AiR – IV : Avoiding ghosts whilst haunting the landscape…

Now back on the South Coast of England I’m remembering the last few weeks of my wonderful time in Germany, as Artist in Residence.

When I arrived in early April, I had a few ideas of what I might want to do, but deliberately, no definite plans.

AiR – III : Sawing granite and keeping calm…

During the most recent part of this fascinating residency I've been exploring a little further afield, and in amongst these trees atop the highest point in the region I had a moment or two of pure happiness; completely alone in the woods on a clear, sunny day with the deep softness of pine needles underfoot…

AiR – II : Smoothing, cracking and looking for stones…

In the stone-cutting workshop, learning, looking, listening and feeling my way, I realised I was absorbing so much exciting and new information through my hands.

This is how I started to work with a few of the pieces that I cut from a large chunk of rock crystal quartz.

Earlier this year I was privileged to be invited to spend three months in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, as Artist in Residence at the Department of Gemstones and Jewellery at Trier University, in partnership with the Jakob Bengel Foundation.

The first few weeks were times of wandering, adjusting, absorbing, wondering and reflecting. It was such a joy to have the opportunity to take time without wasting time.

In the Sky Gazer’s Brooch, every element in the assemblage relates in some way to the sky. The Zuni word for turquoise translates as ’sky stone.’ The oxidised ellipse with diamonds alludes to pulling the curtains snugly around the face and under the chin when looking out a bedroom window at the stars at night. Ancient Egyptians associated lapis lazuli with the night sky.

I’m delighted that this unique neckpiece will be offered for sale at auction by Bonhams, Knightsbridge in ‘The Art of Craft’ on 15 May, 2023.

Pure gold, the rich, unpolished opulence that you’ll see in museums is not generally used for jewellery these days in the West.

Pure gold is incorruptible, I love that phrase, it means that gold is inert and it won’t tarnish in contact with oxygen.

I found the pearl in the street a couple of decades ago, the fulgurite that looks like a twig, but feels like stone, was collected whilst camping out under the stars in the Egyptian desert for my 40th birthday, longer than my son’s lifetime ago. 

My grandmothers were not wealthy women and their jewellery was of little material value; too small for my large, maker’s hands; too worn, too dated and yet so evocative of the women who wore it, and so important to me.

I think of this as a Right-Hand ring. It has a square shaped shank, after all, our fingers aren’t round. It contains the stones (they may be diamonds, or they may be glass) that were contained in two heirloom eternity rings that I inherited.

I conceived ‘The ring Cycle’ in 2015 as a means by which I might satisfy the concept-led strand of my practice. It is an occasional, ongoing series of exuberant, narrative rings based on words that end in ‘-ring’. I have a long list of possible words taped to the studio wall and at the moment I’m mulling over ideas for ‘Wondering’.

Influenced by light and space, ancient and modern landscapes Jo’s work has been widely exhibited nationally and internationally since 2001, most notably at Electrum Gallery, Crafts Council at the V&A, Goldsmiths’ Fair, Galerie Marzee, Sieraad Art Fair, Amsterdam, LOOT at the Museum of Art & Design New York.

Fine silver and high carat golds in heavy gauges are used for wrapped and overlapped rings and bangles. Lighter pendants and brooches are finger folded and formed. Textured paper models with torn edges are deconstructed for use as patterns. Pieces are constructed by soldering, or the use of tabs and rivets. Joints are emphasised with gold solder, or by the meeting of undulating edges at various points along a ridge.

My first hammer stone with its granular texture and dark colour is flatter on the bottom than it used to be. This is better for some tasks and not so good for others. I have been using this hammer stone since I first experimented at college in 1999.