I’m an artist living and working in rural Tasmania. I make simple and elegant jewellery and dabble in abstract painting. The jewellery is 100% handmade from ethically sourced, sustainable and recycled/ reclaimed materials. At the moment I’m gravitating towards native Tasmanian timbers and hand-mined Tasmanian gemstones.
I was born and raised in Alexandra township* in Johannesburg, South Africa, I travelled back and forth between Australia and South Africa from late 2013 before finally settling permanently in Tasmania in early 2018, after falling in love with its natural beauty and the opportunities to prospect** for gemstones in the local rivers here in North East Tasmania.
*A township is a residential area of predominantly black occupation as designated by apartheid (segregation on the grounds of race) legislation.
** To prospect is to explore for minerals below the surface of the Earth, or in pre-existing excavation, by means of hand-held instruments.
I make art and jewellery with my immediate natural environment as my muse. In my painting, I attempt to merge my love of nature, photography and abstraction to create representations of landscapes and seascapes. The challenge is to find the balance between precision and nebulousness; to produce abstracted representations of nature.
As a self-taught jewellery designer I work in recycled/ reclaimed silver incorporating natural materials and gemstones. Tasmanian timbers, gemstones occur naturally in such rich, vibrant colours and patterns that I’m spoiled for choice.
On the painting side, my formal education was originally in Fine Arts from Wits University. I find painting to be an incredibly cathartic practice and living in such close proximity to Bay of Fires and the temperate rainforests of the North East Tasmania inspired me to rediscover my creativity after a long hiatus.
My current series is titled: Bay of Fires
This is the area of Tasmania between Eddystone Point and Grants Point, south of Binalong Bay. Bay of Fires is characterized by its silver white sandy beaches, turquoise waters and massive granite boulders that are tinted a bright burnt orange by the lichen that grows on them.
General notes on some of the materials I incorporate into my jewellery:
Tasmanian Timbers
- Blackheart sassafras (Atherosperma moschatum): Tasmanian blackheart sassafras (Atherosperma moschatum) is an evergreen tree native to cool, temperate southern Australian rainforests.
- Blackwood: (Acacia melanoxylon) is one of Australia's most popular and beautiful hardwoods. it is stunningly figured with a warm amber glow.
- Olive wood (Notelaea ligustrina): Native Olive is a very dense timber varying in colour from light brown heartwood to cream sapwood.
- English Holly (Ilex aquifolium): This is the only non-native I use in my jewellery because although it is a beautiful creamy white timber, it is considered an invasive 'environmental' weed. To prevent any further spread, a large thicket was removed from our property. So that it wouldn’t go to waste, much of the timber is used as firewood but I did reserve a small amount to use in my jewellery. We also cooperate with neighbours and a local farmer to control and remove any infestations we come across.
- Tasmanian Ironbark (Eucalyptus sieberi): Eucalyptus sieberi is a moderately common tree of dry forests of north-eastern Tasmania. Ironbark (named for the fact that its bark looks like iron slag) is a deep dark red to red-brown hardwood.
- Huon Pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii): previously coveted by boat builders for its durability and workability, the richness of its golden colour and figure make it one of the world's most desirable timbers. Huon Pine is also highly sought after by crafts people for its natural lustre and flexibility.
TASMANIAN GEMSTONES:
- Sapphire: Tasmanian sapphires typically range from pale blue to dark rich royal blues but can be found in yellows, greens, parti-colours, stars, occasional purples and the sometimes extremely rare pinks.
- Zircon (sometimes incorrectly confused with cubic zirconia): is a naturally occurring colourful gem that comes closer to resembling diamond than any other natural gemstone, this is due to it's high refractive index and fire (fire is the rapid flashing and changes in colour seen in some gems). Tasmanian Zircon are found in champagnes with reddish undertones, deep oranges, yellows, peaches and white.
- Black Spinel: Spinel, used by fossickers as an indicator for sapphire, is one of the most underrated gemstones. Scoring a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale it is incredibly durable and suitable for daily wear. The finished gems are a gorgeous inky black and polish to a superb almost metallic lustre.
- Topaz: Topaz, a bright gemstone, is most often colourless but can be found in pale blue.