I am one of those people who live by the adage – ‘what goes on tour, stays on tour’. With regard to jewellery this means I make decisions alone in my workshop, and any work in progress is discussed, informally, within the safe environs of my peer group. I respect their opinions, respond to suggestions, and note the polite silence that often surrounds work that is not what it could be.

Now I find myself as one of the mentees for Handshake2. A thrill to be sure. I followed the first Handshake Project with great interest and was touched by the generosity of the first group of mentees; unresolved work, half-baked ideas, and confessional fears were interspersed with triumphs, exhibition excitement and, ultimately, work and projects that ensured my faith in jewellery remains intact. And now I must respond in kind.

The blog is an integral part of Handshake and, as such, makes the project just as much about my relationship with readers (real or imagined) as it is about my relationship with my mentor. I feel a responsibility to both.

I start this project as a maker who uses heat and hammer on metal to form jewellery and objects that speak of time and place, void and mass, the intangible and tangible.

Let’s see where I end up.

vessel pendants, (fine silver, resin, silk cord) ongoing series

vessel pendant – fluro (fine silver, resin, silk cord) ongoing series

vessel 2013 (oxidised copper, found spoon)

vessel 2013, (fine silver, found handle)

Objects and Jewellery 2013, (found spoons, stg silver)