My jewellery practice has typically incorporated traditional jewellery materials: silver, gold and cheap gemstones.
Recently, this has started to feel expensive and a bit limiting. I have started playing around with some new materials like aluminium, lead and rubber. These materials are industrial, heavy duty and toxic. I have been enjoying playing with expectations of weight. The large aluminium rings I have been making are unexpected light, while the objects made from lead are unwearable heavy.
I have also been thinking about decorative languages beyond jewellery. I have been looking at the decorative surfaces and finishes used in custom car culture such as anodised aluminium and pearlescent paint.
Two weeks ago, the Auckland HS6 jewellers gathered for a ‘Push/Pull’ session with Renee Bevan. It was fantastic and made me really think about the possibilities of documenting my jewellery in interesting contexts. My ‘Boy Racer’ jewellery could be photographed being worn drivers with their customised cars. We also talked about the possibilities for making jewellery to be worn by cars, like pendants to be hung from the rearvision mirror.
The following images depict some of the stuff I have been up to in the last month and the things I am thinking about at the moment. It’s all unresolved but has been very fun.
Aluminium rings with an aluminium necklace.
I have been learning to use a lather to make decorative aluminium beads and forms.
Wearing a ring in the metal workshop.
A bulky ring made from melting down silver scraps. The silver orb screws onto the threaded post. This is an example of me playing around with industrial ways of joining metal.
I ahve also been thinking about possible ways to display jewellery. Here is some steel hooks I have made to hang my experiments on the studio wall.
A return to traditional materials – a goofy ring with a rough ruby mounted on it.
I put this photo at the bottom of this blog post because it’s a bit embarrassing. Here is a mirror selfie of me wearing a very long earring.
Jack xoxo