New work...busy at the bench

I've been taking every opportunity I can over this vacation and break from the "other job", to  be at the bench and I've started some new work.

I have begun work on two new series of works...

Daisy chain series...

For me, the daisy chain, represents the people, the flowers who bring the bees and goodness into my life and help me to flourish. 

They are the flowers I pick and weave into my daisy chain and wear close to my heart.


Recently, I found out that a "daisy chain" in fishing, is a chain of plastic lures without hooks that mimics a possible school of small bait fish.
...Ha...fancy that!  
I think I need to explore this further and possible synergies across these two bodies of work :).

Daisy chain 1: soul sisters

Alluring 1: Eyecatching ( 2015) Necklace (42cm) , bracelet (19cm) and earrings Handcrafted sterling silver chain, recycled art magazine paper beads, thread, silver findings.

Alluring series ...

...is shaping up to be a collection of necklaces, bracelets and earrings made from silver, copper, handmade recycled paper beads( made from fashion magazines) , thread, hand-carved soap stone, fishing swivels and other found objects.






















These pieces are inspired by childhood memories of spending time with my dad, while he meticulously selected and prepared fishing lures for our summer holiday camp and fishing trips. I would watch dad pack each lure into their own separate carry compartments in his fishing tackle box.  I was fascinated  by their shapes, colour and textures and by dad's stories and explanations of how each lure could attract, trick  and catch different types of fish.

I am interested in the concept of the lure, something that tempts or is used to tempt a person or animal to do something. Fishing lures are artificial bait, they are imitations of real things that fish might eat (fish/shellfish/crustaceans/insects etc. ) Fishing lures use movement, vibration, colour and flashes of light to attract and bait fish.

They are imitations - designed to entice, trick and conceal their true intention.


The pieces I am making are in turn, imitations of imitations. Rather than use fishing lures and fishing tackle to make these pieces, I have reconstructed shapes that are suggestive of fishing lures. and of my memories of my dad's fishing lures.

This  imitation of the actual object emphasises the power of attraction  that objects have for us, as carriers  of memory. The object itself is not the memory but a representation of it, and our memory of past events in present are recreations, imitations of the actual event. Memories, like adornments conceal, distract and trick and entice.

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Alluring 2 : hook , line , sink her (2015) Necklace (44cm) Handcrafted sterling silver chain, recycled fashion magazine, paper beads, thread.