Artist's Statement

Medium: Lapidary, Cold-connect and Soldered Jewelry

There is beauty and eon's old mystery in our own back yard. That is the story that we tell with our work that focuses on the designer cabochons that I cut from the colourful rock of the Bay of Fundy.

The Fundy basin is home to some of the oldest exposed rock found in Eastern Canada. It is rich in fossils, minerals, the crypto-crystalline quartz formations of agate and jasper and some lovely examples of amethyst.

It is with great delight that I venture out in search of new finds that nature exposes annually with the spring thaws. These small treasures are very rough and often dull mud-covered chunks, but the real joy is in uncovering the gorgeous colours and patterns inside a seemingly worthless rock that has been trapped in a volcano's basalt for hundreds of millions of years.

The first cut into the rock with the lapidary saw is the most exciting; it is at that moment that the hidden mystery is exposed. The colours, the banding, the small bits of druzy and occasional larger mineral crystals of the rock come to life on the diamond polishing wheels the equipment.

The jewelry that I make using these cabochons is completely handcrafted by me, one at a time, using precious metal wire and sheet stock in both the soldered and cold work. The jewelry that incorporates stones or gems is strongly influenced by the shapes and textures of the stones as I work to accentuate their natural beauty.

I have found that textile techniques such as knitting, crocheting and weaving often provide wonderful accents to the stones’ settings.

I have the necessary skills and understanding of the lapidary equipment and of the tools and techniques used in my jewelry design and construction to do any job required at any step of the process.

These skills also allow my clients to work comfortably in order to customize stone and jewelry to their specifications.

It is my expectation that my skill and patience to expertly execute the intended designs, shows in the unique and beautiful pieces that I present and that my jewelry will continue to engage current collectors as well as attract new visitors to the work Top

About the Artist

Cynthia did not initially train as an artist, despite her strong interest and independent study in the arts. She received a BA from St. Thomas University in 1990.

Cynthia studied stained glass in 1990 and again in 1991 with a highly accomplished local design team. Her work in stained glass may be found in many area homes and she was the designer and head artisan for the art glass windows and panels used in the 1999 renovations of the Hilltop Grill & Beverage Co. of Fredericton, NB.

In 1995, Cynthia’s work with stained glass developed into a wholesale business, Candlelights and Roses (now Atlantic Pewter), which she was instrumental in establishing in Harvey Station, NB. In this business, she incorporated pewter casting with her stained glassware designs for a line of giftware and produced designs for their line of pewter jewelry.

Cynthia left the Atlantic Pewter management team in 2000 but continued to design and consult for them until 2003.

During that time, Cynthia worked to develop another jewelry business that would accentuate the use of color in the designs. This change of direction lead to independent study and work in beaded jewelry, lamp-worked glass beads, polymer clay jewelry and wire jewelry.

In 2003, the new business became ...and now for something completely different… jewelry which builds on her interest in the structure and creation of jewelry constructed primarily from wire and stone. Their work has quickly evolved into precious metal jewelry incorporating gems and their designer cabochons, and jewelry using textile related techniques.

Her work has been shown at the Metal Arts Guild of Nova Scotia’s annual exhibits at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, in 2004 and in October of 2005 where the entry received an honorable mention in the “All Silver” category. More success followed with awards for Best Design in 2006 and The Frank Phillips Award for Excellence in 2007. She has also participated in gallery shows in Toronto and Calgary. Cynthia is a juried and exhibiting members of both the New Brunswick Crafts Council and the Nova Scotia Designers Crafts Council.

Cynthia resides near the village of Harvey Station, NB with her husband, David, her cat, and his daughter.

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Cynthia Ryder

Current Memberships

New Brunswick Crafts Council (Juried 2005)

Nova Scotia Designer Crafts Council (Juried 2005)

Metal Arts Guild of Nova Scotia (Juried 2003)

Dartmouth Handcrafters’ Guild (Juried 2003)

Metal Arts Guild of Canada

Fredericton Arts Alliance

Mactaquac Country Chamber of Commerce

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Exhibits of note

October 2007, Metal Arts Guild of Nova Scotia annual exhibit, with the theme of Which Craft?, hosted at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax. Received The Frank Phillips Award of Excellence for "Ribbon"

October 2006, Metal Arts Guild of Nova Scotia annual exhibit, with the theme of Fantasies & Fables, hosted at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax. Received an award for Best Piece, Gem Stone category for the submission "Borg Mask". The same piece resulted in one of the shows three major awards, the Touch of Gold Design Trophy, being presented for Best Design.

November 1 - December 10, 2005, Participation in Cocktail Rings at INFLUX Jewellery Gallery, Calgary, AB

October 2005, Metal Arts Guild of Nova Scotia annual exhibit, with the theme of Play, hosted at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax. Honorable mention received in the All Silver category for the entry of Monkey Bars.

October 2004, Metal Arts Guild of Nova Scotia annual exhibit, with the theme of Ancient History, hosted at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax.

June 24 –August 8, 2004 at Metalurge, Toronto, Ontario. Participation in Love, Promise, Faith: Artists Re-Image the Ring

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