One of the best things about having a blog is that I get to rave about the people I think are remarkable. One of these people is jewelry artist Anne M. Kelly who will debut two exciting new lines at the upcoming Out of Hand Craft Fair on November 20 — 22 at The Crystal Garden in Victoria BC.

Anne, who truly is one of the West Coast’s best kept secrets, creates high-demand original pieces of jewelry, each with its own unique story. Because Anne is a published poet, the stories that come with the jewelry are works of art in themselves. Her two newest collections include a Native Species line featuring Shibuichi Roughskin Newts, and a Timorphic line created from pure repurposed aerospace titanium.

The Roughskin Newt Pendant is created using an ancient Japanese alloy made of pure silver and copper called Shibuichi. This metal was traditionally used in decorative and functional Samurai sword guards, called tsuba, which prevented the sword-wielding hand from slipping onto the blade.

Titanium cuff with silver clasp by Anne. M. Kelly

The Timorphic line, created from the material of space shuttles and deep-sea exploration uses historical chain mail weaves to create jewelry that is almost fabric-like. With silky texture and feather-light weight. The result is some of the most luxuriously wearable, glamourous jewelry you’ve ever experienced. With its ancient patterns and a futuristic edge, Anne refers to it as jewelry a time traveler might wear.

Anne is not just content with creating beautiful things — she likes her work to make a difference. That’s why part of all sales of her Native Species jewelry sales will be donated to conservation of native species and habitat and will also generate microloans to the world’s most impoverished women through http://www.kiva.org.

I own several pieces of jewelry by Anne. Whenever I wear them, I am usually surrounded by women and men who want to know about the artist. I met Anne almost 20 years ago when we were both in a poetry salon with poet Robin Skelton. I became fast friends with this beautiful and talented woman who, with her New Orleans background, always brings an intriguing sense of the exotic to any gathering.

Japanese Lace Collar with Nine Row Earrings and Semispherica by Anne M. Kelly

In the 1990s a car accident changed Anne’s life. Following several years of rehabilitation and adaptation, she combined her distinctive style of graphic design with a love of fashion and natural history to create her first collection of jewelry. Watching her work is like watching alchemy — each piece she creates is imbued with such story and magic that is would be difficult not to feel magical each time you wear a piece of her jewelry. If the goddess incarnated, no doubt she would want to wear Anne M. Kelly jewelry.

Anne is a contributor to Chain Mail Jewelry: Contemporary Designs from Classic Techniques, published by Lark Books. Her jewelry is sold in The Avenue on Oak Bay Avenue in Victoria, at Mattick’s Farm Gallery in Saanich, and by private commission.

You can also see her work this weekend (November 20–22) at the Out of Hand Craft Fair, Booth #17, The Crystal Gardens in Victoria, BC, or on her website http://www.annemkelllydesigns.com.

Land & Sea Murals at Ogden Point Breakwater, Victoria, British Columbia. Photo by Chris Holt Photos, http://www.chrisholtphotos.com

I took a walk with my family on Thanksgiving Day and, under a dramatically dark October sky, saw for the first time the spectacular murals on the breakwater at Ogden Point in Victoria, BC. With the addition of the murals, the old grey breakwater has become majestic. It doesn’t compete with its coastal backdrop but appears to emerge from it.

Graced with these murals, the breakwater spans out into the sea like a dream unravelling. The murals depict images of local chiefs and BC’s Lieutenant Governor Steven L. Point, and images of land and marine life. The meeting of land and sea life in these murals is fitting, for the places where land meets ocean (called biomes or lifezones) are nurseries for all kinds of life. They are rich with nutrients, biodiversity and possibility. So it is with these murals.

According to the Times-Colonist, the eye-catching mural panels are designed by local First Nations artists. They are part of an artistic project that will lead to 100 panels being mounted on the landmark seaside walkway. The first panels were created by Coast Salish artists Butch Dick Songhees First Nation) and Darlene Gait (Esquimalt First Nation) and a team of Aboriginal youth.

“The spirits of our ancestors live on in those of us who try to bring dignity and nobility back to our people through honesty, generosity and respect,” said Darlene Gait in a news release.

I am hardly qualified to comment on anyone’s art; I can only speak to the way these murals made me feel. Looking at the them, I did experience a sense of the noble. I’m not talking about noble as in the European lords and ladies, but of something older and more powerful, something distinctly of this place and time — perhaps the spirit of the sea itself.