Marilyn da Silva’s most recent works highlight a series of functional jewel-like boxes that seem to glow. Da Silva was recently awarded the Master of the Medium in Metal award by the James Renwick Alliance in Washington, D.C. In its press release, the James Renwick Alliance wrote, “Marilyn’s work is special not only because it interestingly tells stories using realistic, natural and beautifully crafted elements such as birds and flowering branches, but because of the unique technique she developed for adding color to the metal objects. Her love of drawing led her to embellish the surfaces of her metal sculptures with gesso and color pencils rather than using chemical patinas. The result of this is beautiful, realistically nuanced coloration for her nature-based sculpture.”