It is lovely to see one's own work featured in a printed book. The Contemporary Jewelry Exchange I participated in took place in 2015. I was paired with Caitie Sellers who made a wonderful silver brooch for me. I in turn made a necklace for her which was inspired by the powerful brushstrokes of one of Vincent van Gogh's self-portraits. I had seen this amazing painting a few years ago in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. The energy that radiates from the original painting is breathtaking. Not just because of the unbelievable variation of the colour turquoise, but because of the depth that van Gogh created by applying thick strokes of paint. Due to the ingenious lighting system in the museum every one of these brushstrokes is clearly visible and adds to the very rich and tactile texture of the painting. (Very tempting to touch...but very well protected by a thick sheet of glass) Since I love mixing glass colours I challenged myself to try and reproduce van Gogh's colour hues in glass. This is the process of making the necklace.