Jewellery Diaries No1. Seaside stroll 6-3-11

Jewellery Diary ...
6th March... mom's birthday, stroll on the beach that ends up in 3 recycled jewellery pieces (and a new home for mr ape man)

Tharos beach, Sardegna

collecting...

...plastic little bits

creating a scene... palm tree island

mr ape man.. the only habitant of the island

earrings made of plastic bits

necklace

clasp

bracelet

The first post of the project "jewellery diaries"
Making gems that remind you of a special day.
These are things collected on the 6th of March after a seaside stroll on Tharos beach in Sardegna. Too much plastic on the beach and as colourful as it may be... better collect and reuse it.
Each item is individually hand pierced and composed into a bracelet, earrings and a necklace



and a soundtrack to go with it... I'm high and I'm happy and I'm free

Buttons and Polaroids

I'm better at buttoning earring
than polaroiding but who cares? Anyway Polaroids arelike little precious gems... each one is unique, on off, beutiful just because it exists and expensive !

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Happy Birthday Mr Face.... It's alive

Mr Face alive and kicking

The original sketch by Henry Moore

My sketchbook on this study

details


creating a figure with wool and pensil


sketch of the first MR Face
MR Face No 1 as an earring with leather, wire and fabrics

other test pieces in mixed media

Sketching eyes eyes eyes eyes and spider eyes

sketching faces

a sketch before a test piece


a larger test piece in copper and silver



The original sketch of MR gentleman face and how it finally came out



I know I've promised you buttons and I have been making some superdelicious earrings with fabric buttons but in the meantime something else happened.
This frankenstein silver FACE came alive after alsmost a year of adding, cutting, gluing, sketching!! It's the first proper gem of the Face Collection and it eserves a happy birthday!

this collection started while I was deconstructing and reconstructing a colourful design by Henry Moore in my sketchbook. I loved the fact that a few lines gave the hint of a face, a breast, a leg, a body.

focussing on the face I did some test pieces with fabric and wire. I love the eyes! they pop out and twist around and fly over the ears!

then I went on drawing more and more of these faces and eyes.
I really wanted to finish this brooach in silver for my boyfriends jacket. In terms of style I tried to make it clean and refined as a finish.
Check these brooaches out from my very favorite jewellery artist Wendy Ramshaw to get the idea

This is officialy MR. Face... made with recycled silver and of course looooove. He is a brooch and a perfect gentleman!

New project ! Button work in progress

these are some buttons from Barcelona

thinking buttons in my notebook

vintage button earrings made from button found in Cagliari's market

these buttons are Anastasias offer


this is a detail from the necklace that made my day
more on this one on the next post ...



Ok I'm excited,
I've just finished one of those gems that make my day and make me think that the world IS really as colourful as want it to be!

so... new project... The things that happen to buttons after dark

started with some superbly beautiful buttons from the 70's I found in a second hand market. they are like gems on there own. Then my friend Maria came to visit and she brought over other buttons for me adorable like little candies!
Then I remembered a little bag of buttons my other friend Anastasia had given me from her grandmothers treasure box. These ones traveled from Greece to London and from London to Cagliari. Then I went to Barcelona with it's beautiful markets and more buttons ended up in my pockets and handbag

buttons are comming my way all the time! they are everywhere and I need to give them a gem home!

so that's what i'm working on and soon more photos are on the way!

The Domino Game

nice to be back :-)
I've been making things in my little world but wasn't in a mood to share lately.
well I think this collection made me happy enough to invite people to see it so here it is...

I found these domino pieces in the second hand market of Cagliari which by the way turns out to be my favorite spot in this warm little city that hostes me now.

they are woodlike plastic dominos and on the back they where deep enough to become the perfect frames for a triptic image collage that wants to become an interesting necklace.


*can be worn either side

*length: aprox 46 cm + 5 extra extension chain

*images are paper applied inside with crystalizing glue and varnish

* hand pierced and put together with brass beads and copper chains


*hand made and ONE OFF ... as always

you can find them on my etsy shop if you wan't to purchase one and more comments on my facebook page

Winning is inspiring too!!

Can't help but smiling :-)
My piece "The Enchanted Circus" will be exhibited along with all the art works that won or where short listed in the V&A Museum till the 21st of November.

Press Coverage

Inspired by... Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is an incredible pool of objects that can bring you closer to aesthetic history and history in general.

Inspired by... is the annual competition run by this museum for ceramics, glass and jewellery students.

You have to get your inspiration from of the -trillion- objects in this superfascinating museum and follow it to through the journey it takes you to a final piece. I was happy to take that journey for the 2010 competition that started with an object from the British Galleries, a tunnel book from the Great Exhibition of 1851.

I found this object very exciting and inviting with it's little peep hole which suggest that an intriguing little perspective world will open up to you if you come closer and have a look.

I enjoyed the promising movement of this accordion shaped object and the playfulness of it's optical games.

I wanted my final piece to have all these elements of the original object.

At first came the Eureka! of the idea I was happy with and then came a lot of: playing around, thinking, trying out test pieces, getting annoyed, making samples, drawing, biting my nails, sweating, cutting copper, cutting silver, running around and consulting lovely classmates and wonderful tutors at Kensington and Chelsea College.

And it all came together in my piece the "Enchanted Circus". It's a silver necklace with 5 riveted circles, each with a little figure that move and construct a perspective view of a circus:
a little acrobat balancing on her ball, with the help of her umbrella under the flags and spotlights of the circus.

It can be worn either open or closed with it's separate chain. The chain has a small dancer at the end that slides through her hula hoop to keep it hanging.

I've left my miniature circus in the V&A for the time being as it will be exhibited from the 3rd October till November along with all the pieces that were short listed for this competition so if you want to see it you can go round there and tell me what you think.
Hope you do and hope you enjoy

Materials: silver, 18ct yellow gold plate, 9ct rose gold plate
Techniques: hammering, fussing, oxidizing, riveting, engraving