GSA Silversmithing and Jewellery Graduates 2021 by The Glasgow School of Art

Caius Bearder 14 Brigita Bivainyte 18 Nina Candido Charley 20 Alien Times / Pui Shan Chu Space Pioneers 22 Monica Findlay 5 Home 24 Eilidh Fraser Ecologies 7 28 Joanna Graham 30 Rachel Hetherington 32 Niamh Ireland 34 Ellen Kynoch 38 Rui Liu 40 Cara Lowe 42 Yang Miao 44 Alexis Mitchell–Taylor 48 Clare Robb 50 Małgorzata Róg 52 Sally Shepherd 54 Cara Smith Thanks to 58 63 Scott Smith Imprint 60 Iona Turner 64 12

Graduates 2021

Alien Times / Space Pioneers

We are living in alien times. What has impressed me is witnessing our students and their ability to be adaptable pioneers navigating the new spaces that we have created, whether on Zoom, YouTube or Instagram. The challenges these students have been up against have been enormous. One particular episode that took place this year springs to mind. During a two-day zoom tutorial session with jeweller Christopher Thompson Royds, feedback on the first day, focused on how students could make the most of their very limited studio time. By the second day of the tutorial this advice changed abruptly, as Government guidance had been quickly adjusted, meaning everyone had to stay at home. There would be no studio time at all.

Amazingly, the students shifted gear after only two days of tutorials. They had to completely change their thinking, their ways of making, responding creatively from one day to the next.

With every challenge comes new possibilities (see the ‘flip side’ of this book: ‘international challenges’) and it is a credit to our students that so many of them heartily embraced new ways of making, communicating, and expressing their haptic ideas into the digital realm. GSA S&J pioneers you have done so well! I am so proud of what you have achieved. This book is a celebration of that! Silvia Weidenbach

Lecturer Silversmithing and Jewellery The Glasgow School of Art

Home Ecologies The interesting thing is if you know the Dutch word for design or designing, it is ‘vormgeven’, creating form and giving, creating with content. — Gijs Bakker

Students graduating from the Silversmithing & Jewellery programme at The Glasgow School of Art, this year, have excelled in giving form to their ideas despite the restrictions imposed on them by Covid-19, little access to tools and materials was compounded by the difficulties of working in isolation. Many of them would agree, surely, that separation from friends, family, tutors and peers, proved to be the most challenging of circumstances. However, as teaching moved online, and contact was made remote, the students adapted their skills, honed their imaginations and set to work.

This publication celebrates graduating students’ work in Silversmithing & Jewellery. The sheer range of themes and approaches is highly impressive as designing and making continued at home, in kitchens, bedrooms, homeoffice-studios, dormitories, cupboards, and gardens. From these experimental approaches, what emerges is a kind of practice that might be said to be formed by ecologies or ecosystems. Forced to exist inside, many of the objects presented in this collection are directly informed by emotions or sentiments related to the exterior, or the natural world. Human senses became heightened during quarantine and the jewellery designs created here reflect 6

these experiences, described by Michel Serres in his book The Five Senses: A Philosophy of Mingled Bodies (2008), ‘whereby the body mingles with the world and with itself, overflows its borders’. Looking through these works, such intermingling is apparent, and a lack of human-to-human contact is replaced or consoled by a stronger human-to-non-human connection. Foregrounded as themes in the collection are: biomimicry, corporeality, ossification, botany, natural light, seaweed, mushrooms, pomegranates, Chinese plum blooms and Lithuanian wheat crops. Interspersed throughout are ideas of resilience, perseverance, and optimism that ecologies survive and thrive, particularly under strain. Reflections on Taoist philosophy, the carnivalesque, and recourse to Surrealist dream worlds might also, these designs suggest, provide a kind of escapism but only when these lead to resolving further, sophisticated, visualisations. Landscapes feature strongly here too, as the coastlines of Guernsey’s temperate island climate

are recalled in sharp contrast to Scotland’s wild terrain; the particular quality of light and weather effects in the North-East is remarked upon in these designs, and examples of geological deep-time act as a metaphor for the persistence of human craft and ingenuity. Ancient artefacts, ruins, technology and cyberspace, are considered haunted objects, as encounters with materiality and immateriality compel us to consider the significance of jewellery as ‘touchstones’ or markers of memory. The work by these graduating students marks a profound period in our lifetimes and they have created a collection in response to their immediate circumstances that develops and extends the meanings and significance of silversmithing & jewellery; incorporating issues of value, materials, sustainability, human and more-than-human senses and relationships. The designs presented might be considered the result of home ecologies, inventive, thriving, exuberant, exciting and adventurous. Helen McCormack

Reader in Art and Design History The Glasgow School of Art

IONA TURNER

SHONA GUTHRIE

SALLY SHEPHERD

ANNA GORDON

CLARE ROBB

BRIGITA BIVAINYTE

CARA LOWE

SILVIA WEIDENBACH

JOANNA GRAHAM

NIAMH TIERA IRELAND

ELLEN KYNOCH

NINA CANDIDO CHARLEY

RACHEL HETHERINGTON

ANDREW LAMB

ALEXIS MITCHELL-TAYLOR

CAIUS BEARDER

MICHAEL PELL

CARA ZOË SMITH

RUI LIU

MONICA FINDLAY

MACIEK SANKOWSKI

MAŁGORZATA RÓG

PUI SHAN CHU

NIGEL MUNRO

YANG MIAO

EILIDH FRASER

GRADUATES 2021

SCOTT SMITH

Caius Bearder Coastal Contrasts Sterling silver, copper

These designs stem from a love for the coasts of the island of Guernsey, specifically the forms and shapes found in rockpools and cliff faces. The island’s rich and expansive history has left its coasts with a patchwork of architectural structures, from Napoleonic forts to Brutalist German concrete bunkers. In contrast to such harsh geometries, these works are motivated by a multitude of natural coastal forms, especially those found in geographical and environmental features characteristic of Guernsey’s island landscape. The designs combine natural textures and shapes of organic sea life with the encroaching geometry of manmade seaside architecture. Using a range of metals and finishes to encourage viewer interaction with these objects, preciousness and weight of metals help communicate both the grounded physicality of the coastal constructions and the fragility of the smaller organic elements. The finished works utilise a range of traditional silversmithing techniques, such as chasing and press forming, to signify and reinforce this contrast, which results in contemporary pieces, that are as tactile as the natural forms they sometimes represent or replicate.

Brigita Bivainyte Metamorphozis of Grain Brass, silver, gold plated in 24k. gold

In Lithuania, shapes of wheat, rye, seeds, sun symbols, certain stones (amber), folk songs, woven textiles and costumes, all contribute to the country’s rich cultural history and identity. For this collection, these historical signifiers are incorporated within a twenty-first century approach to designing and making. As with many folk arts, Lithuanian traditions are considered obsolete, their meanings subsumed in modern forms of technology and mass production. However, unlike current art and design practice, this body of work explores deeply Lithuania’s heritage, with each piece carrying meanings relevant to previous folkloric stories. The reason that these historic symbols continue to resonate with Lithuanian people is because they are closely connected to land, climate and agriculture. Until recently, the country operated under a predominantly agrarian economy and therefore elements associated with sun, growth and crops, such as rye and wheat, signified independence and an instinct to survive, often under oppressive regimes. In fact, the dark rye bread, known as Agotos Bread, is sanctified in the country and is celebrated on the feast of St Agnes. The series of designs presented here are intended to evoke these important and significant meanings in jewellery objects, representative of national and cultural identities of the past and formed by contemporary aesthetics.

Brigita Bivainyte

Caius Bearder

Pui Shan Chu

Nina Candido Charley

Rachel Hetherington

Nina Candido Charley MALVADA (Evil Woman) Silver, bronze, oxidised copper Whether its mythology, film or literature, a story without a villain is boring. The element of evil plays a fundamental part in capturing our attention and imagination. This work draws inspiration from the ways in which female villains adorn themselves to show their status, ranging from the femme fatale to hybrid cannibalistic creatures. This has motivated the creation of powerful and sinister characters that occupy their own fantasy world; ‘Deep Sea Diva’ and ‘Dr. Leopard’. They are liberated and glamorous beings who decorate

themselves in jewellery. A Brazilian her itage and exposure to carnival from a young age has directly informed a passion for theatrical jewellery and wearable sculpture. Carnival is a visceral explosion of rhythm, sensuality, colour, glitter, music and elaborate outfits. But it is also about story-telling and has often been a platform through which ordinary people can satirise the rich and powerful, and question notions of gender and race. The performative and narrative potential of jewellery, combined with an exploration of experimental fabrication techniques are central to this collection. The overall intention is to explore the cinematic and theatrical possibilities of jewellery by generating work that tells a story in a playful and sometimes mischievous manner.

Pui Shan Chu Kinetic engagement Sterling silver, oxidising solution, stainless steel 2020 was a strange year. Normal daily life, social interaction with friends, strangers and being able to go out whenever we wish, were all on hold. During this period, a lack of interaction and engagement highlighted the possibilities of kinetic engagement in the design of these jewellery pieces. Their purpose is to encourage physical and visual engagement between the wearer and the piece. The collection includes three different brooches, each containing various aspects of engagement between the wearer, viewer, and the piece. This includes visual engagement, which occurs when the viewers see the object, much like looking at a collection in

a museum, behind glass. The other type of engagement responds to the wearer’s movement, the wearer determines the movement of the piece with their own movement. The brooches replicate the forms and patterns that characterise mushrooms; circles with lines filled in (the mushroom’s gills) or repeated dots which cover the surface (the mushroom’s pores). That mushrooms, their shapes, silhouettes, textures and appearance, became the focus for this body of work is not surprising. In her book, The Mushroom at the End of the Word: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins (2015), the writer, Anna Tsing, describes how mushrooms represent a form of ‘collaborative survival within multispecies landscapes’, their fungal ecologies provide a model of species cohabitation. Isolated from other human beings during the pandemic, these humble vegetables are reminders of our inherent need for contact and interconnection with others, human and non-human species.

Monica Findlay Traces Precious and non-precious metals, fallen branches, cyanotype print

The material presence of the past informs the objects presented in this collection. Curiosity for generational relics, as evidence of lived experi ences, influence these designs, and each piece aims to evoke a sense of antiquity. Tactile techniques place emphasis on the interrelation between memory and object, testing the possibility to trigger nostalgia through manipulated materials. Etched textures and delicate wirework replicate and emulate inscribed memories. Embossed traces convey the absence of passing objects that once were in contact with the surface; “it is in this gap between resemblance and identity that nostalgic desire arises. The nostalgic is enamored of distance, not of the referent itself. Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss.” (Susan Stewart, 1984). Precious and non-precious metals emphasise habitual traces that are often overlooked, encouraging tactile and emotional engagement, extending curiosity from maker to viewer. Bringing together storytelling and archaeology, this collection explores tangible remains, their surface qualities as important signifiers or touchstones of memories both ancient and modern.

Eilidh Fraser Patere: elements in captivity Pomegranate patinated copper, silver wire, cast bronze fruit peel, cast pomegranate seeds, bronze cast wood shavings, digitally printed faux silk

Colour, experimental patination techniques, and symbolism of food in art history, most importantly the Pomegranate, all feature in this body of work. The Pomegranate has served as a visual, historical, figurative material and source of inspiration in artworks depicting any of the seasons. For example, Pre-Raphaelite, Gabriel Rosetti’s Proserpine (1874), which illustrates the painter’s lover at the time, Jane Morris, is posed with a pomegranate in hand to reference captivity. In classical mythology Proserpine (Roman Goddess of Springtime) was captured by Pluto (the god of Death) to become his wife. Unfortunately, consuming food from the underworld would determine her fate to remain there forever. The Roman Goddess ate six pomegranate seeds, which therefore restricted her to six months of each year spent in Pluto’s kingdom. This analogy of Proserpine has been replicated through Jane Morris’ problematic relationship with her husband William Morris, who had symbolically trapped his wife in marriage and the domestic space. The importance of this in relation to our captive state in the home during the outbreak of Covid19 is a play on material value and use which could play a role in narrating our own release from lockdown. Casting the interior and exterior of this symbolic fruit has captured the essence of tran sience translating into a permanent state. The hope of new beginnings paired with the uncertainty, loss of control and feelings of vulnerability have all played key roles in this collection. Creating patterns through a range of contrasting surface textures; testing the metal and pomegranate’s capabilities, this collection highlights a deliberately aged appearance of oxidation on metal, to celebrate the release of lockdown with a body of work which, similar to ourselves, has finally been exposed to the elements.

Joanna Graham

Rachel Hetherington

Monica Findlay

Eilidh Fraser

Joanna Graham Ruins Silver and copper

Why do ruins hold such significance for us? In Scotland, large, derelict estate houses retain glimmers of previous ages of grandeur in their architectural details: fireplaces, plaster, tiles, and other decorative elements that remain. With doors and ceilings missing, exposed lath, brickwork, and crumbling plaster, these ruins evoke the kinds of material longing described by Susan Stewart as the translation between past and present, the signifiers of what will endure or dissipate. (Stewart, 2020). The dramatic imagery and materiality of ruins feature in this series of jewellery, objects as markers of the conflicted experiencing of encountering such sites: melancholy, sentimentality, nostalgia and longing, all of which feature as elements of subjective experiences of ruins. Architectural qualities are paralleled in the collection presented, in the use of copper and silver together as they contrast not only in colour but also in value and traditional use, bringing together utility and ornament. The techniques developed here involve soldering strands of copper and silver together, creating panels of metal that can then be manipulated into 3D forms using many techniques normally applicable to sheet metal. This is an attempt to represent the wooden lath strips found on many ruined walls, and is subsequently applied through out the collection to create a distinctive overall aesthetic, producing works as individual as the ruins themselves.

Rachel Hetherington Things that have holes in Jesmonite, silver, bronze, linen thread

The essence of this collection is this: things that have holes in them. Holes as a unifying jewellery form; as a point of connection between objects and the body, and as a focal point of desire, are central to these designs. Things with holes in ask to be held up, touched, worn; empty spaces ask to be looked through. This practice is conversation ally driven, sparked by these dialogues and the desire for connection between humans and objects. This body of work evolved intuitively, as access to visual and material sources were severely restricted over the past year. The objects find form in the maker’s hands; from gesture and gravity. The empty spaces are of equal importance to the physical forms, exploring memory and the passage of time in materiality. Overall, this process is heavily influenced by recent dissertation research: Conversations with Haunted Objects, which explores the agency of objects and our interrelationship with them. The works represented here involve repetitive techniques, of casting and recasting objects, in unconventional materials, to create a cyclical narrative of temporality and recollection; a physical mnemonic system. The final result is a collection of wearable, sculptural, and interactive pieces.

Niamh Ireland Colour in Nature Anodised aluminium, silver, steel Exploring relationships between nature, art and society, this series of objects presents an almost unique diversity of colour, pattern, materials and forms. Capturing such ‘endless forms’ (Darwin, 1859), these jewellery designs reflect an interest in decorative styles that are often associated with nineteenth-century interiors: panoramic botanical wallpapers and prints, and heavily bejewelled clothing and costumes, characteristic of his torical pageants and revivals. The practice presented here pushes these natural ma-

terials to their limits, encouraging shapes of organic and chaotic qualities, echoing the dissidence of nature. In the process, the maker steps away, acts as a spectator, intervening only when necessary. Techniques that are applied are non-traditional, and the pieces play with precious and non-precious materials, sometimes subtly suggesting weight, while at other times, highlighting preciousness of organic matter. The objects are intended to question the notion of value in jewellery, pairing silver alongside aluminium, and introducing unexpected materials; the objective is to attract, and make accessible, a range of contemporary pieces to viewers and clients, encouraging those who are familiar with fine jewellery to experience unusual and less precious creations, just as our Arts and Crafts predecessors proposed, as a form of sustainable practice, over a century ago.

Ellen Kynoch Intangible Mass Oxidised copper, aluminium sheet, silver, brass, silver chain Personal experiences of the self and the body are central to this series of works. Themes of isolation, emotional decay, and the fragility of our minds during a long period of quarantine, have directed the making of this work. In a reflective and reactive response to a year or more of detachment from others, these pieces of jewellery demonstrate internal sentiments projected outwards into material, capturing sense impressions of the maker, intended to engulf and adorn the body with objects that represent these otherwise intangible qualities. Disconnection from people has been replaced with interconnection to wider nature and these designs are partly motivated by photo-

graphic records of daily escapes into natural places, particularly in the winter months. The photographs indirectly replicate feelings in a conceptual sense, as extremely fragile, the environmental and emotional state become combined in a decorative, corporeal and expressive perception, a ‘mingling of bodies’, as described by philosopher, Michel Serres, in his book, The Five Senses (2008). Materials such as distorted brass and oxidised copper appear within the collection to create a heavy and weighted conceptual component, which seeks to provoke the senses of both viewer and wearer. Physical mass and length of the pieces are key in translating such thought processes and the manipulation of metal stems from emotive, physical, reactions as a form of release, therapeutic repetitive action. As with the performative aspects of works by German choreographer, Pina Bausch, that create moving, eerie, evocative and surreal moments in time and space, these jewellery pieces encompass a performative role, animated by their affective abilities.

Ellen Kynoch

Niamh Ireland

Cara Lowe

Rui Liu

Rui Liu A Dreamer Brass, copper, 3D Pen, enamel paint, acrylic, stainless steel, fabric

The essential quality of dreams is, according to Sigmund Freud, a form of wish-fulfilment, the ‘dynamic unconscious’ is expansive and develops while we sleep, allowing us to imagine and visualise our very deepest desires. During the pandemic and the enforced lockdown, socially remote from friends and family, these dream states became powerful signifiers of longing and imagining. This series of jewellery designs are the result of an exploration of ‘dream works’, as Freud named them, fabricated by the sub-conscious, heightened in isolation. The pieces incorporate colorful, everyday materials and metals which create stable structures and volume, but they also express aspects of Surrealist, dreamlike evanescence and uncanny qualities, all of which are explored in psychoanalytic theory. Each piece is connected to dreams as another way of thinking and processing; abstracted in material form, these objects can be traced back to what seems like a dream world fantasy in response to an intolerable reality. However, this is not wholly true, as times and meanings merged during those days and practice became indeterminate. Slowly, the dream works were captured, fixed in these small representations of a period mired by invisible external forces, such that even Surrealist artists could hardly imagine.

Cara Lowe Cyberplay 3D printed PLA, silver, steel

This body of work explores the relationship between the digital and physical realm, and investigates themes of play, technology and cyberspace. For those growing up in the ‘digital age’, childhood memories of play are associated with retro videogame consoles, and it is fascinating to discover how technology can be utilised to initiate play and make pixels on a screen physical. This collection originates from retrofuturism, a form of digital nostalgia, and childhood toys. Digital tools like computer rendering and creative coding are used to generate imagery, while 3D printing software materialises these concepts into objects. These pieces of jewellery aim to emulate a feeling of objects as digital fragments, that seem almost touchable through a computer screen. The work consists of three key components: colour, interchangeability and kinetic movement. PLA filament is the primary material used here, as a biodegradable plastic it permits a lightness to the pieces, meaning that the designs are deceptive; they appear heavy but are incredibly light. The jewellery pieces are also interchangeable, their lightness adding to features of wearability in multiple ways. Together, these elements form an interactive experience, where the wearer can customise, combine and construct, keeping the activity of ‘play’ present in the collection and an important part of the overall design concept.

Yang Miao The plum blossom shadow season Silver, spray colour, enamel colour, A4 paper, xuan paper, resin, copper, chinese painting colour

Plum blossom (Prunus mume) or méihuā, features prominently in Chinese visual and material culture. Its seasonal displays of blossom are important signifiers of resilience and perseverance, particularly in difficult circumstances. Therefore, this body of work, created during the pandemic, refers to plum blossom as a marker of optimism for the future. The designs presented here reflect each season of the plum blossom, and are translated from abstract personal visions into a form of visu alisation that wearers and viewers might recognise and enjoy. Included in the collection are jewellery pieces that parallel the four seasons and ‘plum shadows’ associated with traditional Chinese freehand shadow painting. To explore the range of colours and textures identified with plum blossom, the materials used here included, paints, resin, paper models and metals. The jewels are then finished with silver and spray coloring, incorporating the craft technique of filigree, combining another traditional ornamental feature alongside the plum blossom.

Alexis Mitchell-Taylor Aequor Silicone, resin, silver, bronze, fishing line This collection is informed by a kind of oceanography, the study of natural underwater structures and creatures. According to the Ocean Foundation, the world’s oceans play an important role in mitigating climate change and understanding more about marine species, the effects of rising temperatures, and the development of deep ocean ecosystems, is integral to achieving a sustainable future environment. Therefore, these pieces of jewellery emerge from wider concerns to appreciate these underwater life forms. While the objects in this collection are

replicated in materials that are known to be harmful to marine ecology, the purpose is to decide how such substances might be used responsibly and effectively, rather than to dismiss them outright. Silicone and resin produce transparent layers, and allow for incredible light effects, stilted silver frames and solid forms are incorporated to exaggerate the clearness of these materials; weight and texture are deceptive, inviting curiosity from the viewer or wearer. Such translucency affords the wearer some autonomy, as the jewellery might be arranged to perform bright surface patterns alongside bold coloured fabrics. Rather than close down conversations on environ mental matters, these jewellery pieces, motivated by forms found in nature, are intended to act as provocations, stimu lating discussions on agency, materiality and responsibility.

Yang Miao

Małgorzata Róg

Clare Robb

Alexis Mitchell-Taylor

Clare Robb I Feel This Place in My Bones Naturally dyed bone, oxidised silver wire and tube with cast plants, patinated brass with sterling silver posts

Objects trigger memories and transform recollections into palpable experiences, particularly if the artefacts constitute natural materials. In this collection of works, I Feel This Place in My Bones, pieces of jewellery as retainers of memory are made meaningful by their collection and gathering as small, discrete, often found, items. Working with bone is especially significant, as it is a material that is consistently overlooked in contemporary design, despite its popularity in past historical periods and different cultures. Bone is a sustainable resource connected to human, animal, and land. Working with bone provokes questions relating to the body of the maker and invites the viewer to explore these connections too. I Feel This Place in My Bones, challenges specific values inherent in the possibilities of corporeal material as a medium for making, as well as the framework of our physical form; the work acknowledges the mundane, the found object, while adopting a form of display similar to the Wunderkammer to underline ways in which we curate our lives through the choice of items that surround us. Collecting is a means of expression, of selfhood brought about by selection and curation, presented here as miscellanea for viewers, inviting them to consider the contents of their own ‘curiosity cabinet’. This collection, which embodies wearable and sculptural pieces, en capsulates the inherent association between the viewer of a work and the intended narrative behind it. Each piece is conceived to reconnect its audience with such things as a sense of place, nostalgia, and the human body itself; matters which are easily neglected, but which are intrinsic to our everyday lives.

Małgorzata Róg Flow Tyvek, sterling silver, bronze

In his work, Alan Watts provides an interpretation of Taoist philosophy for Western understanding that describes an act of ‘letting go’ and relenting to creative forces, to allow these to direct and stimulate process. This idea has been important in this body of work, entitled Flow, where an experimental approach to design has been adopted. Rather than struggling to impose a direction or concept, the works presented here have been formed by an exploration of materials, and investigation of the transition of physical states into various matter. Techniques such as melting, casting and electroforming, are used alongside water, as symbolic and functional. Other precious and non-precious materials, including metals, silk, thermoplastics and home-grown biofabrics, are incorporated into these jewellery pieces in an exercise to discover new possibilities, new creations. Therefore, Flow combines interests in literature, poetry, and philosophy, along with innovative materials, to produce a series of jewellery objects uninhibited by strict disciplinary or ideological concepts. Instead, following Taoist philosophy, creativity is foregrounded, allowing an expression of forms and impressions to guide this body of work.

Sally Shepherd Skirfare Precious and non-precious metals

This body of work communicates sensitive aesthetic qualities found in everyday experiences of nature, focusing on light, reflection, shadow and gentle movement. Visual research for this collection was gathered through drawing, photography and collage before translating these practices into metal, creating objects of longevity. Natural light and its qualities of reflection, diffusion and refraction is a significant consideration throughout this body of work. Characteristics of the play of light on elements of transparency, pattern and surface texture allow for specific sensory experiences in both the wearer and viewer. In this sense, the jewellery presented here is intended to invoke a feeling of calm, thoughtfulness and an aspect of nostalgia, reflecting human perceptions of nature and the environment. Metals, such as fine copper and brass mesh, help to produce the impression of transparency, flexibility and delicacy. Hammering of different intensities affects the distribution and alteration of light on these metals, flooding small areas with brightness while others remain in the shadows, just as daylight affects the landscape in endless patterns that appear over variegated grounds.

Cara Smith Kinetic Nature Brass, oxidised copper, silver, upcycled milk bottle plastic, nylon thread Biomimicry, which is innovation inspired by nature, through emulation, ethos and reconnection is the focus of this body of work. These jewellery pieces heighten the presence of nature in the wider landscape and its relationship to the human body, through texture, form, repetition, transformation and movement. The Caddisfly Larva use materials found around them to make intricate adorning cocoons in order to blend with their surroundings and in some ways personifies the idea of a sustainable existence. During the Covid-19 lockdown, this same ethos has been applied to practice, in giving new life to discarded objects, transforming these into body adornments. Milk

bottle plastic, for example, has beautiful, ethereal and translucent qualities, that are used here in interactive sculptural pieces. It gives a new purpose to the continued existence of this material, transforming it from an everyday product to a desirable object. The concept of biomimicry sits usefully in Michel Serres’ understanding of human-to-non-human relations. In The Five Senses: A Philosophy of Mingled Bodies (2008), Serres argues that our sense-experiences should be foregrounded in social and cultural life and that humans should recall from nature how to adapt and trust our intuitive bodily impressions. In this respect, the pieces of jewellery presented here are sculptures intended to become animated once positioned on the body; to become an extension of the body. As nature changes it gifts us with fleeting phenomena and these moments are captured in these activated body adornments, such as the life cycle of the dandelion head changing first from yellow to translucent, and then as motion, like that of a bird in flight.

Cara Smith

Scott Smith

Sally Shepherd

Iona Turner

Scott Smith Boorachie Silver, bronze, reclaimed wood

Exploring the processes of carving, raising, and casting, this assortment of objects questions repetitive markings, rhythmic making and the importance of meditative craft. Materials such as reclaimed wood, sheet metal and a variety of repetitive and meditative practises, traditionally favoured by ancient Scottish craftspeople, has changed the direction of this collection in many ways over the last year, after spending time in North-East Scotland’s coastal landscape. Using carving skills acquired while in the Scouts and learning to appreciate the abundance of natural material available in rural Aberdeenshire, made possible a reflection and careful consideration of our relationship with such organic matter. While analysing and interrogating wood chips as evidence of manufacturing processes, this knowledge assimilated seamlessly within research undertaken on early Scottish carvings, contemplating mark making and the authenticity of replicas. After the first national lockdown due to COVID-19, responsiveness to environment and reflective practice have emerged as qualities in these works; a passion for meditative practises that allows for an expansive role for materials, instinctive making, and spontaneous reactions. In this sense, the works presented here represent a collection of handheld objects that sit comfortably both on the dining table and in the wild Scottish landscapes that shaped their designs.

Iona Turner The Seaweed Gatherer Knotted wrack seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum), brass, recycled silver, hemp cord, bio resin The Seaweed Gatherer is an ongoing jewellery collection materialised from gathered seaweed. The process is that of careful attention to, and immersion in, seaweeds’ wild ecology. Following the cycles of the moon and rhythms of the tide, seaweeds are visited as they shapeshift from their submerged to stormcast state. Submerged Knotted-Wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) stands tall; holdfasts cling tightly to intertidal rock; stemlike fronds perform an elegant dance of protection and nutrition for many creatures of the sea. This time in seaweed’s sub-marine world is limited by breath, though the experience continues as creative inspiration. After the storm, as the tide recedes, Knotted Wrack may

come away from the rock to be found ashore – storm cast. Here is where seaweed is gathered, travelled from near and far in varying stages of decay; such variations in detail become the work’s colour pallet and organic pattern. Clusters of abundance mimic nature’s sub-marine growth patterns created, in honour of seaweed’s ecological value, through fine detail processes as yet reserved for economically valuable precious metals. The collection holds holistic aspirations, conscious of betraying the meditative qualities of gathering. Any necessary accompanying materials, the combined conduit through which the body bonds with the seaweed, are selected with the intention of reducing synthetic consumption while enhancing conceptual significance. Natural metal patina is chosen to invoke patterns of sprawled Paint-Weed (Lithophyllum incrustans) formations, and recycled silver vessel forms of Knotted-wrack bladders, are, for the wearer, where human and non-human meet, suggesting a gathering together. By becoming familiar with seaweeds and the ecosystem in which they exist, our relationships to these non-human species develops and helps provide a catalyst for wearable works.

Caius Bearder caiusbearderdesign@gmail.com @caiusbearderdesign

Rui Liu Liu9911009@foxmail.com @_lui_______

Brigita Bivainyte bivainisjewellery@gmail.com @bivainis_jewellery

Cara Lowe caralowestudio@gmail.com @caralowestudio

Nina Candido Charley nccandido@gmail.com @nino.jewellery

Yang Miao miaoyang2016@yeah.net @miaoyang.0

Pui Shan Chu amychulk@gmail.com @shan.jeweller

Alexis Mitchell-Taylor alexis.mt28@gmail.com @alexis_designs_

Monica Findlay monicafindlay.maker@gmail.com @mo.fin

Clare Robb clarerobbj@gmail.com @clarerobb.maker

Eilidh Fraser eilidh.iona.fraser@gmail.com @eilidh_iona_design

Małgorzata Róg goska.rog@gmail.com @instagosiek

Joanna Graham j.is.for.jewellery.enquiries@gmail.com @j.is.for.jewellery

Sally Shepherd hello@sallyshepherd.com @sally__shepherd

Rachel Hetherington rachelhethe@gmail.com @rachelhethe

NAME MAIL

Cara Zoë Smith carazoesmith@outlook.com @cara.z.smith

Niamh Tiera Ireland nimandco@gmail.com @niamh.tiera.design

Scott Smith hello@scottsmithdesign.co.uk @scottsmith.design

Ellen Kynoch kynochelle@gmail.com @ejk.design

Iona Turner Ionaturner.maker@gmail.com @iona.maker

Thanks to Jonathan Boyd Tim Carson Stefanie Cheong Isla Christie David Clarke Michelle Currie Patrick Davidson Hamish Dobbie Andrew Fleming Scarlett French Alaitz MM. Gavilán Rachael Hardie Caitlin Hegney Helen Clara Hemsley Astrid Jaroslawsky Jasleen Kaur Sarah Murdoch Ailsa Morrant Megan Murray Adrienn Pesti Ruudt Peters Jo Pond Matilda Pye Kathleen Reilly Sarah Rothwell Will Sharp Michelle Stewart Christopher Thompson Royds Chloe Valorso WCG Karen Westland Eleanor Whitworth Sheng Zhang 63

Imprint

Published by The Glasgow School of Art 167 Renfrew Street Glasgow G3 6RQ www.gsa.ac.uk Editors Helen McCormack Silvia Weidenbach Thanks to Marianne Anderson Dr Astrid Fendt Pura Ferreiro Anna Gordon Shona Guthrie Corinne Julius Andrew Lamb Nigel Munro Michael Pell Ruudt Peters Matilda Pye Sarah Rothwell Maciek Sankowski Dr Christianne Weber-Stöber and a very special thank you to all the students in Silversmithing & Jewellery at GSA

Design Torsten Illner Typefaces Kéroïne, NewEdge™

Image credits All images supplied by students and staff of the Silversmithing and Jewellery Department at GSA Except p. 10 (National Museums Scotland) p. 12 (State Collections of Antiquities and Glyptothek Munich) p. 12 (Pura Ferreiro)

Printing J. Thomson Colour Printers Ltd. Glasgow Print run 1000

© Glasgow, 2021, the rights are held by the respective authors, p hotographers, artists and the editors. The work, including its parts, is protected by copyright. Any use is prohibited without the consent of the publishers and the authors. This applies in particular to electronic or other reproduction, translation, distribution and making the work publicly available. Printed in Scotland