Being a Goldsmith has taught me a very important lesson about life – that all things created are never beautiful in the beginning. First there is a vision, a dream. Then come the unknowns, the molding, the mistakes, the re-dos, the things that don’t quite fit, the dirty hands, the frustrations, the ah-ha moments, the seeking of guidance, the patience, the staying the course, the polishing and refining, and the destination.
In process (before): Men’s rings by Jessica Rita Jewelry
The process looks rough 90% of the way through, and then…there comes something beautiful. And then we do it all over again, why?
Because it is our nature to KEEP CREATING.
Polished (after): Men’s Ring by Jessica Rita Jewelry
The lesson that is repeatedly taught for me through this profession is to always stay the course. To keep chipping away, because sometimes its not meant to all come together right away. Sometimes there are important lessons, people and gifts that await you along the journey toward your dreams.
Inspired by Alexis’ post explaining her business name, I thought i would explain mine. My actual name is Alex Kinsley, so the first part of my business name is pretty easily explained. However the Vey part is my mothers family name.
I used both of my parents family names as a way to honour them as they have been a huge driving force behind me in becoming a jeweller. Both of them were jewellers, although my mother has since become an elementary school teacher.
My father at the One of a Kind show in Toronto, 1980sMy mother in an article in The Free Press of London OntarioMe at Joya Art Jewellery Fair, Barcelona, 2017
Today I wanted to share a little bit about the process of water casting. This is a technique that I use quite frequently in my work for creating collections as well as one of a kind pieces. Water casting is a process where metal (I like to use my scrap silver from previous projects) is melted to its liquid state and then poured into a container of cold water. The quick change in temperature freezes the metal and creates really unique organic forms. One of the things I love about this process is that no two pours are ever the same, below you can see a few examples of the results of different pours.
In this process, the water has the most control over the resulting forms, but the speed, height and way you pour the metal into the water will have some influence on the type of shapes you get. For example, slow pours from up high usually result in small round shapes while fast pours close to the surface of the water often create larger cup shaped pieces. In my droplets collection I take my favourite water cast pieces and make molds of them so I can recreate the same shapes again and again. When I get some of the really large cup shaped pieces I really enjoy turning them into one of a kind statement rings with pearls set inside. The cupped shape of the metal piece supports and protects the pearl. Below is a process picture from one such ring as well as the final result.
I hope this post was interesting and informative. If you’re interested in a custom water cast piece you can always reach out to us via phone or email or message us on Facebook and Instagram.
One of the (many) artists who’s work I follow and admire, Anna Vlahos is an Australian jewellery artist, who currently lives, and works as a studio jeweller in Athens, Greece.
She has exhibited her work in Greece, China, Italy, the USA, Brazil, Lithuania, France, and Spain.
What I find interesting is that we both approach our work with similar elements at the fore, but with very different outcomes. We both primarily work with wax, casting these pieces using the lost wax casting method. As well, history, nature and natural processes, including degradation and decomposition, seem to play fairly large roles in the work.
“Here in Greece, jewellery and art objects come out of the ground as though they grow down there. I think about ancient artisans, and how they viewed the natural world around them, their inspiration, and how their work was swallowed up by the environment for thousands of years. With the techniques they used, the metals and the application of thousands of years underground, the metal becomes something organic, reminiscent again of the natural object that inspired each piece. Nature and time have worn away and deteriorated the objects. This is what I work to recreate- pieces that might be part of a newly discovered horde, or something equally at home on the forest floor.”
Over the 14 years I have been a goldsmith I have only been asked once why glaciale? I wanted a name that alluded to the slow movement and change that I felt my ideas explored. I feel that every idea is an accumulation of things I have seen and observed over time and slowly is shaped into new pieces of jewellery. I haven’t documented every piece below, but you can see the evolution of my work over the years. I have explored different materials and techniques and continue to sell and make pieces from each group of work. All pieces can be customized, recreated or are available for sale just reach out through email to get in touch. info@jewelenvy.ca
Hope everyone is staying safe and sane at home.
Alexis
Silhouettes.
Landscape Rings.
Waves.
Playing Cards.
Gates.
Enamel Animals.
Enamel Gems.
Under the Sea.
Check out more:
www.glacialegoldsmith.com
Instagram: glaciale_goldsmith
Get in touch: alexis.glaciale@gmail.com / 416.666.6233
Times are stressful this spring, but as a silver lining that just allows us more time to stop and smell the spring flowers, I hope. Maybe this post can help distract you for a minute or two as we talk about something more… adamant… say a diamond?
Like my pun?
Here’s a fun fact, ‘adamant’ derives from that same Greek roots as the root word for diamond, “a” and “daman” which means “not” and “to tame”. Diamonds are the traditional birthstones of April and are the hardest natural materials known to man, hence they could never be tamed, until now. Their hardness is what made it difficult to use in jewellery prior to the turn of the century and thus kept it out of main fashion lines till the Industrial revolution.
There are several reasons why a diamond is so hard. First, what is a diamond?
Diamond is identified as:
Cubic Crystal System (graphite is Hexagonal)
Native Element (a pure element in natures found chemically ‘unbound’ with another element, like gold)
Mineral = Diamond – C
Now there are varieties of diamonds called “fancy diamonds”, these are coloured diamonds as opposed to the original white/colourless we usually see. They can come in all the colours, with red and pink being the rarest colour and yellow being more common. There are also green, blue, orange, violet, chocolate and black varieties.
The many colours of fancy diamonds: green, yellow, orange, red, pink, violet and blue.
Diamonds are actually a metastable, crystalline form of pure carbon. They are polymorphs of graphite, meaning the “lead” in your pencil and that engagement ring on your finder have the EXACT same chemical composition, just different crystal structures. The difference is how the atoms have arranged themselves. In graphite the carbon forms sheets that are weakly bound together, hence graphite is used as a lubricant in certain machinery, the atomic sheets just slide by each other. In diamond, the carbon atoms are arranged into tetrahedrons, triangular pyramids. This is what gives the diamond it’s strength, as pyramid after pyramid is stacked together, like trusses of a bridge, growing in all directions equally.
The atomic structure of diamond and graphite displaying how carbon orients itself.
Interestingly, while diamonds are the hardest, they are not the toughest; Diamond & Diamond Lawyers didn’t do their research. First we need to establish the difference in terminology. Hardness, it the measure of resistance to scratching/indentation. Toughness is the resistance to withstand mechanical shock. Due to the tetrahedral structure of diamond, there are weak points, known as cleavage, that follow aligned atomic bonds. This makes diamond brittle, not fragile, but if you apply the right amount of force at the right angle you will cleave a diamond. This was how we originally cut diamond, by breaking it along cleavage plans using other diamonds and metals tools to create very crudely, unappealing, basic gemstones cuts. To top off this little factoid, jade is actually tougher gemstones than diamonds as they are composed of softer microcrystals that are interlocked/woven with each other. They don’t have a cleavage point thus resist impact better than diamond. Diamond lawyers should be saying there’s nothing HARDER than a diamond, but that’s no longer the case too. I’ll talk about that another time.
Just how hard is a diamond? well is almost 4 times as hard as sapphire (corundum). Vickers hardness tests how much pressure it takes to make an indentation with another diamond into the surface.
Now for these crystals to form we need to go deep into the earth. For scale, the deepest mines are about 4km deep in South Africa and the deepest humans could ever drill was 12,262 metres (40,230 ft), in Russia. Diamonds form 150-200km below the surface of the Earth, and that’s not even deep on the Earth’s scale. Here, temperatures average 900 to 1,300 degrees Celsius and at a pressure of 45 to 60 kilobars (which is around 50,000 times that of atmospheric pressure at the Earth’s surface)! You find this kind of high pressure and low temperature (relative to the rest of the mantle at that depth) at the base of the continents, also known as a cratonic root. Cratons are ancient continents dating well over 4 billion years old, they are the first continents are formed long ago on the early earth and are characterized as the stable sections of a continent (no major earthquakes or volcanoes). The Canadian Shield you see up in cottage country north of us is such a craton, hence we have found diamonds in Canada. Now, ready for a little science that’s almost fiction?
Geologists and chemists are able to analyst the inclusions in diamonds to help identify depth and pressure. See some of those inclusions in your ring, that people find undesirable, could actually be deep earth minerals Minerals that are only stable under extreme pressure and temperatures and would never be found on the earth’s surface. They are also able to analyze the stable isotope ratio of the carbon within a diamond, as in how much C12 there is to C13. Looking at this ratio, geologists discovered some diamonds carry ratios that are similar to modern life, algae. Life prefers to use C12 over C13, so it’s possible the diamond came from organic material or ancient algae and cyanobacteria slime that was pushed back deep into the earth along subduction zones (think Marianas Trench, like the band). That’s right, you could be wearing ancient crystalline slime dusted with rare minerals from deep within the Earth.
Garnet inclusion within a diamond. This garnet while similar to surface garnets could very likely be a deep earth garnet, and only able to survive on the surface environment because it’s sealed within.
Another really cool interesting fact is how diamonds came to the surface. As we discussed above, diamonds need lower heat and extreme pressure from deep below the surface. If they are brought up too slowly, diamonds will transform into graphite as this structure is more stable on the Earth’s surface environment. Therefore, the diamonds we are mining today had to be brought up rapidly, so fast, in fact, they have evidence of these eruptions breaking sonic speeds. These eruptions are known as diatremes or maars.
A simple diagram of a diatreme, magma forces itself along fractures and weak points in the crust thus forming dykes. When the pressure is released, a cone (like a carrot) is formed. Xenoliths are the pieces of deep crust brought up from the violent eruption, this is where the diamonds reside.
Diatremes are the result of deep magma plumes pushing to the surface and then violently reaching with groundwater to produce an eruption. This explosion is like popping a champagne cork as the released pressure allows all the built-up pressure from below to explode out. As the magma from below erupts it fractures, pulls and drags the surrounding rock to the surface. This magma produces a rock known as lamproites. If your magma happened to source below and flow through the old cratonic roots as we discussed above, there is a chance these deep eruptions can carry diamonds, creating the ore known as kimberlite, diamond-bearing lamproites.
Kimberlite ore with a diamond in the rough.
Next time when you are showing off your diamond, and your friend points out a little black spot, let them know what that little black spot really is.
Stay tuned for next month as we discuss jump back into beryls; the emeralds of May.
I have always loved the Tree of Life. Aside from its beautiful aesthetic appeal, I am so drawn to what it represents. I thought to myself, given the current state of the world, I can’t imagine a better time to discuss the meaning and significance behind this sacred symbol.
The tree’s roots reach deeply into the soil, absorbing from the Earth to sustain itself. It’s leaves and branches extend to the sky, drinking in the nourishment of the sun and oxygen. Without what is above and below, it simply cannot exist. It is connected to the Earth and it’s environment will impact its ability to grow, thrive, become strong, sustain the seasons, and bear fruit and seeds for future generations to enjoy. The Tree of Life is a symbol for our connectedness to each other and to our planet. The tree is us, one and all.
As the world has gone quiet, stores shut down, services reduced, it has become easier to see how much we are all dependant on one another. Our decisions, seemingly small, have an impact on the world. It has also become clear that when we work together, there can be real change on a global scale – should we choose it.
Tree of Life with Labradorite, Jessica Nehme
I made this Tree of Life to necklace to remind me of this. That I am connected to everyone and everything, and to remind myself that every action in life, big or small, has a reaction. It reminds me to be responsible, to be grateful for the good in the world, and to have faith that together we can do amazing things.
If you are interested in having your own Tree of Life, reach out to us at Jewel Envy and we would be happy to help. Even though our doors are closed, our owner Gillian is monitoring online orders from our website and we can ship orders within 1 to 2 days after payment. Please reach out to us through phone or email with any questions, we are here to help!
This week’s post is brought to you by Karyn, from deep inside her safe bubble of self-isolation!
I hope everyone is staying healthy, sane, and centred amidst this pandemic.
While the retail store remains closed, Gillian is monitoring phone, email, and social media, so if you are interested in purchasing a piece of jewellery, commissioning a custom piece, or just want more information about beginning the process, please get in touch. You can visit our online shop here, where you can peruse the work of our artists, and buy gift certificates for custom work, as well as for future workshops and classes.
Keep in mind everything in our shop is available for online purchase. We are currently working on the listings, which, as you can imagine, is a time consuming process. We’ll get there!
These are strange times, and if you have the means, please consider supporting your local shops, and the artists represented within. Community is so evidently crucial in times like these.
Today I thought I would post about one of the ways that I have been keeping a creative practice going in isolation.
painting
Before the shops closed I was able to stock up on some art supplies, and have gotten back into the process of painting, which is something I have enjoyed throughout my life, but haven’t revisited for … nearly a decade… wow, it’s been a while.
For those of us who have been told to stay home and have the luxury of ample free time, this is a perfect time to get creative and play around. To engage with our imaginations and see what happens, without any specific aim or outcome in mind.
Have you guessed colour is an important element in this work?
The process I’ve developed usually starts with a broad splash of one or two base colours, then I layer up loose strokes of complimentary colours, incorporating patterns, and I finish off the detail with oil pastels or ink drawings. I play around with these sequences, building up the layers. Eventually it becomes an exercise in rhythm and restraint.
I’m sorry, did you say “restraint”?
I would consider these last two a successful example of my “restraint”…
It’s been fun to try something new, not be too precious about it and see what emerges. Ultimately, you never know how these exercises might work their way into your primary practice, so I’m intrigued to see how this will influence my jewellery aesthetic. Maybe they’ll take on a life of their own and I’ll make my first million in painting sales!
If you wander down Roncevalles past the Big Blue House (also known as Jewel Envy!), you’ll see a new window display by……me (House of Cassady)! Little did I know when I agreed to do the display that it would be relevant to our current situation, so I thought I’d talk today a bit about the genesis of my collection, and a bit about where you can find some information that might better help you understand how your body fights infections, like COVID-19.
As you may know (or not), I have a PhD in immunology, the very important part of physiology that protects the body (or “host”) against infection, and some diseases. As I’m sure you’ll agree, in our current crisis, it’s particularly relevant to the concerns on everyone’s mind about COVID-19. I’m not going to go into a huge amount of detail about information about the immune system here, there are a lot of good pages like this Canada.ca webpage that will give you give information. Or the British Society for Immunology has this great series of pages called “Bite sized Immunology” which breaks a lot of different concepts into understandable sections with some colourful graphics to help make things more comprehensible.
Basically, the immune system is your own personal army that protects the body (to the best of its ability!) against infection (among other things). At its most basic, you can think of it being composed of two parts, the initial, less specific response that is immediate and a delayed response that is much more specific for an individual infectious agent, but it takes a while to kick in.
One of the interesting things about cells in general, and immune cells in particular, is that you can stain them with coloured dyes that make the smaller structures in the cell more visible. This allows visibility, and identification:
A blood smear stained with two dyes, the light red cells are, not surprisingly, red blood cells. The violet and purple cells are cells of the immune system.
Your blood contains alot of different kinds of blood cells that are involved in immunity.
Different kinds of immune cells
I’ve always been fascinated by the shapes of stained blood cells, I find them visually interesting, as well as artistically inspiring. About 10 years ago, I first had my inspiration for the current collection of different jewellery pieces. I was at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, working as a Research Fellow, and the Veterinary School wanted to put on an art show. I wanted to participate, since it combined my two passions (art and science!), and after alot of sketching, I had a whole host of ideas. Ultimately, the exhibition didn’t happen, but the ideas never went away!
View of miniquilts on display, made to complement the jewellery collection.
Fast forward to last year, and I started seriously working on new pieces combining my love of immune cells and my love of textiles! During March adn April, you can wander by the windows at the Big Blue House, and see a selection of pieces on display (and practice your social distancing while getting some fresh air, and enjoying some art!). Here’s a preview, but I promise that they should be seen in person to fully appreciate them!
Window with “M” series jewellery
Window with “L” series jewellery
Centre piece: “Defense of Life” combines both “M” and “L” units. Made out of sterling silver with a central 10kt yellow gold ring with rubies and an orange sapphire, and orange and red needle felt, this piece was originally designed to be an exhibition piece. Many of my other pieces are composed of elements that make up this special showpiece.
Although the studio is formally closed, we’re still around, you can contact us by email, and arrange consultations, etc. either by appointment, or by skype/video conferencing. In this difficult time, we really appreciate your support, and here are a few things that you can do to support us:
a) we have work available for purchase through the website
b) You can leave us reviews so that when regular life continues people will return to the store and discover the magic of Jewel Envy!
c) If you were thinking about having a custom piece made call us and let’s see if we can start the consultation process over the phone and through email.
We’re all trying to do our part and support our community, too. For example, you can visit the little library outside the Big Blue House!
Of course, I’m not a Public Health person, but I can help with questions about immunology in general, or point you in the direction of where to find good, reliable information about the pandemic, you just need to ask! I always find that information helps to lessen panic and fear, which we could all do with less of in this situation (panic and fear, not information!).
So, stay safe, stay healthy, and we hope to see you soon, and to hear from you even sooner!
WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING DELIVERIES- BE SURE TO RING
THE BELL!
To our valued customers in an effort to keep our
community safe we are closing for a minimum of 2 weeks with our goal to reopen
in April. We will still be happy to consult over the phone, Skype, email and
for (distanced) in person appointments provided both parties are healthy. We
have taken extra precautions for sterilizing shared tools and equipment and
have asked that anyone experiencing any symptoms please stay home.
As Jewel Envy is made up of smaller independent
businesses some of us do not have the option of stopping work on orders already
in progress as we rely on that income to survive. None of us are eligible for
EI. If you have placed an order and a deposit has been paid rest assured we are
still working on your pieces although in some circumstances the work may take a
little longer if we don’t have access to the supplies we need for the work to
continue.
If
you would like to support us in this difficult time:
1. You can purchase a small selection of work
through our online shop
2. You can leave us reviews so that when regular
life continues people will return to the store and discover the magic of Jewel
Envy!
3. If you were thinking about having a custom piece
made call us and let’s see if we can start the consultation process over the
phone and through email.
Strange times call for compassion and kindness to
all so let’s support each other the best we can as we all wait to see what
happens next.
