ellen rogers for ovate x bloodmilk

of his bones are coral made. twin coral ring.

ariel. seahorse spyglass necklace. 

sea witch. shell skeleton ring.

ariel. conjoined seahorse ring.

full fathom five. sting ray barb studs.

last year, amazingly talented creature audrey from ovate invited me to create jewelry in thematic collaboration for her newest line of dreamy clothing, mare frigoris (sea of cold). the theme was simply, the sea. having been born and spent half my life near the sea, this project was something i felt close to. the resulting 6 piece collection is only part i as i plan on adding more pieces to this over time. 

inspired by sylvia plath, shakespeare's 'the tempest' and the scene in hans christan andersen's 'the little mermaid' in which the mermaid visits the sea witch to have her heart's desire granted, these pieces tell the story of what it means to be of and from the sea. told through manipulated castings of actual sea life, the collection explores my obsessions with twins and the process of twinning as well as my interest in how we 'see', via magnifying glass. as one of the last uncharted places left in the world, the sea holds so many dark mysteries and i was thrilled to have the chance to tease out this mystery into this small, special collection.

in pairing, ovate's collection is filled with pale sea foam, smoky grays and sheer blacks. a fishtailed skirt trails like a veil behind you while a long thin hooded scarf reveals the fluidity of water. to add to this, ellen rogers shot both collections of work together, creating a stunning lookbook in her signature smoldering style. i've long admired both women as artists and creative thinkers so it was a great dream to be able to work with them on this.