... this blogger gave to thee...
... five gold things!..
... four FX plushies...
... three midnight magnets...
... two tricks and treats...
....a tale of lovely lore.My grandpa always had a saying, "if it ain't bugs, the lum reeks", meaning if it's not one thing, it's something else. He said this to me a million times in my life, and it's one of those grandpa-isms that will always live in my brain, rent free and make me smile, because it's true.
And so, with that weird little saying, I'm giving you for Day 5, five jewellers and piece of jewellery that look like insects but aren't. Because who doesn't love an odd little segue into jewellery that's one thing, but looks like another.
The first insect inspired piece of jewellery is this beautiful hand textured bumblebee necklace by the jewellery designer and maker, Alex Monroe.
The design is synonymous with the English designer, and has been seen on the necks of more than a couple of celebrities, and I've been in love with it for a few years. There's something beautifully accurate and simple about the design that has rightfully become an icon to the brand.
"The bee represents a whole array of thoughts and emotions for me;
Feminine strength, beauty, vulnerability, the Renaissance idea of the
inevitable pain of love, community. There is a nostalgic Britishness to
the bee, Beatrix Potter and the cottage country garden. And then of
course there is the environmental role of bees, pollinating the world’s
food while under constant threat from pollution. There is so much
symbolism in my bee… I can see most of what I was after, and I hope
people who buy or wear one might see just a little bit of my inspiration
in their bee, and of course, they will have their own ideas about what
their bee means to them too!" (Alex Monroe)
With a career that spans thirty years, Monroe's nature inspired work is full of very nostalgic British iconography. Created by him and his team in his Bermondsey, London workshop, the designs start as sketches, then are sculpted in silver before being moulded, cast in precious metals, soldered together, plated, polished, stones set and finished. But it's the hand sculpting straight into the metal that gives his designs their signature textural appeal.
There are lots of other designs, including more entomological one such as the limited edition Dor Beetle Necklace set with Demantoid Garnets (the rarest of garnets because their green) from 2017, however the bumble bee stands out as something special.
Monroe has found his niche and has cultivated it, and has created a design that is popular because it's not only beautiful, but beautifully made. It's something to be admired because finding your niche is not always easy, and seeing I have his memoir, Two Turtle Doves, sitting next to my bed to read like a true jewellery geek, I should probably finally read it and see how it's done.
Link || Baby Bee Necklace by Alex Monroe
Link || Two Turtle Doves: A Memoir of Making Things by Alex Monroe || Website || Amazon || Waterstones || Blackwells || Abe Books || Bloomsbury || Good Reads
Now design number two gives me a very instinctive, nostalgic memory, which shouldn't be taken as an insult, because it's purely visceral. These insect rings kind of reminds me of those gold gem rings that you used to get in crackers and gumballs machines when you were a kid. In the best way possible seeing I loved and coveted these things as a child. It's a tiny curio shaped in a form that many people find to be frightening or disgusting, and turning it into something beautiful, a teeny bit creepy and fascinating.
If I'd gotten something like this out of a gumball machine I'd probably still have and wear it, because this ring is elegant, modern and is a really interesting take on the tradition of insect based jewellery seen all over the world. In particular that of the Egyptian scarab ring, which featured carved or cast scarab beetles set like a stone.
Designed by siblings Paola and Humbert Sasplugas, founders of Barcelona based PDPAOLA, the Courage Beetle Ring from the House of Beetles Collection, is part of the pairs attempt to capture this historical importance and meaning that insects have had ceremonially, spiritually and decoratively for centuries, but give it their own modern twist.
"Beetles have played different roles in human history. Thanks to their
beauty, complexity and presence in the natural world, this insect has
been the protagonist in folklore, art, and literature (from West to East).
Beetles represent a real connection between us."
The ring is made of 18k gold plated sterling silver, and studded with labradorite (personally one of favourite gemstones), apple green, champagne and violet zirconia to mimic the body and wing casing of their representation of a stag beetle, and I'd wear this in a heartbeat because it's that weird mixture of creepy and cute that I love. It's suitably anatomical that you know what it is, but not as though you're wearing a real bug on your hand, plus I really appreciate the subtle use of gemstones in these soft, muted colours rather than going for true jewel tones, because that, I think, would cheapen the design into the realms of costume jewellery and take it away from the "rebellious elegance with the right amount of effortless cool" that the brand strives for.
If I wore rings, I would definitely wear this and be completely obsessed by the little critter.
Link || PDPAOLA || Website || Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || TikTok || Pinterest || Spotify || YouTube
Link || Courage Beetle Ring by PDAOLA
Link || Jewelry Cool-to-know Curiosities and Facts via PDPAOLA: The Mag (Blog)
Link || Beetles: Art and Culture Worldwide via PDPAOLA: The Mag (Blog)
Link || Scarab Ring || Wikipedia
Zoe Arnold is a jewellery designer and maker who I have admired for a long time, and it's not only because of her skill and technique she uses in her work, but the fact that they're objects of curiosity first. They're treasures, with their own little stories.
Bees are a frequent feature in Arnolds work, these beautiful fat bottomed insects are tiny little metal sculptures in their own right, and look like they're taking the place where a real bee should be preserved. However a huge part of her work in general, is the narrative she creates, many of her pieces of jewellery being based on her own poetry and stories, which is often her starting point, allowing her to add depth to her work and not leave it at the purely aesthetic.
Arnold is also a collector, scouring flea markets and antique fairs to find oddities, as well as broken bits and pieces which to anyone else would be useless, but to her, are objects to be treasured and are full of potential use in her art. Most of her work is also housed in oak boxes or frames, different elements gathered together to create a piece of jewellery, and then allowed to have a home when not worn, to be displayed and treasured as not just an adornment, but art itself.
This unique, thoughtful approach to design is something I really appreciate, and why I always liked jewellery such as Arnold and Wendy Ramshaw, who build this secondary means of display directly into their artwork. I've never really liked the fact that when a piece of jewellery wasn't being worn, it was something that would put into a box, placed in a drawer and hidden away to keep it safe. Art is meant to be viewed, and handmade jewellery, which a metalsmith has toiled over, is art. It's their art and it shouldn't be hidden.
And I know I'm guilty of it too. But I think it's something more jewellers should think about, because no one wants their art relegated to a drawer under some socks.
Link || Maker of the month/Zoe Arnold by Diana Woolf via The Making
Link || A Woman's Identity in Jewellery and Art: Part One by Ella Feron-Low via The Goldsmiths' Company
Link || Featured Artist: Zoe Arnold by Kate Tweddle via tweddlejewellery
(Brooch: Insects_ mantis || 2014 || Frog’s skin, leather, sterling silver, polymer clay, beads || 5.5 x 15 x 7 cm || Photo by: Kwangchoon Park)
I'm going to go ham with this next designers work because I think they're really cool pieces of design and I couldn't pick just one when I find them all so interesting.
Created by Seoul based jeweller, Yojae Lee, her work is made up of large scale, mixed media representations of insects that for many people have incredibly negative connotations, but are often incredibly beautiful when looked at in detail.
(Brooch: Insects_ beetle || 2014 || Frog’s skin, leather, sterling silver, polymer clay || 9 x 15 x 7.4 cm || Photo by: Kwangchoon Park)
(Brooch: Insects_ spider || 2014 || Frog’s skin, crab’s shell, leather, sterling silver, polymer clay || 8 x 14 x 3 cm || Photo by: Kwangchoon Park)
"In a circumstance where discomfort and negativity are experienced,
we tend to withdraw our gaze. To conceal repulsion itself, we embrace
it with beauty. Although an insect exists as a familiar being, we often
forget about this. Its value is only acknowledged when drawn with a
flower or ornamented with jewelry. [...] My work begins from a
straightforward view. Each and every part of its body consisting of six
legs, two feelers and skin… My desire to express it the way it
synchronizes and integrates with my imagination."
(Extract from Yojae Lee Artist Statement, Klimt02)
(Brooch: Spider || 2017 || Frog skin, leather, sterling silver, polymer clay, oxidized, gold plated || 25.5 x 33 x 4 cm || Photo by: Kwangchoon Park)
I know for a fact that the Spider brooch will have caused discomfort for some, but it also highlights Lee's remarkable use of different media to create a cohesive design. Made up of materials including frog skin; leather; crab and other shells; rabbit fur; polymer clay as well as beads, semi-precious stones such as jade and sterling silver, each material brings it's own unique texture, colour or shape to emulate insects we're all familiar with on a grand scale.
Again, this isn't just about a little bug brooch you hide away in the sock drawer, but statement pieces which are meant to give a visceral, potential uncomfortable reaction and they're meant to be displayed and celebrated.
I think these are incredible and if I'm honest I didn't realise half of the materials Lee was using until I saw the materials listed and could suddenly see the creativity. These are wonderful, and if you want to see more of her work head to her Instagram or Klimt02 to see more.
Finally is the work of Jongseok Lim, another Seoul based jeweller, whose work I initially mistook for Yojae Lee's, and at first glance it could be justified, until you see the incredible manner in which he creates them. These are all made using a technique that has been being used in jewellery since 3,000 BC, filigree.
Filigree is a jewellery technique where fine gold or silver wires are twisted togethers into threads, formed and then soldered together or to the surface of your object in intricate patterns to form an almost lace like piece of metalwork. It is an artform which has fallen out of fashion, but some jewellers still make incredibly beautiful and modern designs with it, and in Lim's case he's using the traditional technique to hand fabricate the bodies and limbs of his insects.
These insects don't look like filigree as many people would know it, but the twisted threads of silver brings an incredible amount of texture and dimension to these unique pieces of jewellery.
I think these are unbelievable.
Link || Jongseok Lim || Instagram (personal) || Instagram (Jewellery) || Korean Contemporary Jewellery
Link || Jewelry by Jongseok Lim via Lustik Tumblr
Link || Jewelry Brooch: Jong Seok Lim via Designer Party
Link || Filigree || Wikipedia
Insect based jewellery isn't a new thing, it's been a motif that's appeared in fashion for thousands of years, and over the last few has had yet another resurgence with iconic fashion brands such as Dior and Alexander McQueen creating garments crawling with embroidered and beaded bugs. Though did it ever really go away? Butterflies are insects and are an incredibly common and accepted motif in fashion and jewellery, but they're pretty, not dirty or scary.
Insects are amazing, if you can get past the creepy crawly fear and actually look at them, lots of them are little jewel-like creatures that are incredibly interesting, inspiring and beautiful, for ugly bugs.
Happy New Year! Part six is definitely dressed and ready and out the door on the way to the party, it's definitely not still getting ready...
Listening: Spiderwebs - No Doubt
