Shell shapes are amazing and varied. These beautiful calcareous sculptures are each a bespoke outfit for an individual soft bodied sea creature...
Damien Hirst, "Forms Without Life" 1991
Some new rings in methods inspired by the beautiful lumicella rock which contains prehistoric sea shells.
Joanne Stoker's shapely seashell shoe-styles appeal to me!
Keep an eye out for these new rings arriving in the SHOP!
Check out the feature from this weeks Benchpeg's Newsletter on the event I'm running on Wednesday:
"Jade Mellor is a sculptural jewellery artist based in Manchester where she has been researching at Manchester Museum.
She will be showing work there to demonstrate how important the museum collections can be for inspiration for contemporary design from the 4th June.
Jade will share a unique insight into her experimental processes and unique designs which have graced the pages of Vogue Magazine, The Contemporary Jewellery Yearbook and Swarovski Trends. To kick off a series of events she will be hosting a free ‘Show and Tell’ where she will talk about how she utilised the museum collections and the importance of having these resources for process led and conceptually driven work. This show will delve deeper than surface aesthetics where science and nature meets art and design to create something new.
She will also be getting some beautiful treasures out for attendees to look at.
Since studying 3D Design at Manchester School of Art, Jade has found a rich resource in the Museum’s collections, her research and discoveries shaping the pieces she makes
The purpose of the events held at the museum are to encourage others to make use of our amazing Museums and see them as somewhere for new discoveries rather than just old things!"
Date Wednesday 4th June
Time: 1.05pm – 2.00pm
Venue: Manchester Museum, Seminar Room, 3rd Floor
Book on: 0161 275 2648
Or email: museum@manchester.ac.uk
Cost: Free.
For more information:
[w] events.manchester.ac.uk
Many thanks to Benchpeg for supporting this event, I hope it will lead to some inspiration for all of us! You can read about more news and opportunities in the jewellery world on their website here and also subscribe to their newsletter. It's a great resource for everything going on in jewellery and it's all free!
I am really looking forward to hosting my Collection Bites Event at Manchester Museum this Wednesday, 4th June. I have been to see many of the previous talks (and blogged about some including which you can read about here and here) and they have included a wide range of people who work with the Museum. From curators, artists, conservators and visiting experts they provide a personal insight into the influences the museum has and the importance of the objects it holds. My own talk will be a show and tell featuring the amazing specimens that have inspired my work and the pieces it has resulted in. I want you to experience the objects which have had an impact on me for yourself and hopefully we can engage in more of a chat sharing ideas and looking at some really cool things and some of my own one-off pieces, experiments and processes.
I may also be asking you to help me create something based on one of the objects!
Hope you can make it!
Sharing some of my inspiration...
I enjoyed a really fun trip to the beach last weekend. After a lazy day in the dunes, by the early evening the lively beach had nearly emptied and we took our time finding strange and unusual rocks to show to each other.
The geology class I finished this year gave me a deeper appreciation for them, but I will still have to do some homework on the things I found. Here's a selection of these wonderfully weathered formations.
If you have your own specimens you would like to know more about, Manchester Museum has lots of events where you can learn more from their experts. Here are some dates for things coming up...
How to identify a meteorite Wednesday the 21st August 2-3pm
Meteorites grab our attentions like nothing else. Join us to see fantastic examples from the collection and discover how to identify if your rock is from outer space.
Spaces are very limited so please email museum@manchester.ac.uk to book your place.
Rock Drop - drop-in Geology Identification sessions
Our Curator of Earth Sciences, David Gelsthorpe, will be in the Collections Study Centre on the dates below to answer your questions and identify your rocks and fossils.
Come along on:
Thursday 18 July 2013, 2-3pm
Thursday 22 August 2013, 2-3pm
Thursday 26 September, 2-3pm
Thursday 24 October, 2-3pm
Thursday 28 November, 2-3pm
Thursday 12 December, 2-3pm
A tremendous thank you to everyone who was involved in Museums at Night this year! The event on Thursday evening went fantastically well, The Manchester Museum has always been a big source of inspiration for me so it was wonderful return to this environment and present my response to their treasure trove of minerals and fossils.
I was so happy to meet such an enthusiastic gathering of jewellery and museum lovers and absolutely overjoyed to see some familiar faces and the new and old friends who came out to show their support, it was so good to have you there! I hope you are all inspired by your visit and I hope to see you soon...
Thank you! :)
