“A couple of years ago, there was a spider web in my shower.  I was going to take it down when I saw water drops clinging to it, capturing light. There were always different rhythms to the pattern of the drops… and I thought, ‘I have to make that.’ What I’m trying to do is to abstract out the gifts that Mother Nature gives to us everyday.”

Rydmark is quick to admit that she, herself, is not a jewelry wearer. It is a point that may explain the delicacy of her works. The now classic Rydmark necklace, inspired by the spider web, is an example. Suspended from a fine strand of silver chain are leaf and tiny tube shaped elements, all brightened by tiny diamonds. It is ornamentation reduced to its most essential expression, light and comfortable to wear.

This necklace and other Rydmark jewelry become signature pieces, the kind the wearer never changes or takes off. The work strikes a difficult balance; it has presence but is extremely subtle and elegant. Working in 18K gold, silver and often diamonds, Rydmark combines the richness of one with the classic wearability of the others. All with a very light touch.

Residing on the coast of Northern California, Cheryl Rydmark lives close to nature. With the ocean visible in the far distance, she gardens, creates jewelry and meditates on the beauty around her. She studied metalsmithing in college and later worked as a bench jeweler with a firm in San Francisco. She is also a painter, sensitive to color, light and composition.

At the moment, she is preoccupied with the color of the trim for the studio she is building. “I want yellow but it needs to be the right yellow, not too bright and not too dull. We mixed a color today and I think we’ve almost gotten it. “ The critical discernment she applies to the selection of color is the same quality she brings to the designs of her pieces and is the essence of her success.