My work begins with clay or wax, and my hands do the rest, oftentimes without the benefit of a particular vision in mind. I am often surprised to find that my fingers have a mind of their own, and the results can be surprising. I make rings, pendants, bracelets, and brooches in silver and bronze with a touch of a gem here and there. I employ the age old lost wax casting process. The small figurative sculptures I make usually begin in clay, followed by a mold and stone resin casting. Typical of these sculptures is The House of Hauteville Chess Set pictured above. This motley crew of whimsical chessmen is what I call a twenty-first century look at medieval chess. The designs are inspired by wood carvings of a pawn and two knights found in Sicily and dating from the 11th Century.

The impetus for my work can come from something I’ve seen or read which evokes an urge to give the idea form. My experience comes from years of work in the jewelry business as a pattern maker, and prior to that from my family of artisans who encouraged me to dabble with paint, clay, plaster or mud to my heart’s content.

I’d like to think that there is one guiding principle behind what I do, but my creations are more like voyages that take me from one idea or style to another. Perhaps within all these varying bits of work, there lies some identifying mark that says Carolyn Cavanaugh made that.