It's been a busy couple of weeks
getting my pieces ready for Manchester Art Gallery's “Northern
Makers” exhibition. I'm very happy to confirm that they have now
been submitted and are available to view and purchase from the
gallery. The range that has been submitted is the “Senses” range
which formed my final project at college last year. This range had
been designed with the principles of Mindfulness and Neuro Linguistic
Programming in mind. After some design development and tweaks the
pieces are now complete.
I have kept the “Smell” pieces to
the same principles design wise. The soothing lavender oil which
remains on hand to the wearer. At college I had designed this
'sense' in the form of a ring, and this has now been expanded to
include a necklace and cuff bracelet.
The “touch” pieces have had a
complete redesign. The idea behind the touch element of this range
was to provide something tactile to play with which will bring the
wearer to the present. I realised that when items are curved, it
make it very easy to tune out of the world and touch them
absent-mindedly. With this in mind, I changed the design to be made
principally of straight edges and angles. I also included additional
pieces to the surface to create another level and more obvious
texture to the wearer. This unexpected change in direction and level
helps to bring the wearer back to the moment.
The “sound” piece has remained the
same. The earring is ideal for the acoustic element of the range;
bringing a chiming sound to the wearer which is not audible to those
around them. I am in the process of completing the design of some
more earrings to add to this range and these will be available for
purchase soon.
My aim with this range was for the
beauty of the jewellery to be at the forefront; bringing attention to
the pieces for their visual appeal rather than the function which
they serve. I have to say, I love them. And I hope that you will
too!
