Cathi Rivera
Jewelry Designer & Metalsmith
Luminescence, botanical and marine organic forms inspire me to create my unique sculptural pieces of wearable art. Incorporating fused glass, pearls, clay and bone I am able to capture a moment in nature.
As a metal artist, I create fluid forms that appear soft, warm and inviting in a usually cold, rigid material. Fusing the dichroic glass in each piece is reminiscent of the iridescence of butterfly wings, tropical fish, sunsets, coral reefs, and tropical Florida.
Pieces are fabricated using traditional metalsmithing techniques with silver, brass, bronze, and copper. Other materials are collected from the many places I travel, African bone, Angkor Wat clay tablets, Venetian glass, Tibetan sand, and Egyptian rocks.
Each piece tells a special story and shares a spiritual connection with another place and time. When wearing one of my pieces, others are drawn closer to examine and talk about the work, and that’s where the story begins.
