Photograph by Kyle Burdg
Last year painter and sculptor Leah Smithson relocated from San Francisco to Atlanta, where she works from a home studio in Acworth. There, she launched her first jewelry line, Talon and the Suneaters. The whimsical porcelain earrings, necklaces, and bracelets are inspired by her paintings—vibrant and surrealist works on wood. Smithson based the floral pieces pictured here on a sci-fi story she dreamed up about a group of people “forgotten by time” who used flowers to remember being free. Other motifs include birds, hands, and antlers. “Jewelry is the perfect medium for expressing yourself,” she says. “Each piece is unique to the person who wears it; I give each one its own bend and character.”
This article originally appeared in our February 2017 issue.
