Metal, Fire, and Popcorn is a guest article by Victoria Thomas
Chloe Kono wears a Protea flower tattooed on her right shoulder. This particular Protea gazes outward from an all-seeing eye positioned in its center.
“It’s my favorite flower, and with the eye, it’s sort of like my guardian, looking out for me and watching over me,” she says. The fossil record reveals ancestors of the Protea originating on the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana 300 million years ago. Their
antiquity as well as their resilience—Protea are known to bloom in the debris of wildfires—inspire Kono, a jewelry designer, to go beyond floral “prettiness” in her whimsical, often mysterious creations.
“People tell me I’m a storyteller,” says Kono, who arrived in the U.S. from Hong Kong at age 18. “As a maker, there’s a message in each piece. The message is usually along the lines of slow down and rediscover the wonder and joy we felt as kids.”
Her new “SnailMail” series featuring a spiral-shelled gastropod is a witty reminder. She says she’s only recently begun setting a timer at her shop bench, forcing her to stop, breathe, and take breaks. A repetition-spurred bout of tendonitis challenged her to pause and be more intentional about her work.
Circus themes are a favorite motif in her www.Chloeography.com digital gallery, populated by popcorn kernels, pennants, candy apples, confetti and ice cream cones as well as carousel ponies and gap-toothed clowns. Kono works primarily in sterling silver
and copper, accented with cabochon semiprecious gems. As with the maniacal kitsch-sunniness of PeeWee Herman, there may be a dry irony underlying some of the work.
For instance, a popular brooch depicts a carnival rat posing as a murine strongman hoisting an enormous barbell. Her “thought bubble” earrings, created for what Kono calls her “fellow overthinkers,” are personalized with the wearer’s choice of notes-to-
self, including expletives.
In her alphabet series, “E” is for “escape artist,” an idea which Kono captures in a pair of rings joined by a chain, with a key pattern drilled into the hand. For some viewers, this may suggest boudoir restraint and release, or some other flavor of kink. What’s the
safe-word?
Kono teaches metalworking at Adam’s Forge, and will also be offering classes at Barnsdall Park, starting in July. “The best part of teaching,” she says, “and the best part of bringing my art to trunk shows, is seeing someone smile and laugh when they interact with my work. I’m a curious person, and I’m still a weirdo being amazed by some random thing, every day. So I love giving this feeling of awe to other people.”
She describes making jewelry as her own brand of therapy, and recognizes that for many wearers, a Chloe Kono piece is a much-needed dopamine hit in an increasingly grim world.
“This is also why I’m not really a minimalist,” she says. “I get the cool, serene interior vibe, but at least the way that’s usually expressed here in the States, it seems so cookie-cutter. I always want to ask, where’s the color? Where’s the texture?
Where’s the fun? Even the most subtle Japanese home has energy, created by really powerful details. It’s not just white walls and empty space.”
Kono is herself a walking poem. Dainty, petite and porcelain-skinned, she’s living proof that appearances may be deceiving. While soft, non-resistant materials—fabric, fiber, clay, paper – have typically been the realm of female artists, she’s most at home in the primordial and, well, protean, Vulcan-like, wielding steel tools and an acetylene torch blazing at around 6,000 F degrees. Kono was a Metal Major at Cal State Long Beach. Just saying “Metal Major” makes her laugh: “So badass!”
A row of abstract-seeming tattoos on her right arm depict the shapes of various types of hammerheads (the tools, not the sharks), while a set of drill-bits is tattooed on her left biceps. She explains that her right arm signifies her creative work, while her left arm
displays personal stories: the drill-bits were lent by someone she didn’t know, and the kindness has stayed with her. Also on the left arm, a storm-cloud brightened by a cartoon smile, signifying her supportive husband. She explains that her back serves as
a living canvas for a design embodying both of her cherished grandmothers. An inked portrait of a beloved ginger-orange tabby, now deported for the RainbowBridge, also lolls on the inside of her left forearm.
A volunteer at www.lifelineforpets.org cat rescue, Kono says “I’m a cat-mom with two crazy cat-boys, a pair of bonded brothers, and I also enjoy being a dog Auntie,” she says. Many of her commissioned pieces memorialize a customer’s cherished pet.
Describing herself as “fidgety” with “a busy brain,” she wiggles a stylized popcorn kernel spinner at the peak of the pendant she’s wearing, shaped like a Big Top circus tent. “I made this popcorn topper to twirl,” she said. “So when you’re anxious or bored, you canjust relax and think about the happiness of popcorn.”
- Victoria Thomas; photos provided by the artist and Victoria Thomas
