When I started making jewelry, I wanted to create pieces that allowed other horse lovers to express their appreciation of the horse in its natural environment: running, jumping, rearing, standing or grazing. The vision came to me well before I had the skill to actualize it, but with time, practice and some great instruction, I believe I have been able to do so.
In this piece, a horse leaps joyfully up a hill as the sun is setting. The horse is hand-sawn from sterling and placed, in this case, on red river jasper. The intent is to capture the unfettered spirit of the horse. My images come from watching and working with horses for the past 30 years. This particular image was inspired by watching one of our horses going to join his herd mates at the end of a summer day. Capturing this image required a stone that reflected the appearance of the setting sun, and I set it on bronze to accent the gold tones in the stone.
In all my pieces, I work to make the horse and the stone fit together in a way that reflects the beauty of the horse in nature. Every piece I make is unique, because no two stones are alike and different stones “call for” horses to be shown in different activities. Sometimes stones wait for months for the right horse to come along (in my vision), but eventually this occurs, and another piece is finished.
Martha Wetter
Sawhorse Jewelry Designs
Versailles, KY
www.sawhorsejewelry.com
sawhorse@sawhorsejewelry.com