Style:

Style is at the heart of "what makes Gemscapes so special anyway?"

It is Sherris' fluid, dimensional carving that brings clients back again and again. Sherris' carved gems looks different from every angle. When you wear one of her gem carvings as a pendant for instance, the scoops and swirls and ridges of the carving will reflect light differently as you move in and out of different light sources.

Sometimes called organic, other times called feminine, Sherris' style is difficult to categorize but easy to recognize.

In September 1994 a profile of Sherris titled "Sparkle and Motion" was published in Lapidary Journal. In that article, subtitled "A Michigan goldsmith turned carver transforms gems into fluid abstractions," Cathleen McCarthy asked Sherris about her design philosophy:

"I want to create a sense of fluidity and motion. It's paradoxical to take a solid, unyielding medium and try to create a sense of flowing and movement. But that is the thing I'm always aiming for in terms of design.

I think you can bring out an entirely different dimension in gems by doing that. For centuries people have been concentrating on brightness, flash and sparkle. I'm concerned with those things too, but I want to take a gemstone and look at it in a completely different frame of mind, and consider how this piece can do more than sparkle. To me, that's the challenge."

In 1994 Sherris had just completed, and been awarded a Cutting Edge Award for,
"The Waterfall Suite," |>| a suite of three large aquamarine sculptures on onxy bases. In her article Cathleen McCarthy said:

"In many ways, her aquamarine waterfall suite thus far represents the pinnacle of that quest. Each piece has an organically shaped and ridged, matte onyx base that appears to be perpetually on the verge of immersion in flowing aquamarine. Her success in capturing the 'feeling of water tunbling over rocks' has opened up a wealth of images to her imagination. 'In my onyx work now, I'm trying to create a feeling of sand dunes — the ripples of winddblown desert sand, where the holes and shadows form definite lines but with very soft forms underneath.'

Whether we all look at the work and say 'Sand dunes!' is not the point of course. Shank is first and foremost an abstract artist... 'It's not as if I took a photograph and attempted to recreate it... I try to take a concept and create it in a free form manner.'"

In a July 2002 profile of Sherris titled "Curving Light," published in Professional Jeweler, Robert Weldon said:

"Few are as blessed in their chosen profession as Sherris Cottier Shank... Her one-of-a-kind inspirations have won awards and elicited the delight of legions of retailers and consumers. She carves dreamy, sensuous grooves into a gem's front and juxtaposes them with counter directional lines in the pavilion. This flaunts each gem's most vivid natural colors and reflects light in unusual, dazzling, wavy configurations."

Specific Forms

Within her overall style of fluid abstraction, Sherris works in several specific forms that affect the way a finished gem carving will be set or worn.

Pavilion Back |^|

This 13.48 ct. Fire Opal is cut with a pavilion back. Pavilions are pointed to reflect light back through the top of transparent gems, and are a standard shape used in all faceted gems including diamonds. Sherris carves grooves in precise patterns on the pavilion to intensify the light reflections and create a bright and lively gem carving when viewed from the front. Pavilion back gems can be mounted just like any fancy faceted gem in prongs or bezels.

Matte and Bright |<|

Some gems call out for a matte and bright finish to uncover their beauty hiding inside. The matte finish is applied with sand blasting and the bright accents are highly polished. The matte and bright finish works equally well with both strong and delicate colors such as this 8.51 ct Aquamarine.