Isabelle Posillico is a contemporary jewelry designer with a knack for letting her medium speak to her. When designing her pieces, Isabelle arranges stones and metal, but then she listens as they lead her to new creative ways of expressing her artistry through jewelry.
She’s thrilled to watch her pieces evolve organically, and her collectors are equally enthralled by the colors and shapes of her work. Isabelle similarly delights in watching jewelry lovers find a connection with one of her pieces.
This is precisely why she enjoys being a part of the Celebration of Fine Art; the show affords her the opportunity to commune with art lovers over their appreciation for her whimsical and elegant pieces.
How did you get started in art?
My background is architectural interior design. I did that for many years. Then in the late ’80s, early ’90s, the economy was kind of slow. I had extra time on my hands, so I took a jewelry class at Long Beach City College in Southern California. I learned how to solder, and that’s how I started.
What is the theme behind your work?
I’ve always loved color. So in my cases, I have everything arranged by color. I know everyone has their favorite. It’s kind of fun to pick stones and pick shapes, but I stick with certain color palettes, and then I arrange them.
Then I do things in collections. So I have my dance partner earrings, which are my mismatched earrings, and those I do in all of the colors. I have my time ribbon series; I have those in different colors as well, basically, gold bead with different color beads.
One series leads to another series. The time ribbon series led to the satellite series, and now those are evolving into more of the ribbons that I’m working with now.
What inspires your work?
A lot of the inspiration comes from the stones. Once I start playing with one stone or one shape, I work with the piece. As I work with it, it changes.
I like to do it as a set –– a necklace and a ring and a bracelet and earrings. And then from there, I realize, “Oh, I can go this direction, or be a different type of earrings. Or, this could be elements for a bracelet, or this piece could be great for a ring.” When I’m working, it leads to other things.
I’m inspired by what I see on my walks, like the color in plants, especially here with the cactus when they bloom. Architecture also inspires me; I love architectural magazines. I like to see what’s being built. I hand-construct all my pieces with wire and sheet, and I bend and solder. It’s very much constructing each piece separately. Once I do that, then it inspires the next piece. It builds on itself that way.
How do you hope your pieces make people feel?
I consider my work elegant contemporary jewelry. I want it to be somewhat timeless. When someone sees a piece, they love it because it makes them feel pretty –– more feminine and delicate. They feel confident when they wear it.
It’s fun to see which pieces certain people pick; you can see in their eyes when it’s the right piece for them. Either they’re drawn to the color, or the fun whimsy of, say, the dance partner mismatched pieces. It’s something that they’re drawn to that makes them feel confident.
I love that. It keeps me designing new pieces. I like to hear what people say, what they’re looking for. All of those things together, getting the client to be confident with what they’re wearing and to make them feel pretty, because jewelry should be pretty.
What makes the Celebration of Fine Art unique?
I’ve done a lot of shows in my career, and I love this show because I get to be a store for almost three months. I get to rearrange the cases. I never get to show this much work in any of the other shows I’ve ever done.
I’ve gotten to participate in some really quality shows with my peers, which has been wonderful, but the Celebration of Fine Art is so special because I get to actually talk to people. They see me working on a piece, and then they might come back another week and see the finished piece. Then they want to know what’s next.
We don’t get to do that at other shows. We have a great opportunity here to meet a lot of people that come through, and they get to see us work, which is great.