{Susan Fauman
※ future relics}
Apprenticeship to a craft
Making jewelry is a conversation. I play and interact with the materials and let them direct me. My favorite part is being in that flow state of allowing the process to unfold. I love when I get to the end of a piece. I take a step back and look at it, and I'm like oh, look what happened!
I’m drawn to rough surfaces and slices of minerals that are not perfect, to something that looks raw, like it came out of the earth, like some natural process has acted on it.
How does your work speak about the five elements?
One of the ways EARTH shows up is in the effort to make my work extremely durable. I also try my best to be conscious of using materials that are kind to the Earth. And obviously the materials are coming from the Earth.
WATER shows up in the organic way that my business has grown. I feel like there’s a broader community that is held by the crucible of the work, and I feel very nourished by doing it.
FIRE is the alchemical magic. It feels powerful to be connected to a natural process of transformation that’s happening in the Earth itself.
AIR shows up when components of the pieces have movement. But I'm also really conscious of how the jewelry moves and lies on the body and how it interacts with the body.
SPACE element shows up in literal negative space. I think negative space is a really important design feature. Then, I very much try to come into the studio each day with a fresh and open eye and see the materials lying wherever they are and suddenly see associations that I didn't necessarily come up with before.
“The geological processes that create minerals are on an unimaginable scale for humans. Gemstones are crystallized time.”
About Susan
I’m inspired by ancient sacred geometry. Yoga. Ayurveda. The five Elements. Clouds. Water. Stone. Dirt.
The result is unique, bold, feminine adornments which feel ancient and modern at the same time. They are Beautiful Prayers. They are Future Relics: what Wonder Woman would wear when she's giving her golden cuffs a rest.