired, and knowledgable about fractals, this Tour will be the ideal way to become stylishly dressed and fractally informed.
Do these pendants form a passing fancy for this eclectic artist?
“Initially, I thought that this would be a one-time venture. Most of the items that I used in the resin pendants were from a collection that I’d built over several years. I can always find new things to make new pieces with, so I think I’ll probably make another series sometime in the future, though I don’t have an idea when. The photo pendants are really fun to make, and I am constantly making kaleidoscope images with different, new images, so I’m sure there will be more photo pendant art soon.”
So if not a passing fancy, how does Eckert see these fitting into her artistic repertoire?
“I may try to find some more unique bezel trays for the photo pendants for future series. I’ve seen the same pendant kits that I use all over the place lately, so I’d like to find something a little different for those.”
The two pendant styles are dramatically different. The photographic imagery used in the Drishti pendants have a genetic heritage to Eckert’s “Faux Photography,” and are more geometric and structured. The found objects that make up the Mortan Remnants are, as the name implies, remnants that are unique to their own individual pendant and more organic looking. They have a sophisticated look and feel to them and Eckert has done a nice job technically.
You can view more of Eckert's work at: www.emmaecho.com/
Her pendants come in two varieties: photographically inspired and found objects.
Eckert talks about both styles of pendants.
“The first of the two styles that I’ll have available at the El Rito Studio Tour are the resin-based pendants – the Mortal Remnants series, so named for the little bits and pieces of organic matter (plant and animal) that have been found over the years (or given to me) and give the pendants their unique look,” Eckert explains. “Even the bases for these pendants were provided by a friend – these are truly ‘found art’ pieces: one-of-a-kind. The second style is a photo pendant (and also some earring sets), with a glass cabochon set over images that I created using a kaleidoscope-effect action I made in Photoshop. All of the images are original shots that I took, and then transformed them into the Drishti pendant and earring series. A drishti (view or gaze) is commonly used in yoga and meditation to focus and concentrate the mind. In Sanskrit, drishti can also mean a vision, a point of view, or intelligence or wisdom. The idea behind these pieces was for them to serve a dual purpose: they could be used as a meditation tool, like a mandala, for an external gazing point, but also as a reminder that it is perfectly acceptable for the wearer to focus on oneself from time to time, to nourish and heal the body and soul.”
Eckert says she will have approximately 25 of the Mortal Remnants available and 18 of the photo jewelry (pendants and earring sets) pieces. The photo sets come in a little gift box with a small print of the original image used to make the design along with the story of where and when the image was taken. The Mortal Remnants are one-of-a-kind by nature – the way they are composed just can’t be duplicated. The photo pendants are also all one-of, even though she could have made several exact copies of each image, she decided that the series would be stronger if there was only one of each design and shape made. She already has a second series in the works, with totally different, new images ready for Drishti 2.0, but those, she says, won’t be available for a few months.
She says the biggest “hiccough” she encountered was that “Some of the resin pendants just didn’t work out as planned. Resin is a tricky media to work with, so some of the designs that were too three-dimensional didn’t work. For the photo pendants, the hardest part was creating a template to print out the images at the correct size and proportions for the jewelry. It wasn’t really difficult, just time-consuming.”
Pre-Tour response to the pendants has been good, according to Eckert.
“The response has been wholly positive,” Eckert says. “I actually modified how I am presenting the photo pendants based on the buyers interest in knowing how their particular pendant image was created, so I started including the small print of the original image as well as the story behind the image to give a more personalized connection to the work. This will be the first time my resin pendants will be available for purchase, though I’ve received great feedback from people who I’ve shown the work to. For the time-being, I’ve decided against offering the resin works online at least before the studio tour, to give those who stop by first choice – a reward for getting out and supporting the local art scene.”
Eckert says that she’ll be showing other things in addition to pendants at this year’s Tour.
“I have a few different clothing designs that I will have examples of and will take orders for,” Eckert explains. “I have a silk kimono-style wrap — great to go over an evening gown, or for an elegant beach-wear cover — that I have in three different butterfly/sacred geometry inspired designs. I also have some nice silk scarves that are printed with images similar to the drishti designs – ‘Desert Kaleidoscope’ fashion – and some fractal-patterned leggings and dresses. I’ll also have a select few photo prints of some new drishti images and some of the flower fairy fauxtography (whimsical digital photo collage) series I’ve been working on.”
The fractal-patterned leggings seem apropos for an offering from Eckert since she, when not creating her art or pursuing her photography, is the Fractal Foundation Education Director, so for those who wish to be fashionably attired, and knowledgable about fractals, this Tour will be the ideal way to become stylishly dressed and fractally informed.
Do these pendants form a passing fancy for this eclectic artist?
“Initially, I thought that this would be a one-time venture. Most of the items that I used in the resin pendants were from a collection that I’d built over several years. I can always find new things to make new pieces with, so I think I’ll probably make another series sometime in the future, though I don’t have an idea when. The photo pendants are really fun to make, and I am constantly making kaleidoscope images with different, new images, so I’m sure there will be more photo pendant art soon.”
So if not a passing fancy, how does Eckert see these fitting into her artistic repertoire?
“I may try to find some more unique bezel trays for the photo pendants for future series. I’ve seen the same pendant kits that I use all over the place lately, so I’d like to find something a little different for those.”
The two pendant styles are dramatically different. The photographic imagery used in the Drishti pendants have a genetic heritage to Eckert’s “Faux Photography,” and are more geometric and structured. The found objects that make up the Mortan Remnants are, as the name implies, remnants that are unique to their own individual pendant and more organic looking. They have a sophisticated look and feel to them and Eckert has done a nice job technically.
You can view more of Eckert's work at: www.emmaecho.com/
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To contact Bob Eckert for assignments, consultations or workshops, please email [email protected]
or use the contact form on the About page
or use the contact form on the About page