DRESSING WITH ARTISTIC FLAIR

The macrame boom of the 1970s left us with more than a surplus of fiber plant hangers. Marion Hunziker, a California artist who creates exquisite jewelry from fiber, metal and semiprecious stones, became intrigued by macrame and developed a line of one-of-a-kind jewelry using intricately woven, colored fibers as the basis for dramatic neck-pieces and belts.

Hunziker meticulously knots extremely fine strands of nylon, silk and rayon--sometimes using as many as 400 knots per square inch--to create singularly striking, three-dimensional designs. The colorful fiber web secures a foundation of metal wires and prongs that holds agates, pyrites, moonstones, garnets and other stones, as well as cloisonne. Although most of Hunziker’s pieces are one of a kind, she has created several limited-edition sets, such as the “Triangle Series” shown at far left. All the jewelry pieces are lined with supple leather to ensure a smooth feel against the skin.

The “Triangle Series” is crafted from rust-colored nylon and silk, with a copper-wire support. The clasp is made of hand-crafted sterling silver, and the center stone is a brownish-orange carnelian. The “Amethyst Flower” neck-piece, center, is made from burgundy- and bronze-colored nylon and silk and sterling silver, with amethysts and garnets in shades of lavender and teal. At left is the “Jardin a Grenats” belt, another one-of-a-kind work. The fibers, nylon and silk, are off-white; the stones--Arizona agate, moonstone and garnet--are lavender and burgundy. The snakeskin belt also is burgundy.