12-Prong-Hex

Car Perea

Interview by L. Valena

January 2, 2022

Can you start by saying what you responded to?

I responded to a colored pencil illustration, that has a lot of spiritual symbolism. There are elements of meditation, chakras, and auras - perhaps. There’s an image of a person meditating and two more people on each side, which symbolizes dualism to me. In the middle of the piece, there’s a large vortex with only colored lines in it and it is surrounded by twelve smaller circles with eyes drawn in them. There are elements of built environment outside of the vortex.

What was your first reaction?

I was really hoping that I would have an emotional connection to it, but maybe because of the time constraints, I felt like I had to think of an idea and move fast. I kind of just became literal with it. I received a 2D illustration, so I thought I might as well do something 3D. Once I had decided to go in this direction, I decided to work quickly.

How did you decide what to make?

I looked at the image for probably a good three hours. The first thing that stood out are the eyes, there’s a bunch of them. I made the decision to make a ring because the eyes made me think of the stones called cat’s eye moonstone and tiger’s eye. But I thought that, for it to best represent the prompt, the stone should be something clear, those stones are opaque.

The 12 circles reminded me of prongs. So I thought a clear hexagonal stone is quite fitting. Initially, I wanted a step cut stone, because it would best reflect the lines in the illustration. But the only stone online I found would have to come all the way from India and it would not work with the 2-week constraint for this project. So I ended up getting a faceted quartz hexagon stone instead.

Cool! I also see this kind of wrapping quality to the ring. Can you talk about that?

If those 12 circles in the drawing were to transcend into the 3-dimensional realm, that’s what it would look like. The prongs emerging from the sides like that to hold up a stone is my interpretation of an attempt to reach for enlightenment.

The vortex in the drawing I think is a representation of that white beam of light that supposedly pours down on your head when you reach an enlightened state.

It’s a gorgeous piece! This is our first piece of jewelry -- in the entire corpus, you are our first jeweler.

Wow! I’m so honored!

How does this piece relate to the rest of your work?

I work at a jewelry manufacturing company where I do a bit of design work. I was a jeweler apprentice years ago. The jeweler acquired a 3D program, and he had me play around and learn it. So I did. Jewelry making just kind of stuck with me.

I know absolutely nothing about jewelry making. Usually, in these interviews, I feel like I have just enough knowledge to ask good questions, but that is not the case here. Can you actually just take a minute to describe the process you went through to make this?

First I made some simple sketches of what I plan to make. Then I made a 3D model of the sketch, which took me about 3 hours to make. After that, I sent the file to a metal casting company - to be printed and then cast into metal. I knew that there would be at least a week of idling, just waiting for the cast ring, that’s why I had to move fast. Then I set the stone, filed down excess materials and polished the piece. And lastly, photographing the finished product.

Cool! It seems like 3D programs and other developments have really expanded some opportunities for things like this.

Exactly. Technology has really sped up a lot of processes. Now you can 3D print the wax, whereas back in the day you’d have to sculpt the wax yourself.

In the jewelry world, 12 prongs to hold a stone is overkill. That’s more of an aesthetic thing. Also I made the prongs super thin. I intentionally made it that way, because the prompt has a really light quality to it, so I didn’t want to make something too bulky. I was also thinking about prisms -- how a white light, when it goes through a prism, becomes colorful. This is kind of a reverse of that. I received a colorful piece of art as a prompt, and I made something clear and colorless.

Prisms are so wild. Can you imagine being the first person to see that?

Right? It is wild. I heard this quote, maybe it was from my drunken friend who said: “the nature of consciousness is to expand itself.” Which makes me think of the first people who ate poisonous plants. People had to die, but knowledge continues on. Now we know what not to eat.

Do you have any advice for another artist approaching this project for the first time?

Keep an open mind about the artwork that you’re going to get. My feelings didn’t really get involved -- maybe because I’m a little too left-brained sometimes. Try to analyze the piece in a way that is true to you. And then put in the greatest effort that you can put in.

What haven’t I asked you? Ah – what is this ring made of?

It’s sterling silver. The stone is called Arkansas Quartz. It’s a ring that I could probably wear sometime.

Have you worn it?

Yeah, I’ve tried it on.

I wonder what it feels like to wear it. Since it’s connected to this web of other work. Maybe I’m being overly romantic, but I wonder if you can feel that connection? Like in the way you maybe feel the weight of a family heirloom?

Yeah, I think maybe you are being romantic, I don’t know. I must say though, that I’m proud of it. I have a real sense of accomplishment after doing this in two weeks. When I completed it, it felt like I conquered something.

What a way to kick off the New Year! You nailed the assignment!

It really does feel like a great way to start the year. I love the magazine. It’s so democratic, for lack of a better word. Everyone can express themselves in their very truest manner, and I love it.

Call Number: M41VA | M43VA.pa

Car Perea’s earliest memory of creating art was of a ball-point-pen sketch of a woman adorned in fabulous pieces of jewelry on a page of her mother’s journal. As a young adult she received a formal training in graphic design and later apprenticed in jewelry making. The greatest incentive in her creative journey lies in her introspective discovery along the way.