We are thrilled to announce that our In the Window display for December will feature embroidery by Michelle Holmes with jewellery by Shimara Carlow and Misun Won.
My creative practice is rooted in my love for drawing with stitch, I work by re-purposing fabrics and exploring the reflective and tactile qualities of natural fibres. The evocative quality of cloth to trigger memories is an important element. I enjoy transforming the ordinary into the precious.
The Moon has become a recurrent theme in my work. With my studio located deep in the rural countryside, I am able to observe the moon free from the light pollution. Most special is when the moon is at its ‘Perigee’ – the nearest point it reaches to the earth in its elliptical orbit – a breathtaking globe of silver light transforming the view of the familiar landscape.
I explore the cyanotype process to create the backgrounds for some of the pieces. Cyanotype is a printing technique where the fabric is given a special coating and then exposed to ultraviolet daylight, creating shadows and markings from items or shapes placed upon it. Each result is unique and rather unpredictable! Other moons have hand dyed backgrounds to explore the rich dark skies. Vintage muted fabrics are applied to the surface to create the form of each moon. Intricate surface patterns are then created using a mixture of free machine and hand stitching.
Born in a remote coastal area in West Cork, Southern Ireland, a childhood fascination for collecting shells, stones, mermaid’s purses, feathers and seed pods found along the seashore has been the inspiration for my work.
My jewellery has been inspired by natural forms, primarily seedpods and I have created a body of work based on pod like structures. I use silver, 18ct gold and precious stones to create my jewellery.
Collections include ““acorn cup cluster”, clusters of individual acorn cup units assembled to hang in long articulated chains which adorn the body and “honesty”, whitened and reticulated silver ovals, which resemble honesty leaves. My classic “wrap” rage, inspired by birds nests and natural structures, hammered and textured wire, is wrapped and woven to produce unique pieces that are beautifully simple and elegant, along with “daisy”; reticulated silver hand formed cups, with 18ct gold bead detail, assembled into rings pendants and earrings.
Misun Won’s jewellery is inspired from Korean traditional wrapping cloth ‘Jogakbo’ and its scientific interpretation with fractal geometry.
She hand pierces out patterns from a single sheet of silver and folds to make its unique structure in order to celebrate the meaningful ritual of the patchwork making process.
She mainly uses silver and Keumboo (24ct gold) for highlighting her Korean influences to make modern contemporary jewellery. She specializes in an ancient Korean gilding technique called Keumboo (24ct gold) to emphasize the dynamic rhythmical structures in her jewellery.
Jewellery artists selected by David M Robinson.
