Working with Pewter

In preparing for my exhibition I have been trying to decide what to do on the wall behind my stands. I originally wanted to cover the tops of my stands with patterned pewter but my jewellery seemed to get lost when I put it on top. I have therefore decided to use the pewter on the back wall rather because I think it enhances the effect of my jewellery with its rich surface texture and patterning.

I’ve never worked with pewter before so I am winging it really and just picking up tips from books and people. I’m enjoying playing around with a new metal and getting different finishes on it. Here are some test pieces…

Stands for my jewellery

I’ve been busy working on the presentation of my jewellery for the FLAVOURS Exhibition. I’ve been making stands to display it on which I originally wanted to make detachable by making a little box under the tops to slip the base into like so…

It proved to be a bit unstable and messy looking so I decided to rather screw the bases and tops together…

I  create a clean white effect but not stark white so I painted them with a wash to allow the wood to show through a bit which came out really well, and I covered the tops with some embossed paper to give them a nice, sophisticated finish. Now I just need to figure out how the jewellery is going to be displayed on the tops. I think I’m going to use clear perspex to create different levels. I’ve been setting up mock layouts at home to try figure everything out, it’s all a lot more time consuming than one would think!

Ribbon Rings

Here’s the next step in my ribbon rings! These were designed in Rhino and cast which allowed me to cut the flowers out accurately in a uniform manner. I millgrained the edges because I thought it would soften the look but I still feel the rings could look softer….

I like the colour and contrast of the ribbon integrated with the silver.

Hi everyone! I’m trying out a new ‘look’ for my jewellery logo, as you’ve probably noticed by the change in the header of my page. Let me know what you think…

Ribbon ring

I’ve been throwing around ideas for a ring that looks like lace or material wrapped around the finger…

After doing a few sketches I moved on to other things, then after a few weeks I came acoss a prototype I made a couple of months ago which seemed to run with the same concept of material tied around the finger. Fancy that!

A few days later I saw this lace and it prompted me to expand onto my ideas and make another prototype

I like the idea of incorperating ribbon to bring in colour and another layer and texture. I think the contrast to the silver works well. I am busy cutting some out in Rhino and would like o ad some millgrain to the edges.

Hot-glue lace

I have been messing around with hot glue to try and create a lacey-crochet effect. I’m not really sure where I’m going with it but I’ve enjoyed experimenting with something out of my ordinary. I love the translucency of it when the light shines on the glue and I think mixed with some silver elements it could evolve into an interesting pair of earrings.

FLAVOURS Exhibition

If you live in Durban and are interested in an evening infused with different flavours, styles, cultures and inspiration, come along to the FLAVOURS Exhibition by Durban emerging jewellers! It’s at artSpace Durban, opening 13 July 18:00 and runs until 1 August.

I will be showcasing my work and will have pieces for sale by order.

See you there!

Tzu-Ju Chen

I have come across what I think is such beautiful work, made by Tzu – Ju Chen. The above pictures are from her ‘Lace’ range; I think they capture the qualities of lace so well and invite your eyes to look closer and your hands to explore the surfaces of the pieces to experience them completely.

Chen has done a number of ranges exploring different mediums, some of which include enamel, laminated photos, organic space, foam, electroforming and wire construction.

Above is a piece from her ‘Laminated Photo’ range.

Silhouette Earrings

I have just finished these earrings and am quite happy with the way they turned out. They were inspired by the curves of a womam’s body and I wanted to create something with a strong simple line and form, and add a soft edge and detailed surface to contrast.

When wearing the earrings I noticed that the sun shines through the pierced pattern, creating a silhouette effect.

design development

I’m always tearing out pictures from magazines that hold a certain quality or essence in them that I would like to capture in my jewellery. Often the pictures just have a particular detail that I like, or a tone I want to capture, or there will be colours, patterns or a line that I think I could take reference from when designing.

Above is a working page of some rough ideas I’m playing with that take reference from a magazine picture. My eye was drawn to the lines created by the model’s pose. I like the obscure strength of her stance that somehow also retains the soft nature of a woman’s body. The soft, textured fabric of her dress reminded me of a wax impression I made a while back .