There are many artists and jewellers who use nature as inspiration, although there are few whose work I like as much as that of Francis Wadsworth-Jones. Her playful collections include pieces made to look constructed by ants, and brooches that look like bird poo!

Workers

Heaven Sent

I very rarely find jewellery that I absolutely love, and can afford to buy (just about), so I was very happy when I saw this Mechanical Heart Pendant on Xylocopa. It’s beautiful, and the movable parts make it extra special. The studio also make other laser cut beauties such as the Young Mad Scientist’s First Alphabet Blocks (below).

Mechanical Heart Pendant

Machinist’s Clockwork Maple Gear Pendant

A Young Mad Scientist’s First Alphabet Blocks

I would usually associate the art of body painting with the grand, but mildly obtuse, use of painting clothes on naked models in cheap advertising, or on the living statues at Covent Garden. However, self-styled ’skin illustrator’ Emma Hack takes this medium and turns it into something visually stunning.

Hack’s Wallpaper series is based upon the designs of Florence Broadhurst, blending the model into the paper design to “play within the wallpapers interacting with their environment.” Interestingly, the interaction is limited, visually grounding the model into the position they have been painted into.

Red Bird, 2008

Kabuki Feline, 2008

Exotic Birds, 2007

In an almost contrast, Levi van Veluw takes the concept of blending into the landscape and uses it to create beautiful self-portraits using his own face as a canvas.

Landscape I

Landscape IV

Landscape III

Material Transfers - Sterling wood

This week I found myself accidentally going to Origin, the annual craft fair hosted by the Crafts Council and held in the wonderful setting of Somerset House in London. Here are some of my favourites from week two:

Betty Pepper

I absolutely love Betty Pepper’s work and always enjoy the opportunity to admire it (but unfortunatly never to buy). Betty recycles old fabric and other interesting bits and bobs to create something new, but which also retains the memory of it’s past; “this ageing fabric .. seems to have tales of its own to tell, traces of perfume, old buttons and thread”.

One of the most technically impressive things about her work is her ability to cut and manipulate books into beautiful shapes which act not only as wonderful displays, but are integral to the meaning of the pieces. You can spend hours looking at them and still find something which you have never noticed before…

Ancient Aunt Edith’s Tea Set

Woman’s Hour

Do Not Wash

Shellie Holden

Shellie Holden of Studio Spool uses brightly coloured threads and stitches on pre-existing materials such as maps or anatomical drawings.

Stitched Intermuscular Spaces

Ordnance survey of England, Cornwall and Devonshire 1919 - updated in London 2006

Marie Retpen

Takes the traditional idea of a vessel and then - melts it, to create a subverted yet funtional form. Retpen’s site also features possibly more affordable, production pieces.

Blue Deco Vase, Still Life Meltdown

Blue Hot Water Bottle

Bowl

Lina Peterson

I am lucky enough to currently own a pair of ‘dipped earrings’ by Lina Peterson and had the opportunity to be tempted all over again at Origin. Peterson initially creates forms out of wire, metal and crystals before dipping them in an (unamed) plastic coating. The resulting effect created by the use of a single vivid colour and the effects of gravity, is bold and stunning. I especially enjoy the contrasting colours used in the photography featured on her site.

Dipped Pin

Dipped Brooch

Virgina Graham

I have a hunch that Virginia Graham would be a perfect host for a tea party; her unique range of creative ceramics manage to combine an astonishing array of prints, patterns and materials whilst still being aesthetically pleasing. You can even have a brooch which matches your teapot!

Feather Teapot with Blue Stripes

Teacups

The ‘Stolen Jewels’ collection by Mike and Maaike is based upon low resolution images of ’some of the most expensive and often famous jewelry in the world’. These images are taken off google image search and are made in to dynamic, pixelated leather pieces. Maybe it’s ironic that in turn, bloggers (like me) subsequently feature images of this same work found using the same image search.

…are amazing! Comprising of Mila Kalnitskaya and Micha Maslennikov their ‘Frogs can Fly’ series are minature machines with a hint of steampunk. These are beautiful and yet wearable (by both frog and human), although I can only imagine how the frogs must feel about it…

Anyone familiar my work will realise that I have a certain fascination with facial prosthesis, especially in relation to the mouth. The mouth is the principal means of communication for the human, primarily through speech and secondarily thorough expression. Rife with connotation, more and more artists and jewellers alike have begun to explore and challenge the social conventions that are linked to the mouth as a significant and highly sexualised facial feature.

Lauren Kalman
Pedestal (2006), Tongue Gilding (2005), Aural, Oral, Digital Gems (2006)

Naomi Filmer
Mouthpiece (1996)

Pieces which connect so directly with the body differ from the standardised ‘wearing’ of jewellery. They both connect with, and yet at the same time expose the body as opposed to simply adorning it. Although these pieces are beautiful objects within themselves, once worn they enhance and expose the area which is rarely seen; changing the shape and features of the body and in effect, creating a human-prosthetic hybrid. Most oral based pieces would not be practical if worn in the same way as other, more traditional jewellery and so most depends upon the photographic image. This is rarely an issue and goes towards enhancing the transient beauty of the pieces.

Heidi Schwegler
Mouth Piece I (1998)

George Maciunas
Flux Smile Machine

Lesley Vik Waddell
Scold’s Bridle (1998)

Javier Moreno Frias
Protector (2006), glass

Paddy Hartley
Face Corset

Once upon a time, in a University far, far away (Leicester) there was a young art student who had never before encountered any such thing as contemporary jewellery. Naomi Filmer changed all that, and so it seems appropriate that she should feature as my first post! Using a variety of media including ice, chocolate and glass Filmer’s creations always embrace the human body; both celebrating its form and altering perceptions of how jewellery should be worn.