Perhaps alchemist is the best word for artist, writer, and musician Paul Evans Pedersen Jr.
After all, this is a man who digs up discarded chunks of vintage South Jersey glass and transforms them into "Pine Barrens Diamonds."
Pieces of jewelry featuring his man-made gems will be displayed next Sunday at Lines on the Pines, an artists' showcase in Hammonton. The annual event features about 50 local residents, working in a variety of media, who are inspired by the distinctive history, landscape, and culture of the Pinelands.
The diamonds "started with a metal detector about 25 years ago," says Pedersen, 57. He writes music, prose, and poetry when not turning raw material someone threw away a century ago into objects to treasure.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/n...vintage_glass_reflect_Pine_Barrens__past.html
After all, this is a man who digs up discarded chunks of vintage South Jersey glass and transforms them into "Pine Barrens Diamonds."
Pieces of jewelry featuring his man-made gems will be displayed next Sunday at Lines on the Pines, an artists' showcase in Hammonton. The annual event features about 50 local residents, working in a variety of media, who are inspired by the distinctive history, landscape, and culture of the Pinelands.
The diamonds "started with a metal detector about 25 years ago," says Pedersen, 57. He writes music, prose, and poetry when not turning raw material someone threw away a century ago into objects to treasure.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/n...vintage_glass_reflect_Pine_Barrens__past.html