Designs come through me but not from me. I find that each piece I’m working on has an innate form that it is trying to return to, through my hands.

In short: I have a very strong sense that I am a vessel and a tool, as much as I am a creator. 

A vessel for the Universe. Energy. Source. God. Earth. Humanity. Love. Wisdom.

That’s why my inspiration for the pieces is more about getting into the right frame of mind and opening my soul than it is about direct influence. It’s a preparation.

I am, time and time again, inspired by the natural beauty of Southern California and it's wild coastal areas as well as The Santa Monica Mountains and the surrounding deserts. My pursuit of self-discovery for peace and unity have been a powerful moving force behind every design. 

And of course I deeply admire the handcrafted, fluid jewelry of ancient civilizations, like Egypt, the Byzantine Empire, and Rome. Such pieces have a living quality that much of today’s jewelry—designed with a computer and then 3D printed en masse—does not.

The actual process of design takes place in my sketchbook, and it is meditative and forgiving.

My method of jewelry design is flowing and creative. Playful with organic shapes and textures, free to err, rooted in the moment.

While I believe that the energy of the maker inevitably becomes part of a piece of jewelry, my hope is for my pieces to take on the intention—eternal or daily—of the wearer.

I hope that every person who wears a Lena Zaric piece finds in it a way to connect with their essential self, whether it be through meditation, intention-setting, a feeling of protection, or prayer.