Artist Mary Margrill fuses faiths into a necklace.
By Niharika Mookerjee
NEW YORK: Mary Margrill’s unique pieces of esoteric jewelry, that are among the coveted possessions of Hollywood’s elite, including actresses and celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore, Beyonce and Halle Berry, have acquired new acclaim, with the “One world” necklace being honored for exhibition at the prestigious “Faith in Motion” gallery at Minneapolis Museum of Art. It will be on display at the institute until July 31st of this year.
Never the kind of artist content with the creation of pieces that portrayed “butterflies and diamonds,” Margrill is inspired by a deeper impulse to contribute to the planet. She believes that artists play their part in providing a commentary on society. The “One World” necklace is a couture piece, encrusted with symbols from the world’s seven predominant faiths, joined together with a clasp, embodying the peace symbol. It reflects her unwavering belief of tapping into the divine source that may have different names but, in the end, reverberates from the same energy. Estimated at $ 16,000 to $ 20,000, it is shaped from 14-karat white gold, engraved with two carats of white diamond.
At heart, Margrill is a painter and a sculptor. Many of her sculptures have found their way into the ownership of renowned collectors around the US, including the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. In 2002, Margrill, daughter of an eminent artist and business executive, founded her own jewelry company, M2, pronounced M square, which is named after her. Since then there has been no looking back, with her signature pieces being featured in the country’s top magazines such as Elle, Forbes Woman, People, to name only a few.
The jewelry line provides a business platform to shape her consummate vision of blending style with mysticism.
“I started making pieces that expressed my own thoughts and day to day experiences. These pieces were not about me. They were about human commonalities and similarities, the ways in which people react to inspiration, heart-break, family and love. They speak to everybody in a universal way. Some of my clients even use these pieces instead of an engagement ring,” she said.
Margrill draws upon the power of simple words such as “faith”, “love”, “believe” to serve as a layer of protection for the wearer and to manifest a myriad of miracles. The chic of diamond and gold blended with a socially enriching message of harmony has proved to be irresistible to women, who adorn it to reflect their own beliefs and pursuits even as they try to heal and connect with the exalted in the universe.
“People have felt the energy and intent in my pieces of jewelry and wear it like a talisman,” she said in an interview with The American Bazaar. Excerpts from the interview:
Q. How do your jewelry pieces help women to heal, reconnect and build their lives? Please explain, particularly, in the light of recent cases of violence against women in India and other countries.
A. I have created pieces with the intention of empowering woman to feel strong and grounded, claiming the right to live with dignity and grace, to stand up for their beliefs and manifest a world that is safe and welcoming for them to live and express the highest potential of their divine feminine energy. It is mind boggling to me, that in this day and age, there are still places on the planet where women are not accorded the same human rights as men are, by the society they live in. As an American woman, born and raised in Manhattan, I walked about freely at age 10, assuming women’s righs issues were mostly about gaining entry into the work force at an equal pay scale to men. I remember my mother coming home from a quiet protest, sitting in the street in front of MOMA burning her bra. Fast-forward to almost40 years now, and I’m present even more as a participant in the global community to the crisis and abuse of women and children all over the world. Wanting to make a difference on the planet feeds my soul. I’ve figured out that as an artist and businesswoman, I can contribute in many ways. I equate women’s rights with the future of the planet. The cultural, political, and economic welfare of “civilization” begins with our children’s well-being.
Q. What kind of healing powers is embedded in the jewelry pieces?
A. In the past, many of the pieces, I made, were sourced from my own inner recapitulation of spiritual symbols, words, meanings and energies. I found it fascinating that there really was a divine universal intelligence that we, as human beings, are able to tap into. I learned this, first hand, from the overwhelming responses I got from my clients. I also learned from studying with my best friend and renowned life coach, Lauren Zander that it’s all quite readily available to pluck out of the “universe.” It was Lauren that taught me, so much of it lies in the power of faith and the energy of my own believing. My mother introduced me to yoga at age four and the I-Ching at age six. For more than 20 years I’ve been peeling back the layers of the Old Testament, New Testament, the kabala, and Buddhism. While making my pieces, I worked with the Chakra systems, ancient and sacred writings, numerology, scents, sounds and color. I chose words and sacred symbols to mix with gems to activate and strengthen our inner abilities, to transform and transmute negativity energy and mindsets that might be blocking our ability to manifest our dreams and desires into something positive and inspiring. Using the power and magic of what words can inspire, in each of us, to create a talisman, we can remind ourselves to what we are committed to in our lives. However, I found that none of this makes a difference if the heart is not open and tapped into. I’ve made sure to incorporate the power of love in to my pieces from the very start. Noting that “love” is the one basic human need that deeply connects us underneath it all.”
Q. Who were your mentors in the process?
A. For the past year now, I’ve been working very closely with internationally acclaimed energy healer Aleta St. James. She infuses each piece with the sacred healing energy she channels. Aleta uses frequencies of light that correspond to the specific purpose of each piece I design. For example when I am inspired to create a sacred piece of jewelry to create even more love in peoples’ lives, Aleta will go into meditation and power up the love frequency of the fourth chakra, which is the heart center. Her healing gift becomes implanted in my pieces and which continually works to help heal and bring more love into its owner’s life.
Q. Are there any mantras woven into them? Any stories that prove their power?
A. Without a doubt, the mantras that begin with “I Am” are extremely powerful in putting us in a higher positive state. “I Am” connects your physical being with your highest spiritual self. I have used the “I Am” consciousness for more than 10 years in my pieces. However, the theory has been said to be around since the beginning of existence. I’ve been told that these were the first words /sounds/ energies of creation. I believe that every human being on the planet has been thinking and using “I Am” to build who we are, whether we realize it or not. The words could be ‘I Am Love,’ ‘I Am Blessed’, ‘I am Healed,’ ‘Fearless.’ Aleta St. James puts is so eloquently when she said, “I Am love will connect you with the tremendous state of loving consciousness as you navigate through the roller coaster of life. These simple but powerful mantras will keep you on track and in the zone of focusing on what you want to create in your life. And it is amazing how magnificently they work.”
Many of my customer and private clients keep telling me about the wonderful miracles and surprises that unfold daily in their lives when they are wearing my jewelry.