The Secrets of Small Things

I am fascinated by the secrets that small objects hold.

By the things that people choose to wear and carry with them. I am currently exploring wearability and glass in my ‘Four Nations’ residency, which began at North Lands Creative near Caithness. As a maker of small objects it now seems inevitable that I would begin to make glass jewellery. I wanted to reveal some of the ancient things that have inspired my latest work, which you can see at the end of this post.

The landscape of the far north was studded with snail shells. Working amongst snow flurries and rainbows helped me explore new territory.

Cairn o’ Get, a chambered burial cairn near Ulbster

I became fascinated by very old things. Particularly experiencing the places where the land and the sky and the sea meet, creating liminal spaces. The three realms had a spiritual significance for the Picts who lived in Scotland during late antiquity and the early Middle ages. Although much of their written language is lost, a hoard of eighth century brooches was discovered during the excavations for the Sutherland railway.

The Rogart brooch is studded with birds heads set with green glass eyes.

The Rogart brooch, National Museums Scotland

Made from intricate gold plated silver this brooch was made for an affluent person and speaks of their status. These small items would have been treasured and held close. They reveal so much about the culture at that time. The knowledge of materials and skill involved is breathtaking. I find it incredible that the materials used to create these pieces retain their brilliance despite centuries in the dark earth. This vocabulary of glass and gold is something that I am exploring in my new pieces of jewellery.

A more recent discovery of a series of glass beads and gem stones in the drain of a Roman bathhouse near Hadrian’s wall also really piqued my interest.

Left: Venus in profile engraved on amethyst Right: Diana drawing an arrow on cornelian

A series of tiny intaglio cut gems were originally lost in the sauna and pools of an opulent Roman bathhouse in Carlisle. The steam would have loosened the vegetable glue that held them. These semi precious engraved stones including amethyst, carnelian and jasper tumbled into the drain and were lost in the dark for over two thousand years.

Their vivid beauty is incredible. They tell us the stories and status of their original owners. The intaglio cut gemstones were made for the rich and powerful and would have been used as a seal, pressed into clay to authenticate documents. The beads probably came from a necklace, disappearing into the depths of the murky waters once the string had snapped. Photographer Ann Giecco has captured their detail and surface texture beautifully.

Gold beads from the Carlisle Cricket Club Roman excavations

Jewellery is made to have a dialogue with the body and these ancient finds speak of a portable material culture that I find endlessly fascinating. They also speak of loss.

These intriguing objects, made to be worn and admired are now finding new audiences.

Below is my first piece of jewellery made during my residency. The oak twigs were foraged from a wind sculpted oak that grows on a cliff at a point where the land and the sea and the sky meet. It is also a place with the most rapidly eroding coastline in Europe and I know that in the next few years it could slip quietly into the sea. I visit every year at the end of January when the buds are full of promise for the new growth to come.

My great grand mother grew up in Scotland and found rubies and emeralds on the beach when she was a child, which seems the stuff of fairy tales (and therefore essential to include them in my work).

Land Sea Sky necklace: hand blown glass bubbles, cast and gilded oak twigs with rubies.

I shall leave you with an image of me making the work, surrounded by things I’ve collected, pieces I’ve made and things I’m generally curious about.

My new work will be part of ‘Collect’ art fair at Somerset House. You can sign up to my newsletter to find out more about how I work and where I will be exhibiting.