Handmade by Tim Garvin of Blue Bus Studio in Durham, North Carolina. These earrings are made with millefiori porcelain and stainless steel posts. Size: approximately 0.75" x 0.75". Because this item is handmade, it will vary slightly from the image shown. My name is Tim Garvin. I grew up on a wilderness coast 24 miles north of Juneau, Alaska. There were whales in the front yard and bears in the back and wild beauty everywhere. Now, as an artist, those vivid, natural colors inform my work. My jewelry is completely handmade using numerous ceramic and metal techniques. I even use the new three dimensional modeling technology and 3D printing to create the originals of my framed pieces. The extreme detail and intense color in my ceramic work results from the use of over 500 different colors of clay in a technique known as millefiori (also called neriage). In this technique, carefully designed loaves of clay are formed from colored porcelains. Next, cross-sections are sliced from the loaves, and these sections are shaped and finished into individual pieces. After sanding and careful finishing, the piece is glazed and fired. Thus, the color you see in my work is the color of the clay itself, deepened and enriched by a layer of pure glass . On many pieces, 23+ karat platinum edging is applied, and the piece receives its final fire. I make beauty from dust, a joy for me and, I hope, a joy for you. Millefiori, literally Italian for “thousand flowers,” is originally an ancient technique of combining colored glass rods to make canes of color. Cross-sections were (and still are by artists throughout the world), combined, sliced, and used to create beads, paperweights, vases, etc. This technique was brought to high distinction on Murano, an island in the lagoon of Venice, in the middle ages but was used far earlier by the Romans and Egyptians, with some archeologists dating its inception as far back as the first millennium B.C. The use of colored clays in the same way, called neriage or nerikome in Japan, is a ceramic application of the technique. We use the best jewelry findings available. Our surgical stainless posts are nickel free and hypoallergenic, and our French hooks are sterling silver. Our eyehook and bail findings are our own custom design and are made of silver-plated brass or pewter. Our snake chain is domestically made with quality lobster claw catches and two inch extender chains. Our rubber chokers are first quality and equipped with two inch extender chains as well. Why the name "Blue Bus"? It comes from the life of Meher Baba (1894-1969), whose life and work has been a source of great inspiration to us. In 1938 Meher Baba and a group of his close associates began a lengthy tour of India in a small blue bus. Like all the great ones, his message can be summed up this way: the goal of life is to free ourselves in the love of God. There’s plenty of information about Meher Baba on the internet and YouTube. I work in my studio with my wife, Cynthia Drake, as general manager, chief critic, and kind heart. Find more of Tim's work here.
