Ever since she was a child growing up in Aspen, Colo., sculptress Jessica Rose has been fascinated by the movement of water in rivers and streams.
“In Aspen there is a river just below our house in the country,” she says. “Anytime I get near a stream, I lie down and listen to the sound of the water.”
The 45-year-old artist’s most recent venture is creating unique trihutaries of Aspen waterways in the form of small “blankets” about the size of a tea towel. Made of hundreds of translucent and iridescent glass beads, the blankets resemble a liquid patch of water rolling over rocks in texture, kinetic quality, color and even sound.
Handmade in Germany, the metallic-coated glass beads require 10 different processes before they are finished.
Rose strings the beads on fine wire and then weaves the wire through a fine chain, which is used as a warp.
“It is the structure of the whole blanket that makes it kinetic, so you can push and pull it, make it expand and collapse,” Rose says. “I tell peo- ple to close their eyes and tell me what they hear when they move their hand over the blanket. ‘Oh my God,’ they say, ‘that’s the ocean!’ “
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Rose’s “still waters” do run steep. Prices start at $5,000. Find them at Elements, 102 E. Oak St.; 312-642-6574.