I don’t know if you saw this necklace, I made it last year to put forward for an exhibition. I like to challenge myself to make something more elaborte than I usually do (I tend to favour sleeker elements and not too complex elements) at least once a year, and last year it was this one:
Oxidised sterling silver and 10kt yellow gold, two-tone blue needled felt, blue topaz and sapphire
I love the colours, and the movement it makes, so I was excited (and a bit sad) to sell it at Christmas. So, I decided to make another one (still one of a kind, though!). This necklace combines a number of different elements. As I’ve talked about previously, the elements I currently am using in my work are inspired by the shape and form of the immune system. For me, the sticks and rings are representational of blood vessels that red blood cells as well as cells of the immune system move around in. The small round roller-printed hollowforms are inspired by lymphocytes and the hollowforms with the needled felt are inspired by macrophages. Like alot of systems, the immune system is there to protect the body, but it can also be turned against the body, so this is the darker side.
When I decided I wanted to make another version, I decided this one should the the “light” version. I finished it awhile ago, of course, now the challenge is to try and take good representational photos. These aren’t the final pics, but some rough ones on their way to the being more professional:
This one has a white matte finish, and I decided on an orange/red colour theme with orange sapphire and deep red rubies
Here’s a bit of a closer look at the central elements, I think I still need to work on bringing out the texture on the hollowforms a bit more-what do you think?
The other challenge is to try and convey a sense of scale, since it’s difficult to tell how large/small the piece is without some kind of frame of reference, so I thought I’d try being my own model — I’m not sure I recommend this, it was the world’s biggest hassle trying to get some good, in-focus pictures. So far this was the best I could do:
It’s not bad, you can tell how big it is, but I think I need to find another model!!
I did manage to take this portrait that I was pretty pleased with, I think I might be using it some more in the future!
Anyway, fancy a nice piece of statement jewellery yourself? Come in and browse the studio, or talk to one of our goldsmiths about making that piece of jewellery you’ve been thinking about a reality!
Have a great Saturday, and hope to see you soon!
-Robin Cassady-Cain, House of Cassady