My formal training (Bachelor of Fine Arts) emphasized the classic studio disciplines of drawing and painting. Over many years, I also worked in traditional media-watercolor, oil, pastel - executing the standard human figure studies and portraiture, simultaneously experimenting with a variety of craft media such as wood, fiber, cold glass and leather, among others.

In the late 1980's I became excited about an innovative new acrylic painting material called interference colors, which actually have not true color (pigment) of their own, but which refract light (like the scales on butterfly wings), producing an optical color sensation that appears and disappears by turns. Magic!

Corralling magic, I learned, takes tenacity. Experiments on traditional flat canvas yielded unexciting results. I found it required a curved, dimensional surface to exploit the shining, shifting quality of the paint. At some point, I brushed a stroke of the paint over a scrap of leather from some past project. The fine grain of the leather, combined with the brilliance of the paint, produced rich, scintillating surface. It was perfect!

Touching the thin lining leather reminded me of the feeling of fresh leaves. To me, Leaves are one of the more under-appreciated beauties of the natural world. So that's where I began. With simple "illuminated leather" leaves mounted, as earrings and they were a great hit. New acquaintances were generous about teaching me the engineering aspects of the jewelry field - attaching findings and making parts hang correctly.

While I use fantasy colors on small pieces. I use natural history resources to research the larger, species-accurate pieces. I use best - quality artist acrylic media and domestic animal leather products (mostly from sheep, but occasionally from pigs or cattle). Earring findings are all surgical steel base, which is hypoallergenic for most people.

My butterflies, tropical fish and leaves have "migrated" throughout the U.S., and many have been carried as far as Europe, Asia and South America. I'm happy that I've developed the means to give permanent form to nature's evanescent, beautiful creatures.

Contact info:

Phone: 928-445-2996
Email: kriseberhard@hotmail.com