What inspires my jewellery designs – from inception to creation

Jewellery Design Inspiration

Through my work I explore the inherent beauty in different manifestations of strength. I find inspiration in natural forms and underlying processes through which this property emerges and becomes intrinsic.

Plexus was my first jewellery collection, I embarked on it having no previous experience in jewellery making (apart from an industrious enterprise I had making & selling beaded earrings in school as a six year old) and having no training as a goldsmith. At the time of its inception I had a degree in ceramic design and was managing a luxury fashion brand.

I bought a book on anatomy in an attempt to sharpen my drawing skills and get my creativity flowing again.  As I sketched the various bones and body parts I started to become increasingly interested in the muscles. They commanded a powerful tension as they stretched and this was something that I wanted to explore further.

Leonardo Da Vinci’s anatomical sketches

Da Vinci’s drawings – shapes and negative spaces

I began researching more images of the muscles and came across Leonardo Da Vinci’s stunningly detailed sketches.  He meticulously observed his subject and so elegantly transcribes what he saw.

I wanted to re-create the power and tension that captured my attention. I made collages of his drawings, sketching around areas of interest and creating a network of ovoid shapes within a single form. From there it was time to bring them to life in 3D.  My material of choice was porcelain. Its properties would lend themselves nicely to creating fluid, bio-morphic shapes.

Porcelain – Structural integrity

I made many samples scaling them up and down, in order to achieve the result I was after while maintaining its structural integrity. The piece below best illustrates my vision. After some fine sanding it came up in a beautiful even matte finish.

Porcelain Bangle

From ceramics to jewellery

I was pleased with the result but I wanted to be able to wear it. Porcelain, in this design, was too fragile for the task. I had been interested in jewellery design for some time and was captivated by a gorgeous little jewellery boutique I had come across in Barcelona. I was time to do a short course in wax sculpting for jewellery.  To my delight many of my ceramic modelling techniques translated nicely to wax sculpting and I was able to produce pieces relatively quickly. Below is my first Plexus Pendant made on the course.

Plexus Pendant

The rest of the Plexus Collection evolved quite a while later, after completing an intensive technical skills course and apprenticeship. However, to this day my Plexus Pendant is still one of my most popular and favourite pieces of jewellery.

Plexus Neckpiece