Writer Amanda Christmann // Photography Courtesy of Crevoshay Jewels

It has been said that artists are not created so much as they are born. Inside their DNA is an intrinsic and compulsory need for creative expression. As real as eye color or curly hair, the animus of the artist permeates their thoughts and dreams and insists upon being heard. The artist has no choice but to listen.

It is difficult to discern whether Paula Crevoshay’s passion drives her art, or whether art drives her passion. Like the light that shines through the vibrantly beautiful flora and fauna she creates, her art is a force that she cannot ignore.

“It’s not about me at all,” she says. “I’m just supposed to do this. I see a stone and it tells me what it should be.”

The result is some of the most breathtaking and renowned works of any modern artist, not only for their visual appeal but because every piece tells a story. Crevoshay uses some of the finest stones and precious metals on earth to tell romantic tales of nature, science and mythology.

Crevoshay has chased visions and dreams, creating an oeuvre that inspires as much as it astounds.

Her name is well-known among both jewelers and gemologists, and her work is displayed in impressive collections like the Smithsonian, Carnegie Museum and Gemological Institute of America. This award-winning judge, educator and designer takes a unique approach.

“I am not a jeweler; I am a painter,” she says. “I paint with the light of the earth and I sculpt with her noble metals.

“I hope to bring a greater understanding of the beauty of our world and how interdependent it is on everything else.”

Unlike traditional jewelers, many of whom come from families who have honed their art for centuries, Crevoshay’s journey has taken a winding road.

Her mother was an artist, poet, singer and writer; her father had earned two PhDs in chemical and mechanical engineering, developing multiple patents throughout his life. It was the perfect marriage between art and science, and Paula was the fortunate recipient of both skill sets.

As a child, she played beneath a willow tree, watching light shine through its branches as they swayed and danced in the wind. She was fascinated by flowers, bugs and other creatures that crawled across the dirt carpet and up into its boughs. She watched with delight as bees pollinated flowers and as spiders spun their webs. These would later become her muses.

Born with a rare genetic gift called tetrachromacy, Crevoshay sees approximately 100 times the number of colors that most people perceive. The world she lives in is vividly colorful, as is the art she creates.

“I work with the light of the earth,” she explains. “It’s aesthetic, but it’s also scientific.”

Inspired by Life

Crevoshay earned her master’s degree in painting and sculpture from University of Wisconsin — Madison, then moved to New York to launch her career at the prestigious Mary Boone Gallery.

However, as her later work would prove, she was not driven by aspirations so much as she was driven by inspiration. She fell in love with her late husband George, and together they left all they knew to spend four years at a Buddhist monastery.

Crevoshay studied with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s teachers while George worked on his thesis. For 15 years, they worked, lived and loved in Southeast Asia — a time she playfully dubs their “Magical Mystery Tour.”

Influenced by Asian ideals of the interwoven and inseparable nature of all beings, Crevoshay began her transition into jewelry design.

Today, Crevoshay Jewels are among the most collectible gemstone artwork in the world. Informed by her curiosity for the natural world, her use of noble metals and the finest gemstones is unmatched, both for its beauty and its ability to articulate that which must be felt and not spoken.

For example, it was Rudyard Kipling’s 1890 poem “Mandalay,” a working-class British soldier’s pining for a beautiful woman he left behind in Burma, that inspired one of Crevoshay’s works:

On the road to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay,
With our sick beneath the awnings when we went to Mandalay!
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin’-fishes play,
An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay!

From this verse, inspired by Kipling’s own years in Southeast Asia, Crevoshay created a stunning brooch from beautifully textured gold and inlaid apatite, black and white diamonds, and four gorgeous pearls.

As light refracts through its fins and body, the depth of the details inspires more than admiration; one can almost feel the loving and longing that Kipling described.

A spectrum of emotions is elicited from Crevoshay’s work. From sea creatures to pollinators to endangered species and more, Crevoshay presents a vision of nature that is calming and enchanting while stirring the feeling of connection that we all share with the natural world.

Queen of Color

Her “Flying Fish of Mandalay” is just one of hundreds of one-of-a-kind works of art that has earned her acclaim, and sometimes fame.

“I only do one-of-a-kind everything,” she says. “I never duplicate because I am an artist. Money doesn’t drive me one bit.”

In fact, she has turned down multiple opportunities to mass-produce her work, both because of her respect for the process and for her appreciation and adoration of the art itself.

From pendants to earrings to rings, and everything in between, Crevoshay is a master painter, though it is jewels that are spread upon her palette.

She’s so good at it that she has been dubbed the Queen of Color — one of the most significant compliments she could receive in an industry known for its chromatic brilliance. No one does color like Crevoshay.

That color will be on vibrant display March 11 and 12 at Grace Renee Gallery in Carefree, during an event that offers the rare opportunity to meet Crevoshay and explore her incredible collection.

Crevoshay’s work has been featured in exhibitions from Los Angeles to Paris. She has penned four books and has been asked to speak at some of the most esteemed institutions in the world. An apt gemologist, her command of all aspects of her art are truly astounding.

Perhaps most impressive of all, however, is her work itself. It is as if each piece has coaxed its way out of her mind, from deep within her where her artist’s heart beats in rhythm with all of nature. She influences culture by beautifully reminding us of who we are — and our interconnected place in a complex but exquisite world.

Experience
Paula Crevoshay // March 11 and 12 // 4–7 p.m. // Grace Renee Gallery // 7212 E. Ho Road, Carefree // 480-575-8080 // gracereneegallery.com