Sgraffito and Tanzanite Earrings by Tanya Crane
These enamel and Amber earrings move easily from office to dinner. They are handmade using enamel over copper with a surgical steel post and sterling catch. Tanya hand-draws the design using a scratch-away method called sgraffito. The earrings are fired in a kiln at 1500 degrees and Tanya adds an additional top layer of enamel that is fired to a sugar coat for added texture and interest. The fair trade tanzanite and amber adds another dimension to the already elegant movement.
Tanya Monique Crane describes her art as existing in a liminal space between prejudice and privilege. As a child she experienced a “dual existence,” splitting her time between a white middle-class neighborhood and a predominantly working-class Black neighborhood in South Central LA. This experience has deeply informed her work, with many of her large-scale pieces reflecting on her lived experience with race.
Crane received her MFA in Metalsmithing + Jewelry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her BFA in Metal from the State University of New York at New Paltz. Crane is a Professor of the Practice in Metals at the School Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts.
Size: 2” long x 1/2” at widest point
Enamel over copper, tanzanite, sterling silver post and ear nut.