Theresa Applegate | Apex Knuckles

Artist: Theresa Applegate, Indiana
Materials: sterling silver
Size: 8

Artist Statement: Molded and wax injected fossilized Great White Shark Teeth, Sculpted, Hand Cast. My love for treasure hunting, ephemera collecting, and building community is combined in this piece. Lately I’ve been obsessively scuba diving for shark’s teeth making some great friendships along the way, in addition to expanding my fossil collection. My friends allow me to borrow, mold, and cast teeth from their extensive collections. I completed my first shark dive where I got to observe feeding and swim with them in the open ocean. Sharks have been demonized and dangerously misunderstood.
This ring is created from a perfect Great White Shark tooth fossil recovered in South Carolina. I considered the conveyor belt rows of teeth inside the shark’s mouth and presented them across the hand in a bold statement. It embodies excitement, adventure, power, danger, and protection. The shark population is declining due to overfishing, shark finning, and climate change. They need our help. Love is protection.

Artist Bio: Theresa Applegate is a metalsmith and educator based in New Albany, Indiana. Her work vacillates between sculptural and functional; always connected to hyper-observation, oriented by process, and varied in scale. Although she primarily works in precious metals, she is also interested in media such as bookbinding, ceramic sculpture, and mold making. After teaching high school visual art for twelve years, she transitioned to a full-time studio artist. Theresa holds a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design, a MAT from the University of Louisville, and continued graduate studies with the University of Louisville and the Art of Education University. Theresa is a proud member of the Indiana Artisan organization. She enjoys traveling, scuba diving, raising butterflies, adventurous food, and spending time with her husband, Chase, and two children, Ezra and Rumi.

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This ring is part of Battle of the Rings: Ring Smackdown 2024, an online exhibition and competition. Shop the entire collection HERE, view the matches HERE, and learn more HERE.

Rings from this collection will ship, or be available for pick up, after the competition concludes on March 29.