Mitotic

August 2022
Sterling silver, moss agate & quartz doublets

This piece was inspired by the resemblance of the dendritic inclusions in moss agate to cellular machinery—mitochondria, ribosomes and the like—and a coincident exploration of partially-open bezel settings.

In this piece, the process of mitosis is depicted through the interphase, prophase/metaphase, anaphase, telophase and finally cytokinetic stages. In the stages of anaphase and telophase, as the child cells separate, we see two sets of genetic material pulling away from each other and separating fully while still bound by the same cell membrane—two stones set partially open in a single bezel.

The entire piece is hung on a French rope chain, which is evocative of the helical structure of of DNA (albeit only a single helix in the chain).
Size: 1" x 3.5"
18" chain is included