A Collection of Blue

NFS

Found vintage crockery & blue glass with gemstones Queensland boulder opal, lapis lazuli and dumortierite set in sterling silver.

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All my life I have loved collecting relics of history. Especially having lived around some of Australia’s oldest towns. It’s funny how someone else’s rubbish from a century ago puts me into a sort of meditative mind space where I can get lost for a peaceful moment wondering about the past.

Sometimes evidence of old household rubbish dumps surface, scattered with broken crockery and chunky old glass, sometimes a whole bottle if you’re lucky! I get a lot of joy out of finding these treasures and for a long time I have wanted to find a way to put them into my jewellery design. It has been done a lot by many artists so I was hesitant until this exhibition gave me the push to get creative in my own unique style and it has been such a fun way to make pieces that include the treasures I find that are so precious to me! Unlike worn sea glass that looks pretty as it is, I also find sharp pieces. Here I have used sharp pieces that I have shaped, glass I have cut and polished into a cabochon, rough opal, cut and polished, and lapis I up-cycled by cutting in half a big round stone from an old clip-on earring I was given. All done with lapidary equipment.