Selected pieces of Asheville jeweler Claudia Herr’s Moonlight Leaf Collection are now on display at Tryon Arts and Crafts School’s gift shop at 373 Harmon Field Road.  The collection includes pendants, rings and earrings made of oxidized and rolling mill printed sterling silver with splashes of 14K gold in beautiful leaf-like natural shapes.

 

Born in Germany, Claudia Herr developed her craft of jewelry design based on years of travel, exploration, and work in the field of interior home-décor design. Owning an international family business of objets d’art for interiors, including lamps with patented light design, silver bowls, and natural sculptural elements – the concept of “going smaller” began to take root when Claudia and her family moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2007. She started taking silversmithing classes at Tryon Arts and Crafts School and found her true voice as a jeweler working with silver, gold, and natural gemstones.

 

Claudia envisions natural forms, combines them into hard materials, and creates delicate but durable jewelry pieces, which form her style of simplicity and clarity. She has a penchant for natural rough stones, like quartzes, with an unusual form that reveals their origin. The item’s final finish reflects the natural beauty of the materials used to underline the intentional imperfections of Claudia’s hand-made jewelry.

 

Claudia reports that, “I am happy to “give back” by selling and exhibiting at Tryon Arts and Crafts School for the training I received there.”  Her work may also be seen at gift shops at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Asheville and Orlando and at the Casa Monica in St. Augustine.  She will also be exhibiting in TACS’ Juried Show, which opens on April 29, from 6 – 8 p.m. and runs through June 3.

-Submitted by Cathy Fischer