Jewels of the Reef, Born of a Synergy of Passions, Since 2006
Aloha and E Komo Mai (welcome) to my Etsy Shop. I’m thrilled to have you stop by! I’m Craig Threshie (my friends often call me Thresh), jewelry artist, former architect-retired, lifelong designer and craftsman in many realms, and creator of Jewels of the Reef. Jewelry-art creation is a great passion of mine. I love it when I see people enjoying my design and craftsmanship, and the passions it embodies. My art is truly born out of a synergy and confluence of many of my passions in life and what I hold as many of my priorities.
I created “Jewels of the Reef” from a melding of my passion for gem cutting and fine art design and sculpting, my love of the sea and the magnificent tropical reef environs of the world, and my respect and appreciation for the Hawaiian and Polynesian people and their cultures. The word “Jewels” in the name has three meanings of importance to me. First and most obvious is the reference to the jewelry I create. Secondly, I see the reef environs and the tropics as a home to a myriad of incredibly diverse jewels of nature, and my jewelry art will often celebrate many of these “jewels”, such as the marine life pieces I create. And finally, the jewels of inspiration I perceive in the incredible display of colors, textures, natural materials and the interplay of light that this environment holds. I cherish this natural environment and the cultures that have made their home in these wild places, and I’m inspired to create art that celebrates their interrelationship.
I’ve been a gem cutter and collector since I was about nine, and I have my parents to thank for that. I was immediately drawn to the incredible gem precious opal as a young lapidary, and to this day I still find opal to be the most exciting gem to explore from a rough state, covered in sandstone and potch, with the most amazing reward of color and dynamic interplay of light within the hidden gem inside. I guess I love all kinds of gems, but I’m especially drawn to compose with those that have the added dimension of chatoyancy, shiller and play-of-color (precious opal), all related to the movement of light. The dynamics of light are crucial in the creation of jewelry art.
It was in high school I began to learn about and practice lost wax sculptural jewelry creation and fell in love with this form of expression and craftsmanship as well. The process is all very artistically exciting and very technical at the same time. This is my kind of joy in art. Creating sculpture in precious metals and integrating it with gems and pearls and hardwoods; it just doesn’t get any better than that! I was hooked on creating jewelry art at that point in high school.
My years studying at the University of California Berkeley were crucial in my development as both an artist and an environmental designer. I had a passion for learning that was unstoppable and I couldn’t get enough of the world-class professors and learning environment there at Cal. Art, architecture, landscape architecture, the earth sciences, music, I loved absorbing it all and the experience continues to shape my life and my art in my careers in jewelry and architecture as I develop further and further.
Through the years I have benefited from the hands-on teachings of a number of great jewelry artists to hone my skills, primarily in intensive workshop settings held throughout the country. I never stop learning, and I love to push myself to develop new skills in my work. I have explored and have been proficient in many, many crafts over the years, including fine home building and everything that goes into it.
To complete the story of why I created Jewels of the Reef, The reef environments of the world are suffering right now from our impacts. I’d like to see us do much better. I have always been strongly drawn to the oceans, and now that I have sailed and snorkeled and swam on many reefs in the world, I’m very concerned by what I have personally seen and what I study. I want to help raise awareness and knowledge of the reef and of all its life and importance to us. Please visit my website to see more on this topic at http://www.jewelsofthereef.com/conservation_a/270.htm
Previously living and working on the magnificent island of Kauai, the aloha spirit has seeded itself in me. The beauty of Hawaii and the Hawaiian people’s incredible culture influences everything I create. I am an admiring student of the Hawaiian people and culture and I feel extremely fortunate to be able to get to know these extraordinary people and to have lived in their incredible island home. All of my jewelry art is made with aloha, from my heart, and I’m excited and humbled to be able to spread this spirit in my art and service to you.
Aloha and Mahalo,
Thresh
