Asters & Amethyst Collection

Bright purple asters
Lighting up the forest floor
Painting late summer once more
-Janice Hagey

This current collection is based on my drawings of asters which then formed a repeat pattern and became the focus of most of the pieces.

Through hiking the local woods of the Niagara region, I discovered that am drawn to how these late bloomers fill the forest floor, while summer flowers are losing their color and autumn yellows are just appearing. For me it gives a sense of hope to see these delicate beauties pop up and reveal themselves. Known as a symbol of love and wisdom, the Ancient Greeks used these purple flowers for worship, as they believed asters were created from the "tears of God."

Amethysts also have a long history and were revered in ancient times. The Egyptians and Romans both used amethysts in their jewelry as protection and Italian Renaissance soldiers wore them in battle.

By experimenting with enamelling and fusing high karat gold throughout the first part of 2023, I ended up with a pallete of elements I could use to put the collection together. My first experiments with enamelling purple on silver proved futile, so I discovered that some scrap copper/silver bimetal helped with keeping the purple from burning out in the kiln. Adding 22k gold foil also helped a little which you can see in the Fall Forest earring design. And for the ones that turned beige and yellow, I decided to add some wonderful agates in the design. I got feedback from my supporters on Facebook, that people liked the neutral colors as well. I love how they compliment eachother and of course purple and yellows exist in Asters.

For the fusing experiments, I used a ball peen hammer my father had given me that belonged to his grandfather. I ended up using two of his hammers for the process, which gave a nice rich finish on the fused ring.

Each piece of this line is made with recycled silver and many feature gold, from 14k to 22k. All metals used are from recycled sources and the amethysts are ethically sourced, which actually most of the amethysts are from a collection that I have had for many years. You can follow my journey of making on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I have been showing these locally and they are now for sale on my website. Available as made-to-order and one-of-a-kind pieces.