Forgotten Ferns

I opened up my flower press today to prepare a piece of bracken from Scotland that may be used in a piece I am working on.  As is always the case, I had forgotten what last went into the press.  Inside, a tiny little forest of ferns were waiting for me.

I did what I normally do when I find an amazing natural texture - I annealed some silver and rolled the fern into some silver sheet.

A hop, skip and a jump later I had a new pair of earrings for the Etsy shop!

Silver Fern Earrings, Cari-Jane Hakes, May 2013

The writing IS on the wall

I went on a jaunt inland to meet new clients in Sheffield and in amongst my walk up into town I followed this joyful splash of gilt and rose and raspberry.

It led me to this poem, writ large, shining across the city.  Photographing the city is a very different thing from photographing rock pools and lichen!

Elsewhere I searched out for more gold, pressed in and upon old stones.

I'm hoping my next jaunt will let me visit fellow blogger and textile artist Hannah Lamb's work at The Bowery (see here for more details). Hannah will also be participating in The Saltaire Arts Trail (more information here).  See below Hannah's beautiful cyanotype postcards.  You can find out more about her at http://hannahlamb.blogspot.co.uk.

Cyanotype postcards by Hannah Lamb

The workshop is buzzing with a little pile of commissions.  Busy but happy.  A bientôt mes amis!

A Scottish 'Fishing' Trip

It was high time I went 'home' and so I took the train from here to there and caught a few things along the way.

Distant topography along the east coast, Scotland, May 2013

I snapped a few views from the train window and wondered if the sky was in fact different, or was I just imagining it.  The visit was over so quickly it feels like it might have all been a dream!

River Dee, Scotland, May 2013

There were bigger spaces between things and there was a quietness that almost seemed 'loud'.

Haar (fog) rainbow, Scotland, May 2013

I managed to gather and glean a few treasures for an important commission.

I spotted this lichen wafting on a Highland breeze.  It really is rather remarkable.

A Really Rather Remarkable Thing, May 2013

I have preparations today for another private commission today and then a little gallery visit to see my good friend and fellow Etsyian, Alexandra  (you can find her Etsy shop here and her website here).

Here's to all your weekend plans mes amis!  May they all be 'rather remarkable'.

Listening to your customers

I can say quiet seriously that the first time my jewellery teacher showed me how to roll textures into silver my life was changed.  It was like he had just performed a magic trick.  It seemed so implausible that a delicate flimsy bit of stuff could be robust enough to imprit itself into a sheet of silver.  But it works and it still seems like magic to me now.  In fact, if I do a roll print of a leaf texture I will STILL go and show the amazing result to whomever happens to be within shouting distance of my rolling mill.

I gathered up all of this magic and worked solidly on this epic piece for a week a couple of years ago.

Fiercely Feminine silver necklace with chalcedony by Cari-Jane Hakes 

Many people tell me how beautiful this piece is.  It is big, bold, intricate, strong and delicate all at once. The amount of silver and the time it takes to fashion such a piece is reflected in the price.

The challenge I set myself today was to capture the essence of this piece and fabricate it so that is did NOT take a week to make! The result was this:

Fiercely Feminine silver necklace by Cari-Jane Hakes 

All the same fierce femininity but with a less fiercely expensive price tag!

Bon Weekend mes amis!

Right Here, Right Now - New Horizons part 4

I've been stretching my legs, measuring new territory and trying to run further than I did the last time.

 A little bit of potting and planting and putting down new roots.

The Greenhouse, May 2013

And bringing bits of the outside....inside.

Inside, May 2013

 Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to 'Work like a Captain'!

(The fabulous Captain/Pirate print can be purchased from Monorail on Etsy, click here to visit their shop.)

The Proverbial Brooch - Part 2

The resin is in and has hardened.

Prototype - The Proverbial Brooch, Cari-Jane Hakes, April 2013

An interesting array of micro bubbles have peppered the interior.  I am unsure if this adds or detracts from the composition.  It is the first resin pour I have done in a while (the last one I did was for a student project some time ago).

Prototype - The Proverbial Brooch, Cari-Jane Hakes, April 2013

Now I am constantly thinking 'hmm, I wonder if I could encapsulate that?' as I hold small specimens of twig or petal aloft.

What would you preserve in resin?

Of Land And Sea And All That Rests In-between

Rock pools are rather magnificent things, don't you think? A teeny tiny territory that is so often submerged and out of reach until the shift and tumble of the moon sucks the tidal waters out a little further.  And then, oh, the aquatic treasures and shiny hidden secrets that are revealed!

I held all of this and more in my mind as I crafted this little rock pool from silver sheet.  I added tiny details of plants from the land and pondered on those spaces in-between.  Liminal zones of temporary inhabitation and invasion.

I poured the resin in and waited and waited for it to harden.  The result has a kind of suspended luminosity.  It is a rather mesmerising piece.  I have to keep holding in my hand just to feel its weight and peer into its captured stillness.

branch detail from 'Of Land And Sea And All That Rests In-between' necklace, Cari-Jane Hakes, April 2013

I added this little 'branch' to represent the Land and imprinted the back with a hydrangea petal, a texture which I find perfectly fits onto a circle and has the look of fan coral about it.

detail of back face of pendant, Cari-Jane Hakes, April 2013

I rather like the ambiguity therefore of this hydrangea petal texture.  It could be from the land or it could be from the sea.

I have actually used a rather beautiful lichen to rest within the 'pool', again, playing with the idea of Land and Sea.

Finally, I've added a little customisable brass disc to be punched with the initial of whomever claims this little perfect pool for themselves!

Elsewhere, the Hybrid Handmade Husband has been hard at work creating a pair of 'Iron Man' mojito shoes (as you do).  And yes, that is an 'arc reactor' in the heel in case you were wondering.  They were unveiled at the London premier of the film last week.

Julian Hakes London, Mojito shoe with Disney/Marvel for Iron Man 3 

Bon Weekend mes amis!