Boston - September 19, 2008

Victorian Secret

Lauren Blais Jewelry

Despite good intentions, some things fade from memory. (Driving directions to your mother-in-law’s house. Your ex’s locker combination.)

Yet others (days spent with loved ones, first-kiss locales) remain firmly in the mind. Lauren Blais’s handmade jewelry pays tribute to such stark nostalgia. The Jamaica Plain-based metalsmith designs accessories inspired by Victorian mourning jewelry: dark, deft, delicate constructions of sterling silver, human hair, and wallpaper filigree.

A necklace hosts a cluster of etched lockets, each hiding a series of hand-embroidered flowers. In others, mysterious found objects weave the tale. Historical elements are reinterpreted, renewed, and restored, leaving a hauntingly beautiful expression of art and sentiment.

Good mourning, sunshine.

Available at Mobilia Gallery, 358 Huron Avenue, Cambridge (617-876-2109 or mobilia-gallery.com); by e-mail order (lauren_blais@yahoo.com). To see styles, go to junkyardarts.com.