Spring greens

 I've been saving up for ages and ages for a new camera, and to celebrate it's arrival, I have photographed some of the knit and crochet pieces I have been working on lately. The top few are loosely based on barnacles found along the seashore, in rock pools and clinging to rocks along the tideline. 

The green pieces are inspired by moss, lichen and tree bark; I love the vibrancy of the colours the damp British springtime climate cultivates. 


These are closeups of a huge knit and crochet piece I have been making using about 6 knitting needles at once, all of different sizes, with countless teeny balls of yarn hanging from it. My plan is to keep working into it, knitting into the surface and adding more crochet forms to really add depth. 

 In these 2 pieces I decided to go to the other extreme, working on teeny needles, knitting off edges at right angles to create a patchwork effect. I had been daydreaming whilst looking out of the car window, at green fields feeling inspired by emerging shoots of freshly planted crops. The arrival of spring after grey winter gloom always makes me feel the urge to make things.

Frosty moss

Winter sunshine makes my heart lift. I hate the long, grey days we get in the North, so these snippets of colour sneaking through the harsh, bitter cold made me smile. 

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Being invited to exhibit my jewellery at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park was quite surreal. It is one of my favourite places to visit- contemplative and inspiring, as well as the place I studied to be a teacher. Happy associations with previous visits there with friends, as well as trips with my students, to stand in awe of work by sculptors and makers who have helped to shape my creativity and passions. The physicality of sculpture has always moved me to make things, I love the solidity and tangibility of structure and form, the way it inhabits space beyond the maker and takes on a presence of its own.

I do all of my making on my own. I make every detail of my jewellery individually, by hand; cutting, filing, hammering, refining, finishing every edge, join, and surface, taking care to pay attention to every detail. It is a slow, time consuming process, and by it's very nature, the small scale demands engagement and focus. 


I enjoy the feel of working with metal, the way it softens with heat, becomes more malleable and holds it's shape beautifully, exactly as I wish, but demanding such care and control- the slightest neglect and it melts and is ruined. The relationship I have with my work is therefore quite intense. I love the transition from a transient thought, an idea in my mind, to something I can touch. It fascinates me to think that something I have made with my hands, can be passed on and held, owned, appreciated by someone else. I am captivated by this abstract connection, and it drives my own passion for all things hand-made.


So my visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, to see my own work alongside makers whose work I love, was really quite emotional. Driving into the grounds, past incredible, monumental pieces, made me feel very small and humble. My heart racing, so nervous and excited, bizarre to think that a little box of jewellery that I painstakingly packed and posted, from the comfort and familiarity of my own work bench, had found it's way here and was laid out for all to see. 

knit pieces

I love to make things, I have a constant curiosity which I find hard to satisfy, always wanting to learn new techniques and pick up ones I haven't used for a while. It's cyclical; flurries of creativity in one material or technique, until something else catches my eye.

These are some of my knitted neckpieces, inspired by all the things that always move me- faded seashore colours, textures of eroded finds washed up on the beach, smooth pebbles, lumpy seaweed, driftwood, old rope.

They are made from treasured old fabrics which remind me of precious things, times, people. The buttons I inherited from my great grandma's button box, the shredded silks were leftovers from countless wedding and bridesmaid dresses painstakingly made by my mum.

I love the idea of having these things worn close, incredibly simple but so sentimental. They make me feel peaceful and happy. Recycled materials, reinterpreted memories.

They all have silver or copper flowers on them, I can't resist, I always come back to my love of contrasting surfaces. They don't feel finished to me until they have an aditional element.

photoshoot

I recently had the opportunity to have some professional photographs taken of my work being worn by models. It was an amazing experience, a different way of seeing my jewellery, I am usually only really involved in making it and as I usually mainly sell through galleries I can be quite detached from seeing it worn. It was a treat to see it on people, and I loved the context of the shoot location, my work is inspired by natural forms, so the lush greens and dense trees were a perfect backdrop.

I loved the lighting the photographer used, it gave a strength to the images and a very fashion-lead styling.

Thank you so much to everyone who helped...

It's all new

I already have my website to keep me busy,

www.juliawright.co.uk

and my Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Julia-Wright-Jewellery

and my Etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/cocopod

but I thought this might be fun too...