By Yisu Kim, News Staff

Photographer Peter Simon has shot the Rolling Stones backstage before a show, captured John Updike at Martha’s Vineyard and been on stage with Led Zeppelin. Spanning from the serene to the sensational, his art meets juxtaposition in his home as much as his own gallery. His wife Ronni Simon has handcrafted pieces of jewelry featured in Sports Illustrated shoots and worn by celebrities like Blake Lively.

Though their mediums are vastly different, Peter and Ronni Simon’s dedication to their crafts have set them apart in their respective fields. The two will showcase their work together in Boston for the first time at Yes.Oui.Si just off Huntington Avenue at 19 Vancouver St, today through April 26.

The multimedia art gallery, founded just over a year ago, will display and sell Peter Simon’s prints of 1960s rock gods like Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix, the anti-war protests of the Vietnam era, the Occupy movement and Martha’s Vineyard landscapes. Ronni Simon will showcase her beaded driftwood pieces, freeform sculptures and semi-precious stone jewelry.

Through working as a photojournalist, instructor, published author and music historian, he has learned to hone in on a subject’s minute details to capture the perfect shot, Simon said.

“When it comes to photographing a person, I study their features – their earlobes, their eyebrows, what their body language is,” he said. “It’s all intuitive. With landscapes and waves, I always look out for the spectacular. It’s called a decisive moment, that one moment in the universe that that picture is going to really rise above the level of mediocrity.”

Also taking inspiration from the Vineyard, Ronni Simon handcrafts her jewelry using materials like freshwater pearls and wire. Imbuing her pieces with her own touch of imagination, she said she has expanded her love of jewelry-making to creating wall hangings and sculptures that also reflect her reverence for nature.

“I live on Martha’s Vineyard, and I am inspired by nature and the ocean,” she said. “A lot of people describe my jewelry as mermaid jewelry, because some of the woven pieces look like fishnets. I would see these pieces of driftwood and weave the stones onto the driftwood, making them look like sea debris. I love the idea of combining something concrete in nature with something more fantastical, more whimsical.”

Over seven years, Ronni Simon sold thousands of jewelry pieces to her clientele.  Sharing her creations has allowed her to inspire creativity within them, she said.

“I never know exactly where I’m going with a piece when I start,” she said. “I put stones in one place and don’t go by any patterns or rituals. What I love is the sense of fulfillment of creating something out of nothing. That’s what I’d like to do – get people excited about creativity. That’s exciting to me, that my creativity can make somebody else feel good.”

Displaying his pieces on exhibit alongside his wife’s, Peter Simon said he hopes to spark student interest in the socioeconomic issues that are prevalent in society. Photos of subjects in the recent Occupy movement and the social uprisings of the ‘60s are some of the works he expects will inspire viewers to pursue creativity and integrity in the world today.

“I’m playing up the Occupy movement, because when I was a student, I was very socially aware about what was wrong in the country,” he said. “I think that America has been going through this apathy for decades. With these photos, I really want students to get the sense of social consciousness. I’m hoping for a groundswell of enthusiasm to equalize the playing field.”