Those of you who read my last collaborative blog with Carolyn Saxby will recall her gorgeous beads and I'm thrilled to say that I received a package of the golden pink beads and I shall enjoy making myself something stunning with those - thank you Carolyn!
So, following a suggestion this week on Twitter from ShellyBobbins I thought I would look jewellery as art. I have always sought to introduce colour into my work and in the early days I did that with patinas of various kinds, and now I feel that I can really explore my painterly side using anodised aluminium and inks and dyes. I'm often inspired by a photograph, but more commonly, a close up texture or a flash of colour will be enough to give me an idea. I also find inspiration in pottery and textiles. When I colour and dye a sheet of aluminium it looks like a painting before it is cut up. I belong a small group of artists who like to push their boundaries and at a recent meeting we decided to work towards a theme for this year. This has caused me to think about how I can portray my jewellery as art and so I've cut up a sheet of dyed aluminium and suspended it in slices within a frame to make a free standing sculptural exhibit which the viewer will be able to run their fingers through should we get an exhibition!
I also subscribe to Craft & Design magazine http://www.craftanddesign.net/ and you will be able to see a sample of my work in the Makers Gallery in the next issue!
In other news, my jewellery can now also be found at www.love-local.com which launched yesterday and I wish them loads of good luck!
This aluminium collection is subtely textured and was dyed first in turquoise and then over-dyed in a beautiful deep blue and these three items are the only ones I produced in this pattern. I think that they would look stunning with a party outfit.
Oh well, I'm off to find another stunning blog collaborator! See you next week!
