Co-rippler: Marina calamai
“With this collaboration, I had always wanted to create something using the pattern of the hive and the hexagonal foundations of the honeycomb,” explains Marina Calamai. Artisan, artist, jeweller, designer, installation maker and intrepid creative, Florentine-born Calamai has her roots deep in the artisan heritage of Florence and in the Santo Spirito neighbourhood of her childhood in particular with its artisan bottegas. Her commitment to hand-made art, sustainable consciousness and a deep connection with nature define the modern renaissance of today: where curiosity and passion are its cornerstone, and art comes in prolific forms and expressions.
“For me the actual hexagon form of the honeycomb, in and of itself, is beautiful,” she smiles. Nature especially, speaks very profoundly to the Calamai process when she creates. “I have always been attracted to and am passionate about the patterns of nature and especially the 13th century Fibonacci sequence of sacred geometry that is found in many instances in the natural world,” Calamai explains.
Calamai’s studio is filled with her many artistic expressions all made by hand: direct references to Leonardo da Vinci, diverse art works, varied jewellery collections, tributes to historical architecture and writings, fascinations with all things sweet, rich symbols, sounds and musings. Her creativity is never-ending and at its core, it aims to awaken all of the senses for a full experience.
The world of bees has always interested Calamai, and recently, when she came to research them in greater detail, she became even more fascinated to understand how they live, their populations of numbers, how many flowers a bee touches in a day, the incredible work they do, and their commitment to their work.
“When I was creating these pieces of jewellery, I came across a little bee with her legs full of pollen on its way back to the hive presumably,” she recounts. “This image really called to me that this worker bee does so much in one day. Researching the bees further, I realised that we as humans we must take a step back and take an example from them. It is we humans that are causing damage to them. I find that these insects, who do so much and are committed to their work, are entities from which we can definitely take inspiration.”
With this notable honeycomb collection created for Lady Ripple, the hexagonal pieces in themselves will become a point of conversation for anyone who wears them.
