I’ve recently begun experimenting with our new fibre laser here in the studio. Below are some of my photo etching tests on steel sheet!
Laser Engraving Experiments
Tag: jewellery
Work In Progress – Diese Ist (Mein) Opa
By Alex Kinsley Vey
1950’s
Recently I’ve been invited to participate in an exhibition with the theme and title Memento Mori. The usual tropes are skulls, hair, references to time, but I decided to respond to this theme in a less direct way.
My Opa (Grandpa in German) was unfortunately a man I never got to know well while he was alive. He passed away in 2012, and suffered a stroke shortly after I was born which made it incredibly difficult for us to communicate. As I’ve gotten older I’ve regretted that we were never able to talk much.
Well after his passing I began to learn more and more about the man he was, the things he liked and disliked, and trials and tribulations both during and after the Second World War.
Memento Mori made me think of my Opa, all the black and white pictures of him in his youth, frozen in time, and how eventually that will be me, only surviving through memory and photography.
And yours truly rocking the bowl-cut
I decided to memorialize him and create work that acts as a reminder that when we pass all that is left are pictures and memories. By taking these images of him, translating them into a solid wearable form, I hope to remember his life, and process my own eventual death.
This series of work is still very much in progress, but I thought it would be fun to share! The next step will be to create the final etchings on steel. Decide on a framing system for the brooch findings. And to finalize how I will treat the steel once it’s been etched.
I’m Aurora, it’s nice to meet you…
I am really excited to have started out at Jewel Envy this September. I’ve been working as a goldsmith since 2008 and it feels like a wonderful progression in my career to be working around so many vibrant and talented goldsmiths. I am nothing if not eclectic, working with metal of course, but also in leather and fabric to create jewellery, belts and costumes for historical reenactors.
I also love working with clients to make their dreams a reality. If you have an old piece of jewellery sitting around that needs a revamp, or some gems that you haven’t quite figured out a plan for, I am your gal.
I am looking forward to see what the future brings and getting to know the Jewel Envy client community better. I will be here most Tuesdays and Wednesdays if you ever want to swing by and say hello!
You can follow me on Instagram and Facebook @handmaderevolution_TO and to see my historical antics you can check out my tiktok @captainswordface
A Rings Journey
From Wax to Metal
The flask is then loaded onto the machine pictured above, metal is melted in the crucible, and a lever is pulled the entire thing spins incredibly fast, making use of centrifugal force to push the metal into the flask and cool in the shape of the waxes.
The Process of Re-Shanking a Ring
Over time the metal on your rings is worn away by daily wear. Over several decades this can lead to a very thin ring (or shank as they are known)! Sometimes rings get caught on things and break, or are damaged in other ways necessitating what we call a re-shanking.
Recently we had a ring come in which needed a Full Shank done. The old broken shank was removed, and the new metal was gathered in preparation for repair.
The new shank was formed and soldered onto the original head of the ring, thought at this stage it is much to wide and needs refinement.
Using files, sanding discs, and emery paper, the dimensions are refined and made to match the existing portion of the original ring. These are blended together before polishing.
Finally the ring is polished and everything checked to make sure the match is identical! And voila, a ring reborn!
s l i c e: Biodigital jewellery by Paul McClure
I had a chance to check out Paul McClure’s solo exhibition currently at the Craft Ontario gallery in Toronto, curated by Robyn Wilcox.
Paul has this to say about the exhibition:
‘Slice’ is a collection of jewellery expressing my fascination with the microscopic realm of the human body. Abstract forms refer to bacteria, viruses, cells and their structures within us. As these invisible but universal components come to define us, they also acquire cultural meaning independent of their biological definition. The highly aestheticized microscopic imagery and cutaway diagrams from popular science are particular sources of inspiration for this work: geometric forms, graphic patterns and vibrant colours. The forms are “digitally handmade” using a combination of computer modelling and 3D printing technologies with traditional metalworking techniques of forming, fabricating and finishing. Slicing through these forms reveals surprising and pleasing sections and patterns. However, the slice, like a microbe itself, exposes tensions between the benevolent and sinister, the beautiful and ugly, the fascinating and fearful.
– Paul McClure
All the work is made using a mix of 3-D printing and hand fabrication skills. It is colourful and intricate, but also slightly unnerving.
Experiments in Plaster: Part 2
By Alex Kinsley
I’m back! With more adventures in the form of plaster, steel, and rust!
The material is quite interesting, I’ve been making use of it’s ability to be dyed with different pigments, and it’s work-ability after it has been cast.
The next project is a much bigger art necklace, though I’ve still got a ways to go before something fully realized emerges.
New art jewellery from House of Cassady
As an independent goldsmith, I make a fair number of pieces that are small batch productions, so, while they are all unique in their own way, they’re still of a similar design, and generally use similar methods. Part of my practice, to keep exercising my creative muscles is to challenge myself to make larger pieces on a semi-regular basis. Last year, I made this piece:
Oxidised sterling silver, 10k yellow gold, blue topaz and sapphire necklace with roller printed elements and two-tone blue needled felt. This necklace is very kinetic, and hangs about 19″ long.
If you’re familiar with some of my work, you’ll see that it incorporates a lot of different elements from other pieces that I’ve made, but puts them together in a new and more elaborate way, incorporating some gold and more precious gems than I might normally use. (If you’re interested in more information about why I use these elements, you can read a bit more here.)
This year, I set myself a similar goal: to make a larger, statement piece, that incorporates a lot of elements that I normally use, in a larger format, and incorporating or extending my skills at the same time. This piece presented some challenges for me, in terms of the physical construction, because I couldn’t use a lot of my normal techniques to create the individual pieces. This made it a lot of fun (I like practical problem solving/troubleshooting), but also rather frustrating at times.
This necklace is part of my sci/art collections, and is entitled Invaders/Defenders. Since it is more specifically an art jewellery piece, the design is associated with different symbolism for me. The piece has two different finishes. The oxidised/dark element represents the infectious invaders, with the mostly oval cabochon sapphires being reminiscent of a bacterial shape, and the random placement showing some of the disorder that happens in the infection process. In contrast, the matte silver/light element represents the immune cells that defend against infection and disease, with the incorporation of texture and irregular cutouts. The more organic nature of the circular shape of the two larger elements reflect the cellular/tissue environment where these biological entities interact, and the two elements are united in a continuous loop with a steel cable, as the different sides of this process are irrevocably linked in biology.
I’m really pleased with the overall effect of the piece, what do you think? Would you be interested in some smaller pieces in a similar style of one of the elements, perhaps as a brooch or a pendant?
You can contact me here to start a dialogue about this piece, and commission a new work. I look forward to your comments.
Have a great Saturday!
Alex Kinsley – Experiments with plaster
Recently I’ve been experimenting with plaster as a material to create work with. Below is my journey so far!
I’d been planning on exploring this material in my work for a while, but with the recent slowdown due to COVID19 I figured this was the time.
My first tests mostly focused on embedding steel into the plaster and then revealing it and letting nature do its work via rusting.
I’ve still got a lot of testing to do, but the most recent one above is looking promising! Excited to continue down this path and post more results here.