I have always been curious to know the appeal of mass-produced jewellery, why wear something that has been made into hundreds, if not thousands of copies, something made with no soul, no spirit, and no life-giving breath. Since childhood I have always had a deep love and fascination with jewellery and gemstones, I still have a rusted old tin filled with gems by grandfather gave me at the age of five, I have even kept a plastic lilac coloured jewel that was attached to the clothing of a mermaid barbie doll I had, and I have modelled many pieces around that little plastic gemstone, trying to capture the exact feeling as a child, after swimming in the freezing ocean, and then being wrapped up in a beach towel in the car, my hair dripping with sea water and sand, my lips blue, fantasizing the whole way home about getting into a hot shower, there really is nothing quite like that feeling.
I really believed those little tokens held untold magic; I still do.
Deeply thought-out pieces came as complete second nature, it was never a question in my mind, I would not even think of my works born from metalsmithing as jewellery, to me they are talismans and amulets, each with a function, message, and reminder, I also only make one off pieces, multiple copies will never be on my agenda, and the custom orders I do are always created only for the wearer, detail can be so specific, that it can come down to only creating these jewels during the correct planetary times for that particular person and the purpose of their piece. The lavender quartz pendant and ring (pictured), were something I had wanted to create for many years, I had been hunting down a gem that would emulate the little plastic jewel I had saved off my mermaid doll, for quite some time, I just knew I needed a light blue gemstone that shifts into pink and purple with beautiful luminosity, and then I stumbled upon lavender quartz, a variety of rose quartz and also quite rare, coming from the Boquira Mine, in the Northern Brazilian state of Bahia, the only mine that produces it.
The pendant is Framed with engravings of sticky tail flowers, bringing back scenes from my childhood which was filled with walks along the granite rocks of Greens pool, and Williams bay in the great southern, where the smell of these flowers was absolutely intoxicating amongst the clicking insects ( not surprising they have the same hallucinogenic alkaloids as other nightshade species, there was just something about them that said, do not mess with me!) I will never forget running up that trail, before the sweep of concrete took it over through the sad re-developing of the area from a wilderness, to another untouched beach now just catering to tourists and loosing itself, totally forgetting why those places were special in the first place, and as I ignored my dad trailing behind me with all his fishing gear, I felt a big thud! … and I felt …fur? I had run right into a huge buck kangaroo, who did not move an inch, I can say I did stop running ahead after that, tiger snakes and dugites I would jump over if I had to (ironically something I had to do again 20 years later as an adult chasing my own daughter down dirt trails, lucky I had some experience!) but kangaroos, we have had way to many runs ins, but that is another story.
On the reverse of the pendant, there are images from my memories of Ocean Beach, a blue bottle jellyfish, which are like little toxic blue jewels scattered through the salty seaweed, a crab, which is associated with the moon, little creatures that I would seek out as they scattered into the rocks, where waves crashed and pulled back, with such enormous force. A shark egg, something I often picked up on the shoreline, I actually have not been back in the ocean past my waist since the age of maybe eleven, after swimming out past the sandbank, where all the surfers would be, and while floating in that crystal clear water, between the seconds of glistening sun and the massive waves reminding you how ..nothing you are…I saw beneath me a large shark, I honestly felt the calm of surrendering to death in that moment, before it swam on ..because of how nothing we are.
Lastly I have included little 22k gold coins…for the time I found literal treasure in the sand…while walking with my mum , on a hot summer day, I saw shining way up in the sand dunes; just in front of the limestone caves I would play in …I ran towards it to find a huge pile of 1 and 2 dollar coins! And my mum in disbelief told me I have eagle eyes… (some poor surfer was most likely devastated he had lost all his beer money out of his circa 1995 hot tuna boardshorts).
Why does it matter how our jewellery is made, or where it came from?
Yes of course pieces soak up the energy of their owners, and meaning is collected and gathered over time, I will never argue that. But close your eyes and take a moment to envision the beginning of that piece, where did the stones come from? Were they taken in a way that destroys the land they are found? Do they violate basic human rights and put those people’s health in jeopardy? I have seen firsthand the conditions in which these people work, and it is not pleasant, cutting gemstones without the proper precautions can lead to diseases like silicosis. Have these stones been marred by injustice and tragedy from their very beginnings?
This has been incredibly conflicting for me, having gemstones that I’ve collected over many years, before I knew the unethical origins that they may of come from, I am still using them, rather than let them sit in a box, but I do make an effort to source any new gemstones from Australian hobby fossickers who only take a small amount of material and cut it themselves, the price point is a lot higher, but absolutely worth it, and their skills are worth it.
Now what about the process of creation? Was it made with a function in mind? With copper or bronze for conducting energy and heath (these metals are anti-microbial), gold for purity or gemstones like carnelian (cornelian) for grounding, protection, and healing (just to name a few functions of this gemstone), what was the maker thinking while creating this alchemy with fire and metal? What energy has been used … or not used?
I want to elaborate, that I am not even talking about complex treasures with massive intrinsic value, I am talking about the origin story of what we wear on our body, I have favourite pieces I never take off, that I have made with scrap brass, copper and damaged gems, that I just happen to be drawn to, and love to wear, I create little hidden boxes under the gems, and inside I put dried leaves and flowers of healing plants I’ve grown, before I set the stone on top, encasing them inside forever.
If there is connection, even a string of wave worn shells, can be more valuable than the biggest diamond.
