As an art marketing major, Lyndsy Holmes realizes the value of self promotion.

So, when it came time to put together her senior art show, she turned to her most marketable commodity — her jewelry-making skills. And because she has a concentration in photography, she let that be the extra element for the exhibit, "Minutia: An Integration of Macro Digital Photography and Jewelry."

The exhibit is on display through March 28 at North Georgia College & State University’s West Main Hall Gallery in Dahlonega. It features pieces of Holmes’ jewelry created with semi-precious stones, as well as an extreme detail photograph of one part of the jewelry piece.

"I wanted to do something that was a little artistic and commercialized," she said. "At the same time, I’ve been making jewelry for a long time and I just wanted to use a little bit of my art major with a concentration in photography. And I wanted to do something with both of them — link them together."

Jewelry represents the marketing aspect, she said. The pieces feature turquoise, jasper and wood beads. Holmes said she also added metal, like copper, to make the pieces contemporary.

The photography aspect almost happened by accident, she said.

"I didn’t really have any pictures in mind when I went to do my photography, but I did start playing around with the macro lens," she said. "It’s really hard because you’re only 2 or 3 inches away. It’s just kind of playing around with colors and shapes."

The jewelry is mounted next to the detail images, which are blown up to about 2 or 3 feet wide, she said. But while the photographs are showing the jewelry, they aren’t part of marketing the pieces — they’re simply another way of looking at it.

"The jewelry and the photos are integrated; they kind of complement each other, but you can see them in completely different ways, too," she said. "It’s about how people shouldn’t just look at the broad spectrum of things; beauty can come from anything."