Wing on Wing

These earrings and matching pendent are my tribute to the sailing maneuver often referred to as “wing on wing”. It is a down wind set that is both beautifully symmetric and deceptively calming and still as the vessel glides thru to seas at very nearly the same speed as the wind. It is ironically also one of the more tense sets for the captain. The slightest change in the wind can cause the boom to “sweep the deck” as it snaps to the opposite side. Only the keenest eye and constant vigilance by the captain to the wind and sail can avoid a mishap.

Both the earrings and pendent have been “roller printed” with fine brass screening to bring out the canvas detailing in the 18 karat green gold sail. The other sails and the rest of the pieces are hand constructed of argentium sterling silver. The “mast” in this series is solid metal that has been turned to create the round tapers you see here.

“Wing on Wing” is also available in all argentium sterling silver both as earrings and pendent.

Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2009

Always a delight to attend, the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival was held this last weekend in absolutely beautiful weather. My wife Pat and I helped host an exhibit by Michael Berman at the Pope Building waterside of the harbor. This exhibit, which also included "Transatlantic Passage", was called “Wooden Boats and the Sea”.




Michael Berman is a talented marine photographer with an uncanny knack for capturing those quintessential moments in a sailboats’ run. His exquisite images frame some of the West Coasts finest wooden boats with the magnificent coastline of Washington. On occasions I have been fortunate enough to pilot the craft he uses as his photographic platform. This leaves him free to bound from side to side, fore and aft taking images as he calls out piloting instructions. It is no easy task to be in the right place at the right time among these canvas and wooden behemoths of the seas.

I sailed a “day sailor” many years ago and love the science, math and engineering involved in sailing. Piloting Michael’s craft and seeing these wondrous schooners from his point of view has rekindled my interest in sail power. The pureness of form and the romance of the sea together with the regal ness of these grand old dames of the maritime are emotional investments that demand a revisit by me. I look forward to what new pieces of jewelry these new references will inspire.