by Bella Erakko
We know so little about amber other than its golden color, but Mary Beth St. Clair has spent 22 years with it. Deeply in love with its range of colors, she personally selects amber mined in the Kaliningrad region of Russia that is 44 million years old. Buried deep in the earth, once sap of conifer trees, depending upon the soil where excavated, it takes on colors ranging from gold to yellow to green to exceedingly rare white. She frames each pendant in hand wrought silver.
Initially she designed highly decorative pieces in the art nouveau style, but when silver prices soared, she explored a modern minimalist style where the amber shape profoundly influences design. “Amber actually warms up against the skin,” she explains. “Queens dating back to Cleopatra and the Empress Catherine of Russian favored it.”
In Mary Beth’s work, one finds a quiet harmony between silver, amber, and design—one that emphasizes the beauty of our natural world, millions of years old.
An Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, June 12 from 4 until 7:00 pm.
