JJ Singh Metal & Art Academy

When AMCAW approached me about creating a project using only 20g of Art Clay Silver, that could also be torch fired, I immediately knew it would have something to do with amulets of protection. A challenging year at best, 2020 became even more difficult when my mother-in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Between a global pandemic, social unrest, and her cancer diagnosis, I was feeling the desire to seek protection through my art. I began to research about the power of amulets and talismans. The Evil Eye is a symbol found in cultures across the globe dating back to Greek classical antiquity. The Evil Eye is believed to reflect back malevolent energy that could cause a person misfortune or injury. This is exactly what I wanted to create! Evil Eye Amulets traditionally have a blue center. When glazed, Egyptian mud developed a blue hue because it contained a high percentage of oxides including copper and cobalt. This is the first known use of the color blue in the Evil Eye Amulet. In this project, we will use turquoise as our center stone to represent a blue eye. To mimic the reflective quality of the iris, we will use gold colored glass shards. And finally, half-drilled pearls add a dramatic flair and suggest tears as they are suspended from the bottom of the piece.