It's here! It's here!
Today I am proud to launch my latest series of work, titled "Elements." This is a new collection, with entirely new designs. "Elements" is a body of work showing off natural wood, paired with fine metals. Strong geometric patterns, complemented with soft, natural tones.
When I started to work on this series, I wanted to accomplish three things:
1. Get back to the wood. This has tugged at me for a while. When I was sorting through my things for our recent move, the wood I'd accumulated over the years really grabbed my attention. I went through my entire wood stock, and I can still remember where and when I got nearly every piece. Reclaimed guitar parts, leftovers from projects, a big oak cask from the Balvenie (whisky company): The character and grain patterns of these beautiful remnants grabbed my attention again, and I knew I had to bring them back into the spotlight. Wood being my first love in all of this, I decided to build a series to get back to where I started.
2. Introduce finer metals in a more integrated way. I have been using high quality metals in my pieces all along, which are hypoallergenic and durable. But in this series I wanted to explore metals as design components as well. Hammered gold and silver loops in the new earrings bring an elegance to the new work, and who doesn't like a bit of extra sparkle? I love hammered metals, and have been experimenting with making my own metal pieces (but have lots to learn here). Most of the gold and silver components are purchased from other artisans for this series. The sheen of polished wood with the glimmer of gold and silver add up to something really lovely (if you're curious about gold-fill, you can read more here).
3. My third goal was to give resin a bit of a break. Epoxy resin has slowly become more integral into my work, and I have thoroughly enjoyed pushing my knowledge and craft here. What I aim for in this collection a more measured, controlled approach with this material. This is not only a creative decision, but also an ethical one. I'm conscious of the impacts of epoxy resin - essentially a hard and long-lasting plastic. I want to give this some consideration, even at my small scale production. Lots more to say here, and to explore for myself. I set a goal this year to purchase only one bottle set of resin - and have plans to explore recycled resins and plastics in a more focused way. So more on this in work to come.
Last, but certainly not least - I'm proud to present this series in partnership with Empowerment Squared, an agency in Hamilton working with newcomer and marginalized youth. Their programs center around education, mentorship, connecting to community and more. As a new and and strange school year begins this fall, young people - who already faced challenges - will need additional support, in unique and creative ways. So I'm glad that Empowerment Squared is already there alongside them, doing this work.
I will be sharing 25% of all profits from Elements, pitching in to support young people of colour in Hamilton. This is an ongoing effort, and I will continue to share these proceeds for the months to come.
If you'd like to support Empowerment Squared directly, please see this link for their online donations page. Or get in touch with them to see how you can best support their work.
Thank you all, so much - for reading, and following along. I'm delighted to launch 'Elements' into the world today.
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