A little while ago the lovely Brooklyn based jeweller Jaqueline Stone from Salt + Stone asked if I’d like to collaborate with her and work with some of her new ocean inspired jewellery…
I have a fascination with the sea which often appears in my paintings, and I find the indifference the ocean and it’s underworld has towards us completely humbling.
I’ve also always had a fear of shipwrecks….maybe it’s something to do with this giant, working machine being slowly taken down to the beautiful, quiet depths; out of sight and yet in another world.
But I also have to live by the sea…it’s exciting and alive, and maybe I like to be reminded that we’re never in charge of this planet as humans; nature is, and that’s very grounding when I’m wrapped up in the daily digital!
So…of course these pieces from Salt + Stone were completely up my street, and when Jacqueline said she’d also send some of her sea shell collection I was really excited as it felt like it would be a very personal project…seashore finds always feel like a moment of childhood; a moment when we connect to something of no value just because we like it, and want to pick it up and hold it…
I had some hydrangeas which had wilted a little…the name hydrangea, by the way, comes from the Greek word “hydor,” meaning water, and “angos,” meaning jar or vessel, which seemed very appropriate for the compositions as both the jewellery and the flowers are water lovers…
…but I came up for some air…or at least stood up on my chair!!
This was a collaboration which felt so pleasing as there was something about trying to create a sense of water without any water and that was incredibly calming…
The pieces themselves felt like those special sea shore finds…I always think I’ll make something ( although never do ), from a rogue shell or stone with a natural hole in it which I’ve picked up on a beach walk, and these pieces from Salt + Stone really felt like those treasures, but ones I can actually wear and that sparkle!
There is also a Steller story here to flip through today…