Pietre Preziose is a celebration of beauty, chemistry and personal history. Women in Sicily are held precious yet often limited by the traditions of an ancient culture. My own background often hits up against the hard surface of these limitations. In an effort to soften the differences between us, I have given gemstone pendants to twelve women that are interlocked in a social web around my Sicilian family. Each stone in turn symbolizes one of the many chemical hormones that drive women of every culture to be who they are – as mothers, daughters, sisters, partners, workers, and friends.
Linking hormone to gemstone to woman was a subjective process based on my impressions of these women, their strengths and weakness, their desires and accomplishments. The functions of the hormones were considered alongside the aesthetics, healing potentials, and legends attributed to the gemstones. Pietre Preziosa is a synesthetic experiment as well as a labor of love.
The current state of the project is a web site describing each women, stone and hormone. Other manifestations are forth-coming.
http://www.nitasturiale.com/pietrepreziose
Nita Sturiale