"Damn it Granite, I love you!"

I was recently asked to transform a customer's own cube specimen of pyrite into a ring for a surprise gift for their partner.

The pyrite for their commission was more of a gunmetal colour than most gleaming "Fool's gold", and after discussing different colour options, we decided together that it would be a great contrast to use a pale pink for the ring.

The pyrite cube provided was gun-metal grey, metallic with hard edges.

Bringing together these opposites, a crisp cool metallic with something so soft and delicate seems unnatural, but we can find references in nature. Think of pink granite!

Granite is an igneous rock is formed from the crystallisation of magma below the Earth's surface. It's composition from many different minerals including quartz and feldspar give the colours white, pink and grey with dark flecks.

Pink Granite

We encounter granite everywhere in our daily lives inside and outside our homes:

We run our hands over cool, smooth counter tops,

We are warned not to slip on floor tiles when it's raining,

We are impressed by the grandness of pillars, stairs and building fronts,

We carve in it the names of those we wish to remember

I love plundering the rich resource of rocks and minerals for less obvious uses of colour to evoke and appreciate them.

If it is found somewhere in nature there is still a harmony to be found.

 

 

I walked past this lamp-post everyday in Manchester and it was part of my inspiration for my Modern Ruin series.

Although man made, the bark like texture from the natural rust made this painted metal pillar pleasing to my eye, and I grew to love it in the same way I would instantly connect with  a tree in the woods.

 

The commissioned pink pyrite ring

One of the leading PANTONE colours of 2016 is ROSE QUARTZ, one of the components of granite.

"A persuasive yet gentle tone that conveys compassion and a sense of composure. Like a serene sunset, flushed cheek or budding flower"

"Rose Quartz reminds us to reflect on our surroundings during the busy but light-hearted spring and summer months."

I hope this specially commissioned ring is able to also carry these properties to the new wearer it was made for!

If you have your own mineral or materials and you would like to know more about how it could be made into an object to keep or wear, just drop me an email.

I'm happy to answer your questions or have a chat about some ideas: info@jademellor.com

Make yourself at home

verb live in

...bide, exist, hole up, inhabit, reside, squat, abide, bunk, continue, crash, flop, locate, nest, occupy, park, perch, quarter, remain, rent, rest, room, roost, settle, sojourn, stay, tarry, tenant, establish oneself, hang one's hat, hang out, keep house, locate, occupy, populate, possess, reside, dwell, live, lodge, people...

environment c.1600, "state of being environed"; sense of "nature, conditions in which a person or thing lives" 

I always say how much I love how Hubert Duprat drew attention to how the Cadi Fly larvae carefully construct themselves their protective cases. The larvae use whatever is available to them to build their homes, and the  precious materials Duprat gave them in his controlled environment  illustrates their skills and intuition beautifully in gold and glistening jewels. I have recently made some big changes to my own surroundings, relocating ready to begin a new chapter in a new place. Before I left my old home I made this piece of jewellery. It is a portable keepsake literally using the very materials of my old environment, containing the dust and debris that had surrounded me. To me it is also a protective talisman, a cocoon I have made to be safe within it. It is also a reminder that no matter where you are, just like the little larvae you can make the most of whatever you have and sometimes it might be even better, possibly even exquisitely precious and more wonderful than what you had ever been expecting...

"What Is Jewellery?" Exhibition Piece No.3 Nebula Knuckleduster

Jewellery is...LOOKING BEYOND

The third ring from the exhibition "What is Jewellery?"  celebrates the stargazers, dreamers and out-there thinkers. Jewellery is not an essential item, it is a means to express ideas, to challenge preconceptions and to go further than a practical object may do.

Nebula Ring 2011, As featured on Vogue China
Oxidised silver, resin and metal dust by jewellery artist Jade Mellor.

This piece is available to buy directly from my STUDIO SHOP along with other pieces including more from this exhibition.

This ring fits over three fingers, binding them together comfortably, but noticably so that it you are aware always when you are wearing it and it cannot be missed by others. It makes you feel powerful, charged with the energy of the cosmos, weightier than some of my other resin pieces due to the metal dust contained within which gleams through the surface giving an uncanny appearance. 

This is a prize jewel for a space warrior, protection to travel to new planets fearlessly and push the boundaries when escaping the mundane and constraints of local convention.

Here is some more on the origins of this piece:

"I am fascinated by meteorites, the properties these alien rocks have, often more than meets the eye. They fall from the skies as a gift from other worlds. The exhibition "Jewels from space" at the American Museum of Natural History in New York was a huge influence on me. The Cape York meteorite housed there is the biggest and heaviest ever moved by man with a weight so great special supports were built into the bedrock of the building. Seeing such a monumental object that had arrived from so far away made me want to create something otherworldly that would have an impact when worn. In exploring resin I find I can create larger scale objects, light enough to wear which at once look familiar and perplexing."

Nebula Ring 2011, As featured on Vogue China
Oxidised silver, resin and metal dust by jewellery artist Jade Mellor.

This piece is available to buy directly from my STUDIO SHOP along with other pieces including more from this exhibition.

"What Is Jewellery?" Exhibition Piece No.1 Gold Cubed Ring

Jewellery is... DESIRE

Gold Cubed Ring, metal, resin, metal dust, Jade Mellor 2014

Box of pyrite specimens: A cube of cubes...

In the exhibition What Is Jewellery?" curated by Eve Redmond the purpose was to show unorthodox materials being used by artists today. This ring is made from resin, very different to jewellery traditionally created from precious metal. The piece is also inspired by another material which I use a lot in my work which is Pyrite...

"Pyrite is one of my favourite minerals, the cubic formation has always fascinated me, it looks manufactured with it's crisp metallic edges but builds naturally in this way because of it's unique structure. I love learning about the formation of our environment, triggered by unusual finds like this and researching in Manchester Museum's amazing stores of specimens. This ring is my homage to the beautiful mineral. If Fool's Gold is called so because it appears like gold, this must be (Fool's) Gold Cubed." (my description for this piece)

So with this first ring I want to explore the aspect of jewellery meaning DESIRE: To want something for how it looks, the glint of metallic catching your eye with the magpie's instinct to swoop in and fly off with these shiny treasures. 

This ring was inspired by pyrite. The sparkling mineral nicknamed "Fool's Gold" could be all about it's appearance for those who would be tricked into thinking it was the real thing. 

Five "Fool's Gold" Rings of mine,  all using real specimens of the mineral pyrite available now at Craft & Culture HERE

I am attracted to pyrite for how it looks*, it's natural facets twinkling and the smoothed areas gleaming make it a good choice for jewellery, as who doesn't want to wear something that lights up the room in such a way? However the benefits of using this mineral instead of expensive real gold is that I can manipulate it more and I am not afraid to experiment without knowing what the final outcome may be. Gold is a wonderful material to use, but it's preciousness makes it a material you plan for, savouring it, using just enough to make what you intend. Pyrite is much more available to me, this means the exciting part comes from how I can push it. I can smash it, I can grind it, I can use the BIGGEST GOLDEN CHUNKS of it for maximum impact. And when it is worn in this way, it is not showing off value and wealth in the way that a giant 24ct medallion might. It's golden glow is great, but after the wow of the initial impact, there's the head tilt and the chirrup of the curious sparrow. What IS it? How did that come to be? To realise these angular nuggets or magnificent cubes have formed in that shape by themselves as a wonder of nature, that is the thing that continues to excite me, the thing that I love, as well as desire which will never lose it's lustre. 

For some excellent insights into materials and exploring their values vs appearances and how they are being used in contemporary art jewellery today check out the latest CURRENT OBSESSION: FAKE  ISSUE. These guys are the cutting edge of what's happening right now...

The following posts will look at the other rings in the exhibition. It's been good for me to take the time to think about why use certain materials in my work. Be great to hear what you choose to make your work with! Sometimes having limits can even be the best way to be inventive...

*(call me a fool, but an honest fool)

Magnetic Attraction

I have created a new Ferromagnetic ring for the supremely creative fashion designer Charlotte Booty.

                                                                                  Macramé work from Charlotte Booty

 I wanted to make her a piece that would have unique properties, as her textile work pushes the boundaries to create three dimensional "fabrics". See more of her work here.

The beautiful patterns she creates in her macramé are by utilising materials in repetition such as cable ties, leather and chain. They seem to me to form naturally like iron filings in a magnetic field. The new Ferromagnetic ring is set with magnetic Haematite, I hope she enjoys using it to explore her surroundings, testing and picking up more found objects for her inspiration.

If you are interested in learning more about commissioning a unique piece, get in touch! Email me at info@jademellor.com and I'll be happy to answer your questions :)

Hello (Stripy) Sunshine

Here's Heather wearing my stripy black facet chain/textiles necklace, she loves stripes (almost) as much as she loves yellow.

Here's a better look at the ring in a recent shoot with another new piece, the Fragments bangle pictured with a bright little minaudiere.

You can read about the inspiration behind it here.

Hello Stripy Sunshine! :)

The studio was visited by this little ray of sunshine today! My dear friend and glorious fashion designer Heather!

She'd heard I'd made a new ring in her favourite colour-YELLOW featuring a giant gleaming Swarovski crystal so she popped by to try it on, (and a couple of other pieces) while we had a catch up.

Yellow & white Swarovski crystal Hewn ring & Fragments bangle

Basking in the Mancunian Ray.

I asked Heather where this supercute pinafore was from, it had comfy elastic straps at the back and looked great dressed down with her bright little T. It was Monki's flagship store in Stockholme. I hope there's a similar one available in the u.k!

Looks like this sunny creation might have found a new home...let's hope the weather stays bright for another fun day in the studio tomorrow!