Deconstruction

Using the photographs for more than their colours 

while researching other artists that have similar objectves as me, I found a  jeweller by the name of Marian Hosking, Her subject matter is the flora of Australia and in many pieces has used images or silhouettes of plants. instead of using the image as is, she layers images, deconstructs and reassembles images in order to create a new image all together. With this in mind, i wanted to use the photographs that i have been taking and use them not only for their colours but also for their potential to create interesting shapes.

Above is the original image. I took this image and made it black and which a swapped negative and positive.

This is the result. The aim was to them pierce out sections of this image and enamel the positive areas. 

These are some of the test pieces and cut outs. i am in the process of manufacturing a statement neck piece that will be claw set with silver. 

Enamel half tubes

Enameling on something different

I have found that when i get bored of something, its best for me to try something new or try a new technique to get out of a rut. I felt as though i was in a rut when it came to enameling flat pieces of copper so decided to see if enameling on tubes or half tubes would work. 

One of the challenges with the half tubes was how I would attach them to a piece of jewellery and found the easiest and most effective way was to drill a hole through which I'd thread them on to a wire. Above are two of my first test pieces. 

This pendant was the end result. I love this piece and will definitely revisit this direction. It also allowed me to practice firing pieces that weren't flat which a tad more tricky as the enamel often doesn't stick well to all sides. I also like how some of the metal is still exposed, allows for a very organic look which is contrasted by the polish and simple/geometric frame on which they hang. 

Colour in Hoops

Enamel elements incorporated in a hoop 

For this pair of earrings I wanted to add an enameled element. Furthermore I wanted to add movement. I think these are somewhat successful but feel that the proportions are a bit off. Thinner wire for the frame would allow the enamel element to be more of a focal point. I think that the wore over powers the enamel at the moment. 

Enamel Testing- Sasol New Signatures

Enamel Test Pieces

I have decided to enter the Sasol New Signatures Art competition. For this piece I want to make a “painting” made up of small pieces of enamelled copper.  These are some of my first test pieces. For the purpose of my initial “playing” I have focused, or tried to, on the colours in the following picture:

I think that by doing this completion, and by doing all these little pieces, I will be able to learn and understand enamels and the colours/ textures that im wanting to achieve in my jewellery.

Natures Bangle

Natures Bangle 

I made this Pieces as i was starting to feel stuck with the enamels, so i thought id do a quick project to get into the swing of things again.

I melted a piece of copper directly onto my soldering board and it created a very rough look, like a little rock. i then added some green, mossy looking enamel. 

The end result looks like a little mossy stone on a crisp polished silver band. 

New Colours

New Colours 

I have started working with a new colour combination using the following photograph as inspiration:

These are the test pieces I have done so far. I'm not ecstatic about them.  

First Piece

First Piece 

I chose the test piece that I think was most effective and made this ring with it. I want to make a range of these rings drawing inspiration from the colour combinations in nature. I want the focal point to be the enamel so I have chosen to make the ring itself quite simple. I like the clean lines of the silver as a contrast to the organic feel of the enamel.

More Enamel Testing

More Enamel Testing

I did some more test pieces but this time on domes. I was focusing on the colours from a picture that I fell in love with. I really like how the colours were turning out and have found that not cleaning the piece each time has contributed to the effect that I am trying to achieve.

Lichen on the rocks and a mossy green plant.

Some test pieces and notes

Playing with Enamels

Playing with Enamels 

These are some of the test pieces I have done so far. I was just finding my feet as i havent done enamels in a while. There are so many variables that its difficult to know (well for me at this point) whats really going on. But I like some of the results and I feel like going forward with it will be fun and that I'll get my desired look with some practice (and maybe a bit of luck). 

Mixed Materials

Mixed Materials

I have chosen to first look at Mixed Materials in jewellery. The main reason I have done so is to explore colour in jewellery to a greater extent. I believe that by using mixed materials in my jewellery that it’ll be a “greater revelling in colour and freedom of expression in jewellery.”*. There is so much to be explored when it comes to colour in jewellery and this excites me as the possibilities are endless.

 As a starting point, I want to play and experiment with enameling. I want to discover beautiful colour combinations inspired by nature and specifically by the ocean and its close surrounds.

The following pictures were taken in Pringle Bay in the Western Cape and are some examples of colour combination inspiration.

I want to combine the colours created through different methods, with the crispness of sterling silver. I have already started experimenting with enameling. Id like to achieve two things with enamels:

       

                    1)      Achieve a finish/ look that resembles the raw, natural organic look of, for example the dirtiness of the orange on the rocks and the roughness of the ferns green leaves, as in the picture above.

2)      Use clean colours and use pencil to draw plats, rocks, waves on the enamel

The following jewellers have achieved these two desired looks:  

Maria Irene Weinz - ocean inspired rough enamels

Nicolette Absil- botanical drawings on enamel 

“showing an awareness, as other jewellers increasingly have, of the need to satisfy a range of senses. Kessler writes “I search for a kind of mystery within the material and I try to tempt people to come closer and touch the object. First they touch it with their eyes, even with their hands – until  it finally touches their hearts.”* this quote is explains exactly what i want to achieve with this range. I want people to want to touch my jewellery, pick it up and feel like they are discovering something new and beautiful, just like you do when exploring at the beach or in nature in general. 

*quotes taken directly from the Virtual Gallery: Mixed Materials 

Hidden Details

When designing this pendant I first looked at one of my favourite books as a child, Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book.  I was (and probably still am) obsessed with fairies and pixies and anything mystical, and this book contained it all. What I love most about this particular book is that the fairies aren’t the stereotypical ones you usually picture; they are distorted, vulgar and almost a little bit ugly. But it’s these details that make them beautiful in a different way.
 I wanted to combine the look and feel of its rough beauty and sense of hidden, secret details into a pendant that one day could be passed on as an heirloom. I wanted it to be a piece of jewellery that could be something that I passed on to my children one day. It was to be a piece that represented a happy memory from my childhood that would give them, or whoever wore it, the same sense of happiness and bliss that Lady Cottingtons diary gave me as a child.  

This is one of the images from the book and one of my favourite. I used this image to get my general shape for the wing shape of my pendant. Like I stated before, these Fairies are not perfect or pretty in the usual way, but its their imperfections that give them their beauty.

I played around with texturing metal in order to try get the feel of a broken wing that was both delicate and beautiful but that also had a rough, "squashed" feel about it. After trying a few different techniques, this is the one that i liked the most. I used a combination of roll milling (to get the veins)  and folding the metal and then rolling it flat to get the ridges. I eventually used a section of this piece of metal in my final design.

I wanted a layered pendant that at first glance looked like a locket and when it was opened or swiveled, revealed the wing and the bottom patterned plate. this was my prototype. After more thought I realized that it needed to much smaller so made a smaller one that made it feel much more delicate and fairy like.

Passion Flower

Susan Mcleary is a florist and jewellery designer who challenges the perception that jewellery always has to be mad entirely of precious metals.

With her knowledge of fauna, Susan creates beautiful necklaces, rings, tiaras and bracelets made from a mixture of succulents, flowers, brass and copper.

These pieces are known as living jewellery as they continue to live and grow while you wear them. after a few weeks, you can remove and plant the succulents.

I really love Susan's work as not only is it beautiful but it is an example of how jewellery doesn't has to be as straight forward as the usual gold, silver, platinum and precious gem stones.

 

Succulent Bracelet



Succulent Necklace

This piece is more of a statement/ fashion photograph piece, but it is so beautiful and shows so wonderfully how vast the  possibilities are of making jewellery with different materials.

 

 

Mimosa Pudica's Wings

These are Mimosa Pudicas wings that she uses to travel in order to help woman in need.
They get their source of energy from the balls of plant matter which grow on the spine of her wings. just as plants use the sun to create their food and energy through photosynthesis, so do her wings. The single leaf that hangs almost like a pendant on her neck, not only keeps the wings attached to her, but also acts as navigational tool. 

Mimosa Pudicas wings 

closer look at the details on the spine of the wings