Resin rings, pattern

Resin pattern rings
silver, resin

Slowly but surely, imagery, colours, shapes/forms of ‘old’ started to creep bank into my work. These rings are where I started to bring back more of the culturally inspired imagery and colours. Whether or not it was a completely conscious effort, I’m not entirely sure, but the initial ‘test pieces’ were a far cry from these. These pieces were also somewhat experimental, I hadn’t ,used resin in this way before, so I was ecstatic when it worked out. Working with resin on a ring, or a more curved surface, is tricky and messy because the liquid resin runs everywhere, and if you’re not careful, can go horribly wrong. I think these have become a favourite to make )for now anyhow) even though the several stages of applying the resin, is time consuming.

Let's recap

pierced squares
resin, silver

Resin step-square ring
resin, silver

resin square earrings
resin, silver

resin square rings
resin, silver

Okay, now we’re stepping back in time (bare with me, I’m trying to play catch up here). I made these rings and earrings in early 2008. They were part of my exhibition at the Cape Town Design Indaba. This is where I started moving away from the more organic, irregular forms/ shapes, and opted for less elaborate pieces. Partly due to a time constraint, and because I generally tend to agonize over details of the piece, and sometimes over the tiniest decision, making these offered instant gratification. Once I’d made these, I couldn’t stop using the ‘soft square’ in the pieces that followed. I’ve never really used squares or straight lines in my work, so I quickly began to indulge in using ‘the square’. These pieces were the start of simpler, maybe ‘quirkier’ pieces. It just feels a lot less formal than my previous work.