How it Began,

My name is Sarah and I’m the owner and founder of A Beetle’s Burden jewelry. I am a sculptor and multi-discipline artist currently living and working in Gainesville Florida. I began this journey in early 2020 through a need for experimentation with metals and came across copper electroforming. This offered a new way for me to work with metal at home, without a ton of specialized equipment. I was able to create richly satisfying works of art on a small-enough scale to be accessible to all. Aside from collecting my own natural materials for my pieces I am intentionally working with sourcing in ways that avoid supporting cruel or unsafe industry practices.

Through the process of electroforming (growing pure copper onto surfaces through science and alchemy) I’ve taken mundane, natural or discarded materials and given them new life. What I love most is working alongside nature to craft something that I’ve collected from the earth and then growing my own layer of material over it to create something that is not quite the work of either of us, but not unfamiliar. Taking time to slow down and fully observe every detail connects you to the process of designing your own pieces in a way that gives you more respect and curiosity for the materials used and the process itself.