​Hello, I'm Melanie Brauner! I'm a metalsmith, papermaker, and artist. I make my jewelry from metal forms cast in handmade paper. The metal is dipped into a pulp of water and finely beaten paper fibers from a plant called abaca. The fibers cling to the metal and shrink as they dry. A tight, translucent paper skin is built up on the form over successive dips. The concept is the same as making a sheet of handmade paper, but around a three-dimensional form, and by building up thin layers over the course of several days. After a translucent layer of paper has built up, the forms are hand-dyed, and finally sealed with resin to make them waterproof and durable. The pieces are inspired by the beautiful oceans and forests and mountains and wetlands of the Pacific Northwest... tide pools, seeds, flowers, raindrops, birds, the curves of a river, ferns, leaves..... My papermaking and metals studios are in Everett, Washington, tucked at the back of the garden of my 1928 storybook cottage, where I live with my bagpipe teacher husband, Kevin, and big orange cat named Higgins. I play traditional music on the fiddle and piano. I spend lots of time roaming through the beautiful Pacific Northwest landscape gathering inspiration for my jewelry.