Tomorrow the exhibition I’m participating in with the Copenhagen Goldsmiths’ Guild in Mons, Belgium opens. It’s called ‘All that glitters,…’! I really love that tittle, and I’ll tell you why further down.
All the participants are exhibiting quite a large number of work, so it should be a fantastic exhibition, and a really excellent opportunity to see a lot of different work from many talented jewellers and silversmiths’ – should you happen to be in Belgium from tomorrow till 14 August 2011. Here’s a link to the website for more info.
I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a little more about some of my pieces – a series of pieces I’m exhibiting in Belgium.
These ‘Spice cellars’!
The idea to start this series has really sprung from a few technical challenges I’ve set myself.
One; all the scrap I had from other pieces was really building at that point, and I thought I should challenge myself according to recycling beliefs, to make something useful of it.
Two; was it possible for me (a not so physically strong woman) to cast a thick sheet of silver, roll it out on the rolling mill and then raise it (hammer it into 3D shape)?
Well as you can see I managed to pull it of, but I must admit I learned the true meaning of heavy perspiration. The cellars are all different in thickness and vary in shape. I’ve given them my signature matt hammered outer surface, and the inside is textured from a rusty stake I have (a stake is an iron tool you hammer your silver over in order to get the shape you want). A few of them are oxidised black to give contrast to the spices.
If you’ve had a look a at my other work, you’ll probably see that none of it is polished. Well I really like silver’s matt white colour, and when polished, it tends to pick up on the colours around it – a bit like a mirror. BUT having said that – one of the really amazing qualities about silver is that it does polish so beautifully. (So that’s really up to individual taste) And that’s why I like to emphasise the contrast between the beautiful matt finish and a highly polished edge. To me it rounds of a piece perfectly.
So the reason why I like the ‘All that glitters,…’ title, is because most people associate silver and gold with highly polished objects with diamonds, stones and …yeah, lots of glitter. But really it can be black, white, matt and still show a sparkle, depth and glittering beauty.
Or what do you think? Feel free to leave a comment – I’d love to hear your opinion.