The Round The World Blog Hop - Silver Moss Jewellery

I must confess that when I was first contacted about being involved in the Round The World Blog Hop, I'd not heard of it before. Perhaps part of the reason why it hadn’t crossed my notice is that no one seems to know where it was started or by whom... (if you do know, then do share the information please!)

So, if like I did, you need bringing up to date then let me tell you that the idea behind the Blog Hop is for creative bloggers, of any kind, to write a post based around four simple questions. The answers they provide gives an insight into their creative thoughts and processes. The blog ‘baton’ is then passed on to another artisan and so the trip around the globe continues.

Emma from Little Cherry Hill has passed this baton to me. Her blog centres around her wonderful jewellery, consisting of silver and gemstones, put together with heaps of inspiration and imagination to create stunningly beautiful jewellery. It's well worth checking out as her her own great Round The World post here.


Here are the four questions, and my answers, along with a few photos as well. Hope you enjoy.


1. What am I working on?

I've just finished making a gift this very day, but aside from that I've been working on creating silver leaves from wire (which I love to do) and developing an idea I had earlier in the year for simple circles of wire combined with circles of melted silver.



Heart shapes have apeared on my work bench lately (another design I love to make), as has a little copper wire. My stash of gemstones is a little neglected at the moment, as is my copper clay, but I'm hoping to at least utilise the former very soon as I've been playing around with some 'charm' ideas to use with them.

I've also been making some silver leaves as I find they tend to inspire at any time of year, whether it’s when they fall to the ground in the breeze and pool in stunning colours, when they start to shrivel and hide under snow, when they begin to bud and are so fresh and new, or when they’re in their prime, rich with summer colour and life.

 


2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?

My work tends to be quite personal and led by the materials I have at hand - I don't tend to order supplies in very often and like to find inspiration in what I find in front of me when I open my box of wire, sheet and remnants from previous projects.

Much of what I create is very delicate-looking, a style I've always enjoyed working in. Whilst silver sheet has many uses, the way wire can be moulded and manipulated with pliers (and fingers!) allows me to express designs in a satisfying manner most of the time anyway. I also enjoy the challenge of making sure the finished piece is far tougher than it looks by work-hardening it with hammers and polishing.




3. Why do I write/create what I do?

I create silver jewellery because I love to do so. I find it frustrating, difficult and even painful at times, and yet the joy of a finished piece is pretty wonderful. I'm often tempted by the thought of dabbling in other crafts, but have built up years of experience working with silver and find that is so valuable in helping me create when I have in my mind's eye. I also believe that focus is very important and that concentrating on one craft will allow that focus to become ever more sharp and honed. I also know that I need to keep reminding myself of this as it’s too easy to get distracted!



I love being inspired by the natural world, as in the dragonfly pendant I made (above) and enjoy creating variations on what I originally make - the wings of the dragonfly 'evolved' from the designs of the earrings shown in the photo right at the top of this post. I enjoy developing style ideas, especially in my wire leaves and hearts; they both lend themselves to this as it’s far easier to make them different than to make them alike!


4. How does my writing/creating process work?

Much of my inspiration comes from nature, seeing the lines and curves that exist in trees and leaves and plants has a big impact on me. Once I have an idea the best way to hold it so I can work on it later (because, of course, inspiration strikes when you're nowhere near a workbench) is to do a very rough scribble of it in a notebook. That allows me to return to the idea and elaborate upon it which I normally do by working in the material I want to create it in.



This allows me to know whether the piece of jewellery will actaully work in its finished form and whether I have to tools to create it how I want to make it look. Then, once I have a prototype made up I can develop the style to add flourishes and refinements.


I hope you’ve enjoyed reading through my responses to the questions. It’s been an interesting process answering them; although they seem quite simple queries, you can mine them fairly deeply to find things that clarify why we do what we do.


I'm passing the Round The World Blog Hop baton onto Heather from Moon River Jewellery who works in silver clay and creates the most beautiful leaves and butterflies, as well as special 'fingerprint' jewellery amongst other wonderful items.