Gold & Silversmithing & Natural History
Curations by Katherine Blackthorne
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Ghost-Lily is operated by Katherine Blackthorne
a multidisciplinary artist and metalsmith, inspired by the endless range of beauty that can be found both in nature and antiquity. Named for two of her horses, Ghost, and Lily. Creating inspired jewelry in silver, gold, and bronze, made by hand using a unique blend of contemporary and ancient tools and techniques. Artistry in metal begins with simple ingredients. Each piece is thoughtfully hand crafted from start to finish in our Central Coast California studio, starting with alloying and pouring handmade ingots. These ingots are then hammered, milled, and shaped into their final forms, or alternatively, sand or tufa cast into one-of-a kind heirlooms. |
silver rings and post earrings, 2019
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About The Artist
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Katherine is an emerging West Coast jeweler, sculptor, and photographer, living in the mountains of Central Coast
California on a historic working cattle ranch with her life partner and fellow artist Jeffrey Mundell. Katherine began silversmithing in 2016, learning one skill and acquiring one tool at a time. Around the same time she settled in the desert in the outskirts of Joshua Tree, and for the better part of a decade, worked in the field of rattlesnake husbandry & education, riding her horse and camping alone in the desert on days off. Forever in love with both the deep green forest and the austere beauty of the Mojave desert, all of these themes continue to emerge and re emerge in her silver work. |
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Artist Statement
Primarily a silver and goldsmith, but also a sculptor and photographer,
my art style individuated gradually over time, taking on the qualities of my surroundings,
varied interests, and winding path in life. Sometimes deeply sculptural, sometimes organically textured, sometimes brutalist, other times elegant, my pieces inhabit the liminal spaces between ancient and contemporary, natural and man-made.
As relatively recent Welsh & Irish diaspora living in the American West,
I am continually exploring my place in the world, sometimes even smithing
under the open sky at a campsite, as human beings have done since time immemorial.
As a natural consequence, I tend to favor the elegant simplicity of tools and techniques
that do not require electricity, including ancient Norse, Celtic, and Etruscan metallurgy,
and the quintessential Native American art of Tufa casting, which was developed by
Dine, Hopi, and Zuni silversmiths, and which I have been incredibly lucky to have had the chance to learn.
Through seemingly disparate themes and techniques, harmony emerged, and my own distinctive style revealed itself.
Bracelets and cuffs in particular are a powerful statement for both the wearer and the artist,
and are my favorite type of jewelry to create.
Their sheer size alone is a statement.
My hope is that these unique, completely handmade pieces
capture the imagination of the modern wanderers, poets, cowboys, philosophers, biologists,
artists, and historians, and help to express the timelessness
of spirit so many of us experience, but struggle to articulate.
my art style individuated gradually over time, taking on the qualities of my surroundings,
varied interests, and winding path in life. Sometimes deeply sculptural, sometimes organically textured, sometimes brutalist, other times elegant, my pieces inhabit the liminal spaces between ancient and contemporary, natural and man-made.
As relatively recent Welsh & Irish diaspora living in the American West,
I am continually exploring my place in the world, sometimes even smithing
under the open sky at a campsite, as human beings have done since time immemorial.
As a natural consequence, I tend to favor the elegant simplicity of tools and techniques
that do not require electricity, including ancient Norse, Celtic, and Etruscan metallurgy,
and the quintessential Native American art of Tufa casting, which was developed by
Dine, Hopi, and Zuni silversmiths, and which I have been incredibly lucky to have had the chance to learn.
Through seemingly disparate themes and techniques, harmony emerged, and my own distinctive style revealed itself.
Bracelets and cuffs in particular are a powerful statement for both the wearer and the artist,
and are my favorite type of jewelry to create.
Their sheer size alone is a statement.
My hope is that these unique, completely handmade pieces
capture the imagination of the modern wanderers, poets, cowboys, philosophers, biologists,
artists, and historians, and help to express the timelessness
of spirit so many of us experience, but struggle to articulate.