Sterling silver Rose Petal earrings

Working on some silver rose petal earrings yesterday, love the colour of the enamel (cork brown) really shows the beauty of the decay in rose petals that I wanted. Everything is coming together for my Degree exhibition show on Thursday! 

Enamelling

Enamelling some sterling silver earrings today in my home studio in Hastings, getting ready for my Ba Hons Degree Show next Friday! Exciting 

Cutting out rose petals

Spent the day at uni cutting all these rose petals out.. Long day, so many petals but still have lots to cut out! 

Then I'll have to file and smooth them ready to be cleaned and enamelled. 

Glass test tubes

Glass test tubes with decayed flowers contained within ✔️🌹🌸👍🏻⬆️

Degree show Main piece, thoughts..

Unwearable jewellery.. In order for a piece to be valuable and be precious to us, does this mean we have to be able to wear it always? In many cases family members hand there antique jewellery or valuables to their loved ones, but the pieces are offen left in there jewellery boxes... Why is this? 

Could be Because, they are too fragile, they are afraid to loose them, offen they can be broken, so a lot of the time even though the jewellery is precious to the individual doesn't mean it has to be worn. 

So for my main piece of jewellery for my degree show, I'm looking into having my necklace unwearable, because it's too fragile and valuable within its memories for it to be worn.. 

It doesn't necessarily have to been worn in order for it to be jewellery. 

In order for me to resemble fragile and easily broken feelings and thoughts.. I'm using Rose petals as they are fragile and delicate once they've decayed. Once decayed they also show a beautifully delicate palete of colours. 

Enamels

Colours enamels transparent & opaque enamels. 

Enamel Test pieces

Lots of different colours... In order to get the perfect colours I need for my decaying rose petals I have to do lots of test pieces. 

Enamelling

Enamelling in the studio today.. Testing colours, for my rose petals. 

Exploring enamels

So many enamels! Exploring colours to use for my Rose petals. 

Rose petals |. Photocopies

Playing around with photocopies of Rose petals... Making the detail more defined and obvious so I can use them to make my ceramic transfers, to use on enamelled metals and glass! Exciting.  

Ellen Jewett

These are some beautiful sculpture works by an artist called Ellen Jewett, she is an American natural history surrealist sculptor. Although I don't work in ceramics as my medium, I find her work so intriguing and inspiring, her work was first shown to me by a client of mine, who commissioned me to make a braclet, inspired by Jewetts work. And from then onwards I have adored her sculptures. The detail and fragility is beautiful and links into my work very well. Other than mine being jewellery based and usally in metal :)   

       

Designs

Working on some designs for my final pieces, theories and technical notes are always just as important as the designs 

Vine flowers

Absolutely love these decayed vine flowers ... They are so delicate And beautiful in there decayed. 

Rene Lalique

Rene Lalique was an amazing jeweller of the Art Nouveau movement. His work was inspired by nature, he used to study nature and watch it as it starts to decay caused by the weather, and many others things. He offen enamelled and used gold his pieces were always extravagant and beautiful. His work was seen not only as jewellery but as art. 

Designs..

Designs.. Glass, and transfers.. Inspired by Rose petals.. 

Sycamore paper copies

Sycamore necklace

Sycamore seed necklace.. 

Organic materials

Rose petals are beautiful once they start to decay, they fade in colour and become delicate and frail. Makes them perfect material to make a transient necklace for my beauty in the decay project. 

Rose petal necklace

Rose petal necklace 

Rose petal necklace

Real organic rose petal necklace, sewed together using a thin thread, by using organic materials I've kept it transient and beautiful. 

Workspace

My work studio at university, all set up and ready for interim assessments next week. I always find having inspiration from makers, photographers and artists, and also from nature itself. Although I am inspired by all decay within nature, this project I am focusing on sycamore seeds, rose petals and skeleton leaves. As there is so much in nature you can get carried away and do too much but not get it all finished I find, so I have decided to limit myself for this studio practice project. 

Billy Kidd photography | Decayed leaves

Billy Kidd photography, these are decaying leaves, they curl up on themselves and there colour fades and they become crisp and light to touch. Fragile and delicate. 

Billy Kidd photography

Billy Kidd is a photographer, this project was something different to what he usually does. It is called Decayed flowers. They are absolutely beautiful.. To me these photos prove that decaying flowers are even more beautiful once they have started to wilt and decay, dying flowers change colour and have a faint hint of colour and life.