Gold in Ghana

Pictured here in this 17th century illuminated manuscript (Artist unknown) is the King of Ghana welcoming Europoeans to his gold-rich country on the West coast of Africa.

Cursed thirst for gold bracelet

This is a rubber bracelet I made up that says "Auri Scare Fames!" (latin, from the Roman Poet Virgil) and it's english translation on the other side "O ' cursed thrist for gold" I gave these out to all of the people who came to see my exhibition at the Art Institute of Boston.

Miner's Peril Bracelet

Here is another gold bracelet from the "Not so charming" series. This one depicts the "tools of the trade" of gold mining.

Ethical Goldsmiths

Here is another collage of The Patron Saint of Goldsmiths, St Eligius. Visit this web site www.ethicalmetalsmiths.org for more information on jewelry made with socially responsible gold.

Gold Diagram

Gold Diagram, © Jane Rainwater, 2006.
Click picture for larger view.

Gold Crystaline Structure

Crystaline Gold Structure Diagram, © Jane Rainwater, 2006
Click on picture for larger view.

Illuminated Manuscript

Paris and Michael, by Jane Rainwater ©2006. 22K gold leaf, gouache, vellum.
Click on the photo for a larger view.
This is the start of a series I am working on called "Icons of the 21st Century. This is tradtional illuminated manuscript painting that I learned at Castle Hill Art Center in Truro, MA from Patricia Miranda. This is actual animal skin (vellum) and I made all of my own gouache from pigment and oak gall ink. Illuminated manuscript painting is an amazing and spiritual process. To gild, you apply a gesso mixture to the vellum and you literally take deep wet breaths and blow on the painting surface to activate the gesso for gold adhesion. This is not dutch metal or any of that fake stuff!

Saint Eligius

Saint Eligius (with risen gold), By Jane Rainwater ©2005. Digital print.
Click on the picture for a larger view.
Saint Eligius is the patron saint of metalsmithing. I altered a traditional painting of the saint and placed him on a background of "risen gold". When you put gold oxide into a petri dish with filter paper and put it out in the sun, the gold oxide will rise and create this beautiful pattern.

More St Claire

Saint Claire with chalice, by Jane Rainwater, ©2005. Digital print.
Click on the picture for a larger view.

A digital collage of St Claire with a "veil" of gold molecular diagrams.

Saint Claire

Saint Claire, The Illuminator by Jane Rainwater © 2006. Digital print, gold leaf and paint.
Click on the picture for a larger view.

St Claire is the patron saint of illuminators. Illuminators are the people (usually monks)who work gold leaf onto illuminated manuscript paintings.

Auri Sacre Fames!

Auri Sacra Fames!
(O’ Cursed Thirst for Gold)
– Virgil, Roman poet

How often are we drawn to the beauty and value of something only to discover darker truths that will question our attraction?

My journey with gold begins with the societal and environmental issues surrounding the process of gold mining. I have chosen to use jewelry and it’s cultural associations to raise awareness and illuminate some harsh truths about gold that are not normally considered during purchase, adornment or investment.

Gold Portrait

Gold Portrait, by Jane Rainwater, ©2005. Gold leaf and paint on paper, velvet and antique leather binding.
Click on the picture for a larger view.

This is the first work I created for my gold project.

Thoughts on your wedding ring

1 oz. of gold = 30 tons of toxic waste*, by Jane Rainwater © 2005. Digital illustration.
Click on the picture for a larger view.

In the past, gold was mined in shafts and was very dangerous to the miners who died in collapsed mines. (see Miner's Peril, below) Today, gold is extracted by a process called "Heap Mining." Gold is found in microscopic quanties in ore. The mountainsides of South America, Africa and the United States are blown up and the ore is stacked in a open heap. Cyanide is sprayed over the heap and the gold is dissolved and sent to a building where it is reclaimed and the cyanide is returned to a pool where it is used again. The treated ore (called tailings) is dumped back into the open pit mine. This ore has never been exposed to air or water. When it rains on the treated ore, sulfuric acid is created. This acid flows into the surrounding water table of the mine. This toxic waste flows into rivers, resevoirs and drinking water killing fisk and poisoning people on the process.
* To read more see, The Cost of Gold | 30 Tons an Ounce, Behind Gold's Glitter: Torn Lands and Pointed Questions , By JANE PERLEZ and KIRK JOHNSON, The New York Times, Published: October 24, 2005)

For more information about this process visit www.dirtygold.com You can purchase a wedding ring that has been certfied environmentally safe by visting www.greenkarat.com

Miner's Peril

By Jane Rainwater, ©2005 (4) digital prints, 3’ x 3’.
Click on the picture for a larger view.
These four panels are about the perils of gold mining in the past when gold was mined underground in mineshafts. Drawings of the crystalline and molecular structures of gold "veil" other images of the skeleton and the miner (Margaret Bourke-White’s iconic 1935 photo of South African Gold Miner’s for Life Magazine) The tools panel is made from scanned toy tools.

Cross of Gold

Detail from Cross of Gold, by Jane Rainwater ©2005. Digital prints, 19thC photo album frame.
Click on the picture for a larger view.

This image is a detail from a larger piece entitled "Cross of Gold" which has six similiar collages hung in tghe shape of a cross. There is a dynamic tension between the contemporary celestial looking imagery and the context of the old album page which was used to keepsake precious sentimental images in the past.

Not So Charming

Enslavement Bracelet by Jane Rainwater, ©2005. 10 karat gold charm bracelet.
Click on the picture for a larger view.

Charm bracelets are usually worn to delightfully commemorate milestones in a person’s life. One expects a whimsical tale, told through the symbology of adorable charms. My charm bracelets offer a look into gold’s dark historical chapters; the perils of the mining life and the enslavement and exploitation of indigenous peoples living near gold mines all over the world.
How charming are the bracelets worn for “good fortune”? How can the golden talismans we buy ward off bad luck when evil is inherent in gold itself? At what point does a modern society agree that certain things (like a noose chram!) are a waste of resources? What environmental damage can we live with? What human cost is acceptable?

Jane Rainwater's Gold Project

Welcome to Jane Rainwater's Gold Project Blog. This blog will feature research that I am doing about the cultural, environmental, and sociological issues surrounding the metal gold. I will be posting images from my research as well as my own artwork about gold. This blog is part of my Master's Thesis that I am working on at The Art Institute of Boston. Please feel free to post comments on my artwork, the facts that will be presented here and any interesting things you know about GOLD. This blog will be updated daily.