Art Jewellery & Object Design

Jumping Fish

Pendant Necklace · 1994 Sterling silver, titanium, leather

This was the very first piece of 'real' metalwork jewellery I designed and made. As a new jewellery student I was asked to create a piece with flame anodised titanium and this was the result.

Body Brooch

Brooch · 1994 Hand-carved animal horn, silver pin

Another first year jewellery student project. I was asked to carve a piece using animal bone or horn. I chose horn as I liked being able to use the change of colour and texture within the material in my design.

Roman Chain & Cabochons

Chain Necklace & Cabochon Gemstones · 1994 Sterling silver, hand cut gemstones including aventurine, lapis lazuli, jasper and others

Making a Roman chain was a project all students were set as there was so much work involved - it was a great way to learn skills. I made and drew down the wire, formed and soldered each link, wove them together, drew down the chain, and even made the tubing for the clasps.

The gemstones were also a student project in which we had to learn how to cut and polish basic cabochon gems using lapidary equipment.

The Shoes

Sculptures / Objects · 1994 Glass, ceramic, electroformed copper, limestone, pine wood

Another early work while I was a visual arts student. The small shoe sculptures were all based on my own favourite shoes. They're made from a diverse array of materials, which required me to learn to work with ceramics, glass, stone, wood and how to do electroforming.

These shoes still sit on display in my office.

Cappuccino Brooch

Brooch · 1994 Walnut wood, sterling silver

This brooch was hand carved in walnut wood and finished with the tiniest handmade silver spoon, which I was especially proud of when I made it.

The Men

Brooches · 1995 Sterling silver, copper, brass, resin

I was asked to create a die to use in a press to make reproducible metal designs. I carved a male body in acrylic, allowing me to press the same form in thin brass. I then made the clothing elements for each man using the same die to complete this set of brooches.

Self Portrait (Brooch)

Brooch · 1995 Hand-carved animal bone & horn, silver pin, coloured resin

Another project involving carving to make a piece of jewellery. I selected both animal horn and bone to carve a self portrait. My Mum still wears this brooch.

Divine Bracelet & Holy Book

Bracelet & Metal Book · 1995 Sterling silver, brass, piano keys, satin, lapis lazuli

As a non-religious person, I was nonetheless fascinated by religious iconography. I can't remember what the brief was for this project, but I remember enjoying the different types of work involved in making the two pieces - a bracelet and metal book.

Self Portrait (Mirror)

Hand Mirror · 1995 Copper (patinated), photograph, mirrored glass

Another self portrait project involved creating this mirror. It has half of a photo of me on one side (taken back when selfies were very difficult to do!) with a mirror on the other, so that I could look in the mirror and watch myself age.

Repeating Shapes

Chain Necklace & Earrings · 1995 Sterling silver

The task I was set as a student was to design a complex individual link in silver that could be repeated to form chains and other jewellery. I made this necklace, earrings and even a bracelet with the links.

A Cafe Scene

Pendant & Display Stand · 1995 Sterling silver, brass, patinated copper

For this project I had to create a piece of jewellery and a stand for it to sit on. I made a silver coffee cup pendant and the display stand has a cafe scene made of different metals, designed so that the pendant sits on the table, with holes behind it for the necklace to fit through.

Three Button Jacket

Brooch / Pendant · 1996 Sterling silver (cast from hand-carved wax)

This piece was inspired by a dear friend who always wore a vintage 1960s suit jacket. He insisted that his jackets should only ever have exactly three buttons at the front.

Here is a cast silver brooch photographed on the very jacket that inspired it.

Fishes Chain

Chain Necklace · 1996 Sterling silver, lapis lazuli beads

This is a very simple and very handmade looking chain with fish links. It was one of the earliest pieces I put into production to sell in retail stores. This version is photographed on the head of an old friend.

Reliquary Box

Box · 1998 Silver plated brass, coloured resin, glass mirror

Again inspired by my interest in religious iconography, this box was made during my first year as a university visual arts student at Sydney College of the Arts.

The surface artwork was created by hand by scraping away a resist before etching - and as part of that process I quite badly stabbed myself in the leg! The task of soldering the box together and adding the finishing metalwork touches was quite a challenge, at times requiring two people and two blow torches. I cut the internal mirrors to size and bevelled the edges. Then the coloured resin was applied.

This piece was purchased from an exhibition by a collector, which was a big deal for me at the time, but now I kind of miss it.

Dangling Chain Rings

Rings · 1998 Sterling silver, glass pastes, human hair

An early pair of pieces to get started with when I began as a university student. I can't remember what I was tasked with, but I created these rings using some of my own hair, along with some chintzy-looking glass pastes from vintage costume jewellery.

Hands That Feed Cutlery Set

Cutlery · 1998 Sterling silver

These cutlery pieces were inspired by my childhood imagination running away with me at dinner time, when I'd imagine the cutlery pieces were hands and I'd assign them genders and personalities.

The tops of the cutlery set were hand carved in wax before I cast them myself - which I remember being quite daunting at the time. The handles were made from scrap that my lecturer generously gave me from his stash as I couldn't afford so much silver at the time.

I entered the cutlery set into an awarded exhibition (Skygarden Art Prize) and won the three dimensional category.

Box of Secrets

Sculpture / Object · 1999 Fine silver, walnut wood

For this piece I was tasked with learning the skill of repoussé: mounting a sheet of soft metal (fine silver in this case) in a pitch bowl and using punches of different shapes and sizes to form dimensional pieces (I even had to make some of my own punches in tool steel as part of the project).

Brassiere

Sculpture / Object · 1999 anodised aluminium, satin, bakelite button

This project required making something in aluminium which would then be taken to an old factory in Sydney to be anodised in our choice of colours.

I can't remember how I came up with the idea of making a bra, but I wanted to make something larger as aluminium was so affordable and lightweight to work with. However, I discovered that I very much disliked working with it as a metal - it's somehow dirty and too soft. Plus having it anodised later meant keeping the piece as free of grease as possible, so all of the work had to be done while wearing cotton gloves.

I was very happy with the outcome, however.

Little Black Dress

Metal Dress · 1999 anodised aluminium, nickel

In spite of not having enjoyed working with aluminium earlier, I took it on again to make this dress, but this time I didn't need to do any sawing or filing which made a big difference. I did need to have it anodised black, however.

The rectangles were all cut using a large guillotine for metal. I then made a stencil and used a sandblaster to add the text to each piece. Finally the rectangles were drilled and linked together with nickel jump rings to make the dress.

The Dresses

Set of Dresses · 1999 Full collection made with feathers, silk satin, stainless steel mesh, georgette fabric, aluminium, coloured resin

This was my final year project for my Bachelor of Visual Arts. Sadly I don't have a decent photograph of all four of the dresses, so these two will have to do.

The steel mesh dress was made using industrial grade fine mesh. I used an old dress pattern from the 1960s to create the final shape. This dress stands in my living room to this day.

The roses dress is covered in aluminium roses which were cut and hand formed using a 2 part design. These were all then painted with coloured resin and attached to a very simple hand stitched dress design.

Desire Just Cheats You

Chain Necklace · 2003 Sterling silver, patinated copper

I came across this line in F Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and the Damned, which I loved. I decided to make a very simple chain with silver wire forming the cursive text as an experiment.

Things My Grandmother Never Told Me

Bracelet, Ring, Necklace · 2005 Sterling silver, cotton crochet by Peg Lawton

I was given quite a bit of my grandmother's beautifully intricate cotton crochet work after she died. I decided to make some jewellery pieces with these unfinished pieces, completing them with sterling silver components.

Istanbul Box

Sculpture / Object · 2006 Sterling silver

This piece was inspired by a visit to Istanbul, where I found myself obsessively photographing intricate window frames all over the city, along with the densely patterned interiors behind some of them.

The second photo shows the sterling silver pieces which I'd saw-pierced and etched before they were formed and finally soldered to make the finished box.

The soldering job was very difficult in the very basic home workshop I had at the time, but I was really pleased with how it came out - the misshapen finish matching the very old and sometimes crumbling buildings in Istanbul.

Heart Lockets

Locket Necklaces · 2006 Sterling silver, cotton, glass buttons, pearl, coloured resin

A suite of handmade lockets for an exhibition. The hearts were formed using repoussé. They have hand stitched hinges and clasps, along with small gemstone 'buttons'. They're etched with sentimental text and have different finishes: coloured resin, silver black and a pearlescent silver oxide.

Architectural Pendants

Pendant Necklaces · 2006 Sterling silver

A suite of pieces for an exhibition, inspired by Victorian-era renderings of metalwork found in architectural settings. I recreated a set of these designs in sterling silver. Each panel was sawn out by hand, with the intention of having them look very much handmade.