After an injury to her hand, Yuka Saito became fascinated with the material used for her splint, Polycaprolactone(PCL), an EPA approved thermoplastic. Saito realized the great potential, continually layering thin pieces of the material to build delicate flowing forms, creating lightweight and intricate jewelry.
Saito pursued the use of spices vibrant pigmentation to imbue color into her jewels.To integrate the spice colors to the Polycaprolactone. Spices are continually added to the heated material, hand kneaded, rolled and stretched to be incorporated through out the layers. When held up to the light, the semi-translucency of the PCL, allows you to view the individual grains of the spices used to color her sculptural jewelry.
She hopes that viewers and wearers of the jewels will get a hint of the scenery of the region or memory associated with the spice or that the spices used can connect them to a memory of their own, whether it be a trip, a person or a meal.
| Dimensions | 10″ x 7″ x 1 1/4″, 20″ length |
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| Materials | Beets, Erythrite, Polycaprolactone, Sterling silver |