Judith Altruda Jewelry

My jewelry is hand fabricated using a variety of metal smithing processes. Everything is made in my studio in Tokeland, Washington, on the beautiful Willapa Bay. All pieces are one of a kind.

Time and Tide provide the inspiration. From ancient coins to Victorian era sea glass, I am intrigued by the stories inherent in these objects. The processes of time, the effects of exposure, the ‘wearing away’ evoke wonder and a sense of the unknowable. In the case of the sea glass, in the 1800’s glass manufacturing factories on the NE coast of England dumped their ‘end of day sweeps’ over nearby cliffs into the ocean. What was once garbage has been polished in the sea for over one hundred years, transforming glass shards into smoothly shaped and frosted treasures. Reclaimed and transformed by time and the elements of nature.

I have been living in this tiny coastal community for about thirty years. In many ways I, too, have been reclaimed and transformed by living so close to the elements of nature. It is an intrinsic part of who I am and the work I create. I hope it speaks to you as well!