Botanics: My Jewellery

For the Botanics unit, I decided to make jewellery with a botanical theme including flowers, leaves, insects, water and land.


Here are some photos of my work:

  

 

 

   

 

 

I made this necklace using the handle from a tea strainer, which had already broken off...

  

 

 

I also used Artistic Wire to create leaf and floral patterns. I also tried to use Colette Hazelwood's technique of laminating dried flowers with varying success...

 

 

  

 

 

I used the bracelet idea to make this  ring...

 

 

  

I really enjoyed designing and making these items of botanically inspired  jewellery and will definitely use this idea in the future. It was very useful having the 3D Jewellery Jig which enabled me to get a uniform size for my floral designs. I look forward to developing my technique using this tool.

 

 The jewellery making section of this unit was definitely the highlight for me and I look forward to making more in the future.

 

 

 

Monteviot May 1st

On May 1st we went back to Monteviot House Gardens and also visited the nearby Woodside garden centre which was also research for this unit.

  

The café at the garden centre served some of the food with edible pansies - I thought the worn wooden table top made a good background:

 

 

Walking around the Gardens, it was amazing  how different everything looked in such a short space of time - most of the flowers that were out the first visit had died and flowers that weren't out before, were.

 

Here are some of the photos I took...

I really like the angle in this photo because I think it makes the image more eye-catching.

 

 

I sketched a different plant this time and I think the result is nice.

 

 

 

There were also some interesting flowers at the garden centre, along with a few cheeky flies!

 

I think the range of plants and flowers that are out this time of year is incredible, much like their generally short lifespan. It's like nature is telling us that beauty doesn't last long so if u find it treasure it!

  

I enjoyed my second visit to the gardens with the variety of spring flowers already in bloom and the early summer ones just beginning to show.  Already there was quite a show of azaleas in the border near the greenhouse at the entrance to the gardens.  I had hoped to have more time to sketch some of the flowers but unfortunately ran out of time so I took various photographs to try to capture the various plants.

I am looking forward to putting some of the colours and shapes into my fashion and jewellery designs.  I particularly like the colours of the tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies and there were several bumble bees flying around.

Botanics Practitioners

For the Botanics unit, we had to look at the work of some artists and designers that use botanical subjects as inspiration. I looked at some work by "Timorous Beasties", Colette Hazelwood, Michael Michaud and Georgia O'Keeffe.

I was particularly interested in some of the wallpaper designs by Timorous Beasties because of the colours and patterns they used.

Here is a selection:

Bloomsbury Garden
Wallpaper

 

Opera Botanica
Wallpaper

Butterflies Wallpaper
Antique

Butterflies Wallpaper
Frost

Butterflies Wallpaper
Duck Egg Blue

Colette Hazelwood is a jewellery designer who uses real flower petals to make her jewellery.

Flower Range

I was inspired by her work and wanted to try it for myself, so I pressed some flowers and found some of the grasses that I had pressed before. I then laminated them, cut them out leaving a small border around the plants and used a leather punch to make a small hole so that I could add the plants to jewellery using jump rings.



Another botanically inspired jeweller is Michael Michaud. I'm very impressed with his work and hope to learn more about his techniques in making botanical jewellery.

His items are so detailed that they look very realistic and delicate. I am intrigued that he uses bronze and would be interested in finding out more about this material in jewellery making.

Charm Bracelet

 

Georgia O'Keeffe's work has a simplicity to it that makes it feel calm and relaxing. 


Hibiscus with Plumeria 

Petunias
1924

Lavender Iris
1951

 

Cherries Blossoms
 

A Sunflower from Maggie
1937

I found it very interesting researching these practitioners and hope to use some of their ideas in my Botanics unit.

Michael Michaud



As part of the Botanics unit I looked at some of the work of Michael Michaud. I particularly liked the herb, fruit and veg collections.



 

 

The Michael Michaud Jewellery Collection, designed by Michael Michaud, is a world renowned collection of botanical jewellery. It captures the beauty and exquisite detail of nature using soft patinas on bronze accented with pearls, beads, coral and stones. His exacting attention to detail gives you true to nature, botanical jewellery.

 

This unique jewellery is made by creating moulds directly from botanical elements in a process similar to lost-wax casting. While traditional lost-wax casting begins with a hand-carved model of wax, Michael Michaud instead uses an actual leaf, branch or flower in place of the wax model. A mould is created around the botanical element and as it is heated the plant matter burns away and leaves behind a beautifully detailed mould of itself.

 

Michael Michaud Jewellery is renowned for its beauty and workmanship and is featured in the finest museums,  galleries and speciality retailers around the world. Many collections are commissioned by leading museums such as The Victoria & Albert Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, The National Gallery of Art and the Château de Versailles.

 

Artist Michael Michaud attended the Rochester Institute of Technology's prestigious school for American craftsmen, where he studied under designers Hans Christenson and Gary Griffin and became a master in the creation and manipulation of moulds. After graduating in 1980, Michael Michaud continued to perfect his craft while working under jewellery designers in the New York City area. In 1991, he found himself working in New York City's flower district and living in the beautiful Connecticut countryside - his love of the natural beauty that surrounded him began to blend with his passion for creating jewellery which lead to the birth of Michael Michaud Jewellery.
 

Each piece of Michael Michaud Jewellery is handcrafted  in New York, U.S.A.

Pea Pod Bracelet

Pea Pod Earrings

 

Blueberry Earrings

Raspberry Earrings

Cranberry Bracelet

 

Rosemary Earrings

 

Rosemary Spray Collar Necklace

Sage Earrings

Sage Necklace

Thyme Necklace

 

I also like the flower and tree collections ...

 

Hydrangea Cuff Bracelet

 

Hydrangea Earrings

 

Lily of the Valley Earrings

Pussy Willow Necklace

Charm Necklace

Charm Bracelet

Acorn Earrings

 

 

I found Michaud's work fascinating and there is definitely a lot of attention to detail. The items are so realistic that the viewer may think they are looking at the real thing. I would love to be able to learn more about this technique.