Hill End Gate Neck Piece

Drawing further inspiration from my time at Hill End my next jewellery piece was informed by the etching below. 

Study of a Hill End gate. Etching 2013

The gate was constructed in wood by cutting slots in the horizontal bars, and the vertical posts were fitted into these holes. I remember being quite taken by this gate design, as I had not seen anything quite like it in my travels.

I enjoy creating marquettes before commencing a design as this helps me work out the size and how the design works in space. Its also incredibly important when working in silver as this helps save costs that may otherwise be wasted through the design process.

So I chose to recreate it in silver, drilling holes through the horizontal bars. The intention of this piece was to pivot on a central horizontal bar, allowing the vertical posts to move with gravity. Below is my first attempt.

Gate Neck Piece #1 detail

Gate Neck Piece #1

Whilst soldering, the tube of silver (second horizontal bar), also filled with solder which rendered the rotating design useless.

Back to the drawing board for attempt and design #2.

The design changed slightly and the pivoting point is now central to the neck piece. I also decided not to solder the tube to the framework, rather, slotting it in and allowing it to be held with silver wire which threads through the piece.

Gate Neck Piece #2 detail

 

Gate Neck Piece #1

The fun thing with this design is the kinetic movement and sounds created whilst the piece spins. The design reminds me a little of music written on a sheet, and the sound is reminiscent of rain on a corrugated tin roof.

Hill End Gate Brooch

My next jewellery project was to make a brooch incorporating the newly learnt skills and techniques of cold joins or rivets. 

Continuing to gain inspiration from the gates and fences from Hill End, I referred back to one I studied during my residency, and produced a non-toxic etching from the same subject matter. I was particularly inspired by this one, as it was held together with bolts, which would have a similar 'look' to rivets when recreated in metal.

Rose Cottage, Etching 2013

Inspired, I built a marquette using wood to get an idea of size and scale. 

Hill End Gate Brooch Marquette, 2014

The final brooch was completed using copper sheet cut into strips and all joins have been riveted in place also using copper. We were also shown how to set a bezel cut jewel in between two layers of metal, and so I incorporated this technique, using a pink cubic zirconia.

Hill End Brooch, copper + pink cubic zirconia. 6cm x 6cm

The Fence Ring

I am amazed at just how much of an impact my residency at Hill End last year has had on my work.

Whilst I was there, not only did I sketch the interiors of the cottage I was living in, I also collected a lot of photographs of the fences and textures I came across on my daily exploration of the area. Some of these images were explored through etchings which were exhibited in Landscapes, Ladies and Literature at the Barometer Gallery in Sydney last year.

This year I have been learning jewellery making techniques and I used the inspiration gathered in Hill End as the concept for my jewellery designs.

Working off some quick sketches in my sketch book I made a marquette of the ring design using paper and string.

Fence ring marquette using paper and string

The ring is designed to be worn on two fingers, the ring and middle finger. It was important that this integrated with the design of the fence.

Fence ring made from copper

The first fence ring was made using copper. This was to make sure I could practice soldering the joins and make any tweaks to the design before committing to sterling silver.

Fence ring. Sterling silver. 11cm long  x 6cm high x 0.6cm deep

Material Matters: Steel String + Wood

Continuing my exploration using wood as an alternative material to creating jewellery I found a stick covered with lichen. Its shape was delightful and I didn't want to cut it up like I had done with previous experiments. 

Wanting to keep the delicate lichen intact, I dipped the stick in resin which gave it a slightly shiny sheen. And looking to work with other metals, I chose to work with steel wire, string and slices of wood to assemble the necklace. 

Also continuing my work with sticks, at the eleventh hour I thought of this fun idea using sticks to create earrings. 

These earrings can be found on my online store.