Collection: Shana Bertetto
Jewelry
Columbia, SC | Exhibiting Since 2024
I work with a South American technique called Micro-Macramé, which is intricate knot tying. It is a slow and rhythmical meditative art embodying virtues of patience, focus, contemplation and appreciation to details. I am mostly self-taught, yet the foundations of this unique craft I learned from generous Artisanas (traveling artisans) while living in South America on and off for 10 years.
I use Brazilian waxed thread and tie thousands of knots by hand to create sculptural, comfortable and durable fiber statement jewelry. (My most complex design contains 5000+ knots and 150 individual guide threads.) Although dimensional, these fiber pieces contain no internal wire nor glue– they are formed purely of waxed thread and hours upon hours of intentional knotting.
Micro-macramé is a humble journey holding magnitudes for me. This body of work holds hours, days, weeks of meditative space that emerges through quiet, repetitive knot tying. It holds energy from the majestic geographies where I’ve lived and created. It holds vibrancy and joy shared from indigenous cultures I’ve met in my travels. It holds the harmony of sacred geometry, especially the mandala. And it holds equanimity, as I often need to untie hundreds of knots when designing a piece. These wearable works are my offering to the world, while the process and journey is also a gift to myself.
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