Hello Jewel Envy readers,
Today I wanted to share some of the projects I have been working on while Covid-19 has been keeping me out of the studio and talk a little bit about one of my greatest sources of inspiration, insects. I think one of the reasons I am so drawn to insects is because of how small and detailed they are, in that way they have a lot in common with jewellery. With the weather getting warmer I’ve been seeing more and more insects out and about which is giving me lots of inspiration, but since I haven’t been able to get into the studio I can’t translate my inspiration into my usual medium of jewellery. So below are a couple of projects that have been keeping me busy.
Rock Painting: I got into this trend because I’ve been seeing painted rocks around the neighbourhood when I walk my dogs. I’ve been really enjoying sitting outside when the weather is nice and painting little creatures on rocks. It’s a really meditative process and it provides more immediate gratification than making jewellery. Above is the inspiration for this rock, a Calligrapha Leaf Beetle and my quick painted version. I love the gold colour and intricate pattern of this beetle to me he already looks almost like a piece of jewellery.
Planning a Future Project: I’ve been working on this piece off and on for a couple of months and with all this newfound down time I keep taking out the pieces and laying them out and making adjustments to my plan for when I can get back to the studio and finish it. This picture is from the last time I laid all the pieces out and tried a few antenna shapes before settling on what I already had. I found the Blister Beetle (fun fact they’re called this because the excrete a liquid that burns and blisters flesh) in the picture above last spring and have been wanting to make one ever since because of the iridescent blue colour and segmented antennae that reminded me of ancient granulated jewellery.
Mosaicing: This has been my long term project since the pandemic first started. Its a mosaic of the well known and beautiful luna moth. I do a fair bit of mosaicing in my free time (its a shared family hobby) and last summer I did my first moth. I still had some of these wooden butterfly cutouts from the dollar store laying around and decided to do another moth and I had the perfect colours for a luna moth. I combined the existing cutout with some popsicle sticks to create the tails. This guy is still a work in progress and I plan to use my jewellery skills to fabricate a pair of antennae out of wire as the final touch once he’s finished.
I hope my sharing these projects has given you a little insight into how I use my inspiration. In times like these art is a great outlet and source of distraction. Take care everyone
-Skye