Victoria Lansford | Sila II

Artist:  Victoria Lansford

Materials: Fine silver, sterling, copper, shibuichi 22k, 24k gold, Koroit opal

Dimensions: 3-1/2″ x 2-1/8″ x 5/8″, 22″ chain

Origin of featured materials: Shining Wave Metals / Phillip Baldwin

Story behind the piece:  In Middle Eastern lore, Sila are the highly intelligent, shape-shifting djinn. Tolerant of humans, they are often portrayed as female though are the least often seen type of djinn. Their name (pronounced see-lah) may be linguistically related to the Middle English word, seelie, meaning good fairy.

The inspiration of these shapes in my artwork comes from my love of Moorish archways and the genie bottle shaped, blown glass and gilded holiday ornaments that belonged to my grandmother.

There are so many design styles from antiquity that speak to me far more than the current trends in art jewelry and commercial design. Never one to merely imitate the past, I meld the feeling of my favorite design styles from history while always striving to speak these lines and curves in my own voice. My artwork lies at the intersection of others’ past and my present.

When I’ve completed all the Eastern repoussé I grind the surface of selected areas to reveal the pattern made by my hammering’s displacement of the mokume’s layers. I put these sheets through hell with more than 20 rounds of hammering! Phillip’s sheets always stood up to the task. His willingness to experiment with my ideas of what layers might work where made my wild concepts possible. I’ll always be deeply grateful for Phillip’s support of my pioneering combination of these techniques.

Artist Bio: Victoria Lansford is an artist and educator who combines historical metalsmithing and illumination processes with cutting edge technology to create contemporary interpretations of centuries-old craft forms. With a creative career spanning over 30 years, her genre-busting and award-winning art explores feminine power and ranges in scale from intricate art jewelry and miniatures to architectural metalwork. 

This piece is part of, From Wave to Shining Wave: a Celebration of Phil Baldwin and Shining Wave Metals Baldwin. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Seattle Metals Guild. 5% of sales will be donated to help fund an endowment at Pendland in Phillip Baldwin’s name. Learn more HERE. All work will remain on exhibit through July 20, 2025.

📂 [View the entire collection HERE ]

ℹ️ [Learn more about the exhibition HERE]