Representational Organic Jewellery

The second type of organic jewellery is an item of jewellery that is made out of a non-organic material such as metal, acrylic or plastic and it is made to echo nature in a realistic way, in the shape, form, texture or colour of the jewel but also in the way that the jewel moves or sounds when worn. The wearer must be able to recognize or identify the image of nature by the way that it mimics the forms and shapes or movement of that actual object in nature.

Neckpiece by Jane Adam, anodized and painted aluminium, stainless steel and sterling silver. A piece that shows a mimic of a natural object.

Natural Object Jewellery

The first type of organic jewellery that is mentioned in the Virtual Gallery of Contemporary Jewellery’s paper on Organic Jewellery is the use of natural objects that were once living, such as bone, leaves, shell, skins and wood to create objects of jewellery. Before precious gems and metals were discovered in prehistoric times, people adorned themselves with pieces of bone, wood, teeth and animal skins to create organic jewellery. The use of natural objects in jewellery is the oldest form of jewellery known in history. When people discovered gold and gemstones, we saw a great transformation in the way that jewellery was made, people started producing jewellery from precious materials and this became the norm. Today, the bulk of jewellery that is manufactured in the world is made out of precious metals and gems, but with the rise in contemporary jewellery artists, we begin to see more jewellery that is being made with unconventional materials including natural objects.

Hilde de Decker showing a ring wearing a green tomato. This is an example of natural objects being used in jewellery

Organic Jewellery

Definition of Organic

The word ‘organic’ is defined as something that is derived from nature (Lexico Dictionaries 2019).  In terms of contemporary jewellery, organic jewellery consists of jewellery that is made from organic objects found in nature or pieces that are made to echo nature either in form, texture or movement (Quickenden 2000).

The image below shows an actual tomato growing inside the claws of a ring. This shows an example of organic jewellery.  

De Decker, H., (2004) For the Farmer and Market Gardener.
Ring, Gold and Green Tomato.
[Astfalck, J. Broadhead, C. Derrez, P., 2005] 

PlatAfrica Free Writing

This was the third year that I had the opportunity to work with platinum and each year I end up loving the process. At first it is always daunting working with platinum because its physical properties are vastly different to those of silver or copper it is much harder than other metals making it difficult to bend and polish as it requires sanding in much higher grades than silver and gold. . It is also much more valuable  and one always has to be extra cautious not to lose  scraps, bits and filings as your loss cannot be greater than 5% of the total metal weight. Because platinum having such a high melting point, It is also very difficult to remelt the metal so you cannot afford to have wrong calculations regarding the metal preparation.  Because of these two factors, a jeweller learns to respect this metal.  

Apart from these fearsome properties, platinum also has many amazing properties that the other metals do not have. I used these properties to my advantage in the creation of my PlatAfrica 2019 Brooch. Platinum has the ability to fuse, which helped me to create a strong branch without having any solder joints to weaken the structure. The twigs and branches were fully fused onto the main branch to create one solid brooch. Platinum also stays shiny after being exposed to heat and this property saved me quite a few steps in the polishing process, I was able to pre-polish each part and assemble each shiny part individually. Platinum's great strength also allowed me to make a brooch pin that does not lose it's tension and I could roll my sheet metal paper thin so that I could cut out my templates using a regular pair of scissors. No filings. 

Regular scissors being used to cut out templates on a 0.15mm sheet

It felt very wrong to use a pair of scissors to cut out my templates, it also felt terrible to roll-mill the surface of the platinum as opposed to having a shiny polished surface, It felt like I was disrespecting Platinum, Almost like wearing takkies to go and see the queen. I also realize that the stereotype in my mind and in the minds of others, must be broken. Platinum or Gold is mostly associated with Shiny BLING BLING, no It does not necessarily have to shine, as I am making contemporary jewellery, I can use contemporary methods in my creation to break away from the norm. 

Organic Jewellery

Organic Jewellery

Subtle hints of nature

The third type of organic jewellery is jewellery that is made out of organic or non-organic material. This type of organic jewellery is more difficult to explain but the best way to describe this category is to say that the forms or shapes present in this type of jewellery are inspired by nature but are simplified to create only subtle hints of nature. When viewing this type of organic jewellery, one cannot identify a specific object found in nature such as a leaf or flower, however you can classify this type of jewellery as organic if the aesthetics give an organic hint such as the use of soft edges and curves or textures and colours found in nature. 

Organic Jewellery

Organic Jewellery

Jewellery Echoing nature

The second type of organic jewellery is an item of jewellery that is made out of a non-organic material such as metal, acrylic or plastic and it is made to echo nature in a realistic way, in the shape, form, texture or colour of the jewel but also in the way that the jewel moves or sounds when worn. The wearer must be able to recognize or identify the image of nature by the way that it mimics the forms and shapes or movement of that actual object in nature.   

Movement chapter 2

Movement Chapter 2

Jaqueline Ryan

Jaqueline Ryan creates contemporary jewellery that is inspired by the movement that is found in nature. She uses colours, forms, textures and shapes found in her natural surroundings to create very intricate, organic, abstract pieces in gold and silver and that are coloured with vitreous enamel. Her work consists of multitudes of simple, free hanging elements that are arranged in an order and attached to the main piece in a way to create mesmerising and almost natural movement when the jewellery is worn. I want to develop a similar technique to what she uses to make her jewellery move for the jewellery that I make.

Jaqueline Ryan Kinetic necklace, 18ct gold and vitreous enamel

Jaqueline Ryan Kinetic Brooch, 18ct Gold and vitreous enamel

Victoria Walker

Victoria walker, a jeweller from Cornwall, creates Kinetic jewellery pieces inspired by flowers and seedpods growing in her environment. She makes beautiful flower pendants, earrings and rings out of sterling silver and gold and even though she uses traditional metals for her work, her style of work is organic as she mimics the forms and shapes of flowers in a realistic way, that specific type of flowers can be recognized. Many of her jewellery pieces are made to look, and move, like small scaled-down versions of the plants that she uses for her inspiration.

Peony Pendant by Victoria Walker

Peony Flower

Thistle Pendant by Victoria Walker

Thistle

Organic Jewellery

Organic Jewellery

When the term organic jewellery is heard, a number of things jump to the mind of what this might be as there are several types of organic jewellery that exist in the world of contemporary jewellery. When looking at the Virtual Gallery of Contemporary Jewellery’s paper on Organic Jewellery, it can be seen that there are several reasons why jewellers use nature as inspiration. The first type of jewellery that I looked at was jewellery that is physically made out of an organic (decomposable) object. The use of a natural object can be significant in expressing metaphors or narrative ideas such as: the sensitivity of nature, issues involving the destruction of nature caused by man, to showcase the specific natural beauty found in a specific place or region or the organic item may have a religious or cultural meaning if worn in jewellery form. The second type of organic jewellery is an item of jewellery that is made out of a non-organic material but mimics the forms and shapes of nature in a realistic way to show the unique beauty of nature or to express a metaphor or narrative idea. The third type of organic jewellery is jewellery that is made out of a non-organic material in forms found in nature but it is not done in a realistic manner. These natural forms are inspired by nature but are simplified to create only a hint of nature to create a more aesthetic object, to make an object more comfortable or wearable or like the above mentioned, to express a metaphor or narrative idea.

Neckpiece by: Kelly Jean Conroy Bone, Copper Silk
An example of organic jewellery (artist using actual organic material)

Brooch by: Sally Grant Sterling Silver, Vitreous enamel
An example of organic jewellery (artist using organic forms and made with inorganic materials)