Balance Rings

These rings came about from designing for a client, I came up with a similar design to these and decided to forge it from thick wire, when I bent it up to the shape, it was too big to be worn as a ring so I decided to over lap the two meeting loops side by side to decrease the size. This created a really interesting pattern and It took off from there. I made a few variations and created different finishes such as blackening the metal for contrast, glass brushing for a matted look and forging with a polished hammer for a beaten texture. Over and above this I set one of the rings with a Labradorite gemstone and one with a Moonstone. To me these rings represent the Chinese Yin and Yang which describes the interdependance of opposites which create harmony and balance.

Sweet Mozam's

This is a Cast Silver ring set with water Opals, they have a really beautiful colour to them which remind me of the bright blue luminescence of the Ocean in Tofu, Mozambique. I went there in December 2004 and what a beautiful place it was. After a long hot drive from Maputo, we arrived at a Backpackers called Fatima's Nest where we camped at, it had a really relaxed vibe with a beach bar where you can take afternoon naps on the couch, a bon-fire circle and little dried palm tree leaf gazebo's with hammocks strung from it, I thought that this was definately my kind of place, I never wanted to leave and ever since I have been longing to go back. So to anyone reading this post I would strongly recomend taking a visit.

The Conclusion

Through all this wax work and casting I have learnt so much from trial and error, and still have much more to learn. Casting is a whole other skill that goes far more in depth than I had ever thought.

It takes alot of patience and persistance and the outcome can either be frustrating and dissapointing or exciting and rewarding.

I have found that with wax rolling the possibilities are endless and I am enjoying the process of experimenting and although tedious at times the results are often highly satisfactory.

The Search

This is a bracelet that I am currently working on it has taken time because it needs more elements due to a change in construction, instead of using jump rings to attach the elements I am using hinges so that the mechanism for movement can be can be hidden. I find that with certain pieces jump rings can often make a piece look cheap and improfessional so that is why I went with using hinges. I had a few bumps along the way like the once again, mis-cast elements, but I'm sure all the trouble will be worth it.

I am drawn to the Aztec feel of this piece it reminds me of an ancient wisdom that once existed and is now forever lost to the blindness of modern day society.

Evolve

This is the evolution of the once lost but now found Periwinkle earrings, I gave the first ones a rest for a while because they weren't working out the way I wanted and wasn't sure how to take the design further. So through my journey of wax rolling I came across a very special wax extruding instrument, thanks to my lecturer, which is much less time consuming and allows me to make much thinner spirals. Thank goodness for that because this piece takes alot of time to make.

I have found that this earring wraps over too much and is a bit short and stumpy, so I have a new shape for it which I had molded but mis-cast due to my metal not being hot enough when pouring into the flask... Sigh! Live and learn.

Ancient Eternity

This is an element I have retrieved from a prevoius mis-cast phenomena bangle.
I experimentally used a sprue on only one side of the bangle and this was the outcome, the metal cooled down before reaching all the cavities.
I love it because it brings about feelings of mystisism and ancient artefacts.
I'm not sure yet what I will do with it but I'm sure I'll find out in time.

Wind cries Mary

This piece is an improvement of the Phenomena bangle, the first bangle was more of a prototype and a bit clumsily done. I've tried to go more intricate in this piece using thinner spirals and with more thought put into the placement of spirals with regard to the overall shape of the bangle, which is a wavey shape.

This piece has thick sides because it is unfinished and still has its 'sprues' from casting, which assist the flow of molten metal into the piece.

When I feel like my bangle is finally what I'm hoping for It will then be worth setting stones in the middle of certain spirals, mainly Opals, Moonstones or Labradorite, maybe all of the above.

Latest work in progress

The Following pictures are of unfinished pieces I have been working on in the past 2 weeks, half of which have evolved from previous pieces.

Voodoo Chile

These are my latest pair of earings, I came about this design just by experimenting with my wax rolled spirals and keeping ethnic jewellery in mind. The reason why I use spirals in most of my work is because I am somewhat drawn in by their hypnotic pattern, which seems to vibrate a mystic energy. I am amazed by the way a spiral plays tricks on your eyes the way it seems to move, even when drawn on paper, although it is static. For the most of it spirals are to me a freak of nature, they are one of the most predominant forms in nature found in clouds, plants, shells and water, and nobody really knows how or why they exist so to me they are a true natural mystic.

Phenomena

I am exploring the concept of the original purpose of jewellery so I am focusing on ethnic/tribal jewellery which forms a specific function in ethnic communities. This bangle is the beginning of a new chapter in my jewellery. It is the first piece of which I plan to start a collection from and improve on. I am using traditional lost wax casting techniques used by tribesman in Chad where they roll wax into thin wire like forms and make spiral objects from them. I came about this design by playing around with spirals which is a symbol that is often found in my jewellery.

Philip Sainz

This is the work of Philip Sainz and to me a breath of fresh air!

The inspiration behind his designs comes from the colours, movement and shape of the rare and unusual gemstones, fossils and other organic materials that he works with, which bring about his own unique style of contemporary organic jewellery.

To view more of his designs go to http://www.soloartesan.co.uk/

Bracelet in the making

This is a cast element bracelet, it is made from copper and has been Patinated which gives it the blue colour, I find that this piece to me looks unfinished so my next task will be to silver plate the bracelet and lay resin inside the grooves

Michael Good Jewellery

This is a bangle made by michael good I love the fluidity of his jewellery. He uses a technique called Anticlastic raising which I would like to try out. His website is http://www.michaelgood.com/

Latest project- Peri winkle earrings

These are the first prototypes; the earring on the left is my first piece but it doesn't wrap as much as I would like, I am having trouble getting the same etch texture with my latest silver pieces.
The middle earring is the type of effect/wrap that I want
The one on the right is my experimental piece with intaglio etching and torch fire enamelling.








This picture was experimental etching done with torch firing















This piece of copper is a relief etch which I will be constructing my next earrings with, I will then enamel and grind them until the copper pattern shows through which I will then silver plate and hopefully the pattern will show through in silver with an enamelled back ground.

Flower of Light

This design came from a textile pattern that I came across. It was modelled from wax and cast into silver, I have used Opals and Amethysts to create a more interesting piece and to include colour.

Spirituality is a ripple

I came about this design from seeing a similar shaped pendant on TV and thought it was a really beautiful shape to work with, I thought of how to give it a more 3D feel so it would not look so flat I then decided to fly press the shape. I also didn't want a plain surface and I came up with the rippled pattern which I etched into the metal.
The colour you see on the metal is a form of pattination and is not permanent.
The chain I used is called Byzantine chain which is a complex form of joining jump rings, it takes a very long time to make but is highly rewarding once finished.

Rainbow swirls

This is another piece from the Culture Fusion range using the rolled wax method

diVINEinty

Warped

I used contemporary architecture as my reference for designing this piece, it is made from 925 silver

Whirls and swirls

re fusion theme, I used the rolled wax technique to design and construct this ring.