| DIY People: African Inspired Jewelry |
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"I've always had an interest in jewelry," Houston, Texas-born Alton Evans proclaims. "In high school I collected shells from the beach and used them to make necklaces and bracelets." He laughs, " A lot of my friends thought I was -- ah -- different." Military service and a job with a travel agency gave Alton the opportunity to visit different countries, and his observations of the jewelry of other cultures definitely had an influence on him. Four years ago the artist set up a workshop in his garage and got more serious about his jewelry-making hobby. "I had a lot of requests from friends and co-workers who wanted me to make them jewelry," Alton says. "That led me to began designing jewelry in different mediums based on what I'd seen during my travels." The one common element that Alton strives to put into all of his creations is a sense of spirituality (figure A). "I want people to get a positive feeling when they wear a piece of my jewelry," he says with pride. "I think the spiritual aspect of jewelry making became even more important to me when I learned about and began incorporating into my jewelry the West African Adinkra symbols," he explains. "I purchased a book that had a lot of West African designs and was overwhelmed by the symbols. There are probably 200 or more and each may have five or six variations. They're very old and they speak to the culture and values of people." In addition to the Adinkra symbols Alton also incorporates Asian calligraphy into his jewelry. "I don't have restrictions as to what ethnic groups influence me," he says. "I think that my craft is very unique. A lot of people ask me what inspires me and where I get my ideas and I guess that they've always been with me. I've just recently been able to bring them to the surface." "As an artist, you get an inner voice and it speaks to you and allows you to relax and feel what you want to do," Alton explains. "I was a very impatient person. But by taking the time to do detailed beadwork and precision cutting, I am forced to relax and feel what I'm doing. Art doesn't require everything to be fast." Alton doesn't limit himself to any one style or piece of jewelry. He makes a variety of items. For table ornaments, he uses a scroll saw (figure B) to cut Adinkra symbols from metal, smoothes and polishes the metal and then mounts it on the large seeds of the Baoba tree (figure C). The Baoba tree is native to Africa and, because of its root-like branches, it is known as the upside down tree. Its seeds, which have many uses, ride ocean currents and wash up on beaches in the Caribbean and the U.S. East Coast. "When I first saw these seeds," Alton says, "I just had to do something with them." He also creates colorful bracelets (figure D) by threading glass beads onto memory wire, which is easily obtained from craft stores. He makes earrings from a variety of materials, finger rings from sterling silver and chokers and wristbands from leather. "It's a great feeling when you can make something that gives a positive impression to someone," Alton explains. "When I make something, my energy goes into it. A lot of the stuff that you buy in a store is mass-produced. It doesn't have energy. Our art represents us and who we are and how we feel. And I think that's important because we are documenting our history, our feelings and our thoughts."
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