the story behind the lichens

i was looking at my last post and i realized that i don't think i've ever given an explanation on this blog for the use of lichens in my work. this is odd since they appear so frequently as of late.

in my fourth year at OCAD i had to take a jewellery concept class. we were basically introduced to different media throughout the term and then had to create work in response to them.

for one project we had to respond to Alice Munro's The Moons of Jupiter. the narrator felt a sense of shame similar to that of a mold growing over her when she compared her poor upbringing in rural Ontario to her husband's bourgeois-like background.

from this i looked at the lichen to represent the shame and their relationship since a lichen is a symbiotic organism that forms a close and long term relationship with a different biological species. because the lichens' effects are widespread and long lived they represent her baggage - her upbringing, and they are not something that can be removed. the pins i made represent how the narrator has come to terms with the differences between her husband's family and her own as well as how she will carry that baggage for as long as she lives. 

since then i've been drawn to this idea of emotional baggage - of it being tangible, far reaching and oftentimes overwhelming. but i'm simultaneously interested in the idea of resilience, of coming to terms with things, of accepting them as part of your life, wearing them openly, and moving forward in whatever way you can.

so whenever you see a new lichen piece from me that's what's on my mind.

scarf pin

i was commissioned by Maha to make a pin to wear with her head scarves a little while back. normally she just uses head pins but she wanted something more unique, dangly, and colourful. her Egyptian background makes her very partial to lapis lazuli's so we picked one out of my collection of stones and after looking at some sample images i started to get to work.

it was hard for me to pick out the chain for some reason - out of spools and spools of chain, only this one looked right. it was the only one that wasn't too large but also had enough of an opening in each link that i could fit jump rings to hang the tear drop charms from.

she was really happy with it and already got a ton of compliments :)

now i want one for myself!

so many leaves

i've worked on a lot of these since i started working at Organic Metal Gallery. My boss, Robin Gray, was commissioned to create these pins, as well as many other pieces for a huge fundraiser. these ones are in various stages of completion and were designed by Nancy Meek.

there are so many steps until they get to this point - injecting wax into molds, getting them ready to be cast, casting them, cleaning them, soldering the pin backs, cleaning them again and then finally polishing them. eventually they'll all be done...eventually.

purple mania

so i've been pretty hard at work for the past while trying to make new jewellery for cabbagetown. i try to spend a  whole day, 2-3 days a week enameling. and the rest of the time i spend making fabric pieces, or going down to the OCAD studio to do torch/prep work for pieces that are either silver, or will be enameled.

i also try to work on my commissions, or you know - sit down and relax for more than five minutes.

after reviewing what jewellery i had in my inventory, i realized that i didn't have any purple pieces at the outdoor show. i found this weird since i have quite a few shades of purple in powdered enamel form.

i think i wasn't especially fond of the shades when i was first doing my colour samples, but i've grown to like them after playing around and discovering how they react in the kiln. the orchid purple on the cocoon with the black spots was particularly problematic when i first tried it out. it didn't work well in small details (like in my lace pendants), but it's good when it covers a larger area.

these pieces are all pendants - except the fabric pin.

i've started making my pins with opaque material. while i was helping my parents move out i found this fabric from an old fashion project i was making in high school. it pays to be a pack rack when you're an artist, you never know when a material is going to come in handy.