Theresa Applegate | Apex Knuckles

Artist: Theresa Applegate, IndianaMaterials: sterling silverSize: 8 Artist Statement: Molded and wax injected fossilized Great White Shark Teeth, Sculpted, Hand Cast. My love for treasure hunting, ephemera collecting, and building community is combined in this piece. Lately I’ve been obsessively scuba diving for shark’s teeth making some great friendships along the way, in addition to expanding my fossil collection. My friends allow me to borrow, mold, and cast teeth from their extensive collections. I completed my first shark dive where I got to observe feeding and swim with them in the open ocean. Sharks have been demonized and dangerously misunderstood. This ring is created from a perfect Great White Shark tooth fossil recovered in South Carolina. I considered the conveyor belt rows of teeth inside the shark’s mouth and presented them across the hand in a bold statement. It embodies excitement, adventure, power, danger, and protection. The shark population is declining due to overfi