Emily Cobb
The Elk with Antlers That Never Stopped Growing, Headpiece, 2012, Glass-filled Nylon, photopolymer, gypsum
“He lives in the woods, just like a tree!” I shouted angrily. “Like a tree with hooves instead of roots!” She yelled back.
Billy’s Bubble Blower, Neckpiece, 2011, Photopolymer, sterling silver
Billy watched anxiously as the bubble blew away from his wand and drifted into the air. Up... up... up it floated with the fish still floating inside.
Aritst Statement
The illustration I am holding fascinates me. It has a title and caption, but no story. My teacher asks me to imagine the story behind the drawing… to create the before and after…to solve the mystery.
This childhood memory of Chris Van Allsburg’s book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick is one of the earliest inspirations behind my desire to create illustrative jewelry. Like Allsburg, I chose not to provide the viewer with the beginning, middle, and end of each piece’s original story. Instead, each work has a descriptive title and caption to encourage the viewer’s own imagination to consider the rest. Stories are essential to my creative process, and my jewelry references significant moments, characters, or objects from my imagination.
I make whimsical and surreal objects for the body to encourage a dialog between the wearer and the viewer. By not providing a conclusive explanation for each piece, the work’s meaning will differ from one observer to the next, and the pieces will continue to transform as the wearer explains their own interpretation of the jewelry’s imagery to inquiring observers.