Introduction to Jewelry Designed by Barry Herem

For the time being (May 2006) all jewelry designed by Barry Herem, including the three bracelets shown on these web pages and all of those referenced in the Metal Arts catalogue link which can be followed, may be purchased directly through Herem's email address RavCoast@aol.com. In the near future we will have access to an easy and simple direct purchasing system to Metal Arts itself.

At the moment pricing is complicated by the strongly fluctuating international price of silver but most works are under the $200.00 range.

The Jewelry

Approximately two dozen jewelry pieces have so far been designed by Mr. Herem with more added every few months. The following three have been highlighted on this website because they are among either the newest or the most popular of his jewelry pieces. All are made of 100% sterling silver; heavy and strong they are meant to be "stretched" (carefully bent outward, or pressed inward by hand) to fit most wrist sizes. The design is deeply embossed with sharp clear edges throughout. Recessed (negative areas) have been chemically oxidized black, the positive areas take a gleaming luster when polished. Each one comes in a beautiful gift box with velvet interior.

Mankind Emerging

This design has been the most popular of all the jewelry work designed by Barry Herem. It references the Haida myth of Raven having discovered the first men emerging from a clamshell found on Rose Spit, one of the great wild beaches of the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida gwai) off the mainland of British Columbia. The bracelet is shaped like an opening clam in which one can see many small human figures tucked, standing and stooped, about to emerge into the world.

Diving Frog

His arms and webbed front feet thrown back this frog, with his wide mouth and variegated spots, is poised to leap into space. In fact the frog may be a kind of "spacey" figure, viewed traditionally as a messenger of shamanic import and as an aid to shamanic trance states. It was also a crest figure representing particular family lineages among the people of the Northwest Coast. Though exceptionally thin the long arms of this figure stand up well to adjustments for various wrist sizes.

Pacific Bridge

Barry Herem is not only well-known for his work in Northwest Coast style form line art, but is also a student of many graphic design styles from throughout the Pacific. This highly curvilinear work knowledgeably draws upon some of the design conventions of several Pacific and Asian peoples. The dominating feel - the central spirals for instance - are drawn from the design conventions of the people of the Amur River in western Siberia. These are combined with design elements from the Northwest Coast, New Zealand and Micronesia in a striking scroll of traditional motifs.

All Jewelry Items