Rae Jett | Carnation Ring

Artist: Rae Jett, Maine
Materials: brass, fine silver, enamel paint
Size: 7

Artist Statement: My work is an attempt to preserve the memory of softness. To loudly whisper a moment into existence. I speak to those who have felt loss like a scream and held joy desperately in their shaking hands. Flowers, half wilted and frozen in time, twist together for strength. Cutouts overlap to become one. The flowers I use are memories my queerness holds dear, they are moments that are not mine to keep. I make jewelry that is a love letter to those I have never met, the ones who were never given the option of softness. A memory of joy to spark light inside a life that has deeply known the dark.

Artist Bio: Rae Jett is a metalsmith based in Portland, me. She earned her BFA in metalsmithing and jewelry design from Maine College of Art in 2018. Combining a love for wood carving with traditional jewelry techniques, her work uses hand pierced elements to present wearable florals that appear to exist on the invisible line between the living and the dead.

This ring was part of Battle of the Rings: Ring Smackdown 2023, an online exhibition and competition. View the entire collection HERE, view the matches HERE, and learn more HERE.