ZoeDuthie - JewelleryProject

Zoe Duthie Contemporary Design Blog

2009-10-12T22:42:00.002+01:00

Please find my new blog at http://www.zoe-duthie.blogspot.com where I will be updating regularly on my work, inspirations and upcoming shows etc. I'm excited by the prospect of a fresh new blog to explore new things! Thanks to those who followed and commented on this blog! I hope that you follow me over to the new blog and enjoy reading my posts as I start up as a new designer! Zoe Duthie xxx

Time for a new look?...

2009-10-12T20:50:00.002+01:00

Hello! was just visiting my poor neglected blog there and made a decision to start posting regularly again! Now that my degree is completed I feel I should give my blog a new look & name and use it as a way to show what is inspiring me, new work and upcoming shows etc. Feeling pretty good about it - better get to work! xxx

Done!

2009-05-19T20:18:00.007+01:00

Hey guys - well thats all my work finished as of last week and I got my results today just before 5pm! I got a 2.1 and I am very pleased!! Looking forward to the degree show and everything else that comes with it! woooooooooooooooooooohoooooooooooooooooooooooo! :-)

Here are some pictures of my beautiful cousin Ailsa modelling some of my necklaces. I hope you like!

Busy Bee!

2009-04-15T13:09:00.003+01:00

hello there!! oh my god - the past few months have just flown in! Coming to the end of my course now - scary and exciting! Just thought that I would give you a little preview of my work and share with you a couple of brooches I have made based on old family photographs. I hope you like! xxx

Messy Desk Day

2009-01-15T14:41:00.003Z

Was just working away today and thought I would take a few photos while I was at it - there is something quite inspiring about a messy desk or work area - everything jumbled up and disorganised in quite a lovely way!

As Pretty as a Picture

2009-01-15T14:27:00.003Z

Some Sketchbook Images

2009-01-15T14:12:00.007Z

Here are just a few little glimpses into my sketchbooks!

Too Many Ideas!

2009-01-08T20:45:00.003Z

All of the designers, websites and information I have discovered recently have been so inspiring and have given me so many ideas! Although this is good it has also left me feeling a little confused in terms of my work! I now want to research a number of different things covering themes of memories, relationships, anonymous people, sentimental value of objects and connections.

The presence of an unknown person is something which really interests & inspires me, whilst using my own experiences, relationships and memories is exciting too! It might be a nice combination to include the unknown with the familiar? I just worry that one area will gather more importance than the other as I begin my work.

I will perhaps create some pieces based on -

memories provoked by a person/relationship - etched memories, photos, objects relating to that person, images of favourite places, songs/poems etc.
anonymous people - found postcards, photos, questions/letters I have posed to that person, jewellery/objects which hold the presence of an unknown person.

This post probably doesn't make much sense but I'm just using it as a way to get my thoughts/ideas straight! They are a bit jumbled up in my head. Does anyone else have any thoughts or ideas?

The Relationship Between Jewellery & Wearer

2009-01-08T13:27:00.001Z

I was researching narrative jewellery today when I discovered Mah Rana's work. The inspiration and ideas behind her work appealed to me the most and I found this video of her discussing her work on YouTube which is very interesting. She is concerned with the relationships we construct with jewellery and how for some people it becomes a part of them and they never take it off. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0or46gKQRIY

Does anybody have a piece of jewellery which they have inherited?
Does anybody have a piece of jewellery which they wear everyday and they have constructed a bond or relationship with that piece?

From watching the video of Mah Rana talking about her work, I too have been thinking about other peoples jewellery and the attachments and relationships it has with people. When browsing charity shops and markets there is always a lot of jewellery for sale, jewellery which once belonged to somebody. I would quite like to play on this idea of taking something once owned by somebody else and reinventing it into my own designs. In a way the presence of that person and the stories behind their piece of jewellery would still be alive within my design.

I think I might research the idea of inheriting jewellery a little further

A Few Questions

2009-01-04T13:25:00.003Z

As I have mentioned this blog is hopefully a way of gathering information/research relating to my degree show and jewellery designs. I would like to know a little more about other peoples memories - how they store them, what provokes them etc.

I would really appreciate if you could answer the questions I have posted below. I have already answered them just to start us off! It shouldn't take long and can be as simple or as detailed as you wish. Thank You!

Is there a material item which holds a particular importance for you?

There are loads really, it is hard to pick! I think it would probably be my granny's sewing box - it was filled so full of things which reminded me of her - little thimbles and buttons and lace edgings! I think because I saw her using it alot it has more meaning, I can imagine her sitting with it.

Where do you keep this object/item?

For a while it sat on my bookcase at home but now I keep it on my desk at uni. It is still full of her things but also has a few of my own now!

Does this item remind you of anyone or provoke a memory?

It reminds me of granny, because it is a sewing/knitting box and she used it alot it provokes a few memories for me. The first is when she taught me to knit (I'm still not very good) The second would be when she knitted me and my sister these awful matching outfits - trousers, jumpers, mittens and a hat with a MASSIVE bobble on the the top! It was bigger than my head lol! The third would be when a button came off my jacket and everytime I saw her she would get on at me about it and say she was going to fix it but she always forgot by the time I left!

Just simple memories but happy ones. :-) xx

ps. I'm sure I have a picture of my sister wearing her knitted outfit - will have to dig it out!

Swell Vintage

2009-01-03T17:42:00.003Z

Just came accross this blog and promptly added it to my list of favourites! This beautiful corsage/brooch caught my eye! Very pretty! Go and have a look! http://http://www.swellvintage.blogspot.com/

Claire Hillerby

2009-01-03T16:16:00.002Z

Was just browsing the internet for some ideas and inspiration and thought I would share with you the work of Claire Hillerby.

Handwriting forms the starting point for my work due to my interest in message making; the messages are always ambiguous and represent short uncertain conversations. Old postcards and letters are sourced, sections taken then translated into new contemporary stories. Other ephemera include maps and photographs contrasting their preciousness as personal possessions combined with their throw away references as well as an interest in recycling.

- Claire Hillerby

http://www.design-ed.org/designers/_designer.asp?d=clareh

I Thought I Would Share...

2008-12-30T23:13:00.006Z

Just a small selection of some photos I have taken. They aren't necessarily to do with my project or degree show but I think they are quite pretty in their delicacy and subtle colours.

What Reminds You of Your Loved Ones?

2008-12-30T19:57:00.005Z

I was thinking about what provokes a memory or makes me think of someone close to me. It could be a smell - a favourite perfume or aftershave someone often wore, a particular song, a place you used to go together. Wouldn't it be lovely to have a piece of jewellery which played on these things? An image of that favourite place? The lyrics of that favourite song? A piece of fabric or a button from that favourite jumper which holds the familiar smell of a loved one.

'A Picture Needs Memories to be an Image'

2008-12-30T19:23:00.007Z

Photographs are so precious and yet so easily lost, forgotten or tucked away in albums and boxes. Often the people in the photograph are unknown to us - simply a face of the past. One thing which I plan to do within my degree show is connect a place, name, story or date to the photograph, therefore creating a visual memory which will be worn and treasured.

I came accross the website http://www.timetales.com/ which is a collection of found photographs dating from 1930 - present day. The mystery of the photographs is beautiful but also slightly sad and haunting to some degree. Happy, smiling faces looking out from the pictures frozen in time - I wonder who they were? what they did? where they are now?

''The photographs are found at fleamarkets, thriftshops, some are scooped up from streets and alleyways, fallen from an overstuffed bag or torn pocket. Others turn up in a cabinet’s hidden compartment, found while wandering the rooms of an abandoned house. Now the photos exist by themselves, lost in time. Time Tales does not want to reveal their mysteries. Time Tales asks to be the new home for lost photos, a resting place, for the nameless and the lost.''

- Timetales

Julia De Ville

2008-12-30T15:45:00.003Z

I just had to post these images of Julia de Ville's work. She is a contemporary jewellery designer and taxidermist who is influenced by the Memento Mori jewellery of the 15th to 18th centuries and Victorian mourning jewellery. By incorporating materials such as human hair, taxidermy and jet (a petrified wood historically used in Victorian mourning jewellery) she reminds us of our own mortality in a bold but beautiful way.

'I consider my taxidermy a celebration of life, a preservation of something beautiful.'

- Julia de Ville

http://www.discemori.com

A Quote...

2008-12-30T13:56:00.005Z

'...And here, the last words your fingers wrote, scrawled in broad characters accross a page in this brown book I gave you.'

- Edna St Vincent Millay

I love poetry and quotes and this one just seems so lovely. I wonder if anyone else has a favourite quote or poem which reminds them of something - a memory, a person, a place?

Lin Cheung

2008-12-30T13:44:00.004Z

I believe that all jewellery is ultimately conceptual: requiring a voice, our experiences, our thoughts and values to fully define it beyond a mere decorative object. Often, my work results in attempts to visualise the hidden values found or perceived in jewellery. The key to understanding jewellery lies within each of our own life experiences: past, present and future. Where better to start the process of exploring what jewellery is and can be, than with life itself.

-Lin Cheung

http://www.lincheung.co.uk/

Paula Salischiker

2008-12-30T13:05:00.003Z

Can photography fill the emptiness of death? Is a photograph enough to remember someone´s existence? Or are the objects the ones that bring us back the certainty that there was a past? Perhaps in the objects and in the longevity of images we find the same painful truth: what does not have a life will never die. Even after we are gone, we will be remembered through small things, pieces of who we were will be kept by the ones who loved us, while trying to escape the oblivion. My images are born from this gesture of remembrance.

-Paula Salischiker

I was really interested to discover the work of Paula Salischiker as it echoes my own idea of involving photos,objects and text to create a memory of someone or somewhere. She has done this through her photography - drawing a connection between a person and a belonging.
http://www.pausal.co.uk/projects.html

Jo Pond

2008-12-30T12:51:00.002Z

I came accross the work of Jo Pond a few years ago now and I just think it is absolutely beautiful!! I love the subtle colours and delicate appearance, it looks too good to wear! Every piece appears to be a little art work which is trying to convey a message or a story. http://www.jopond.com/

'Things we do for Love'

2008-12-30T12:17:00.007Z

I came accross the link for this exhibition on dailypoetics and was really interested by the concept behind the exhibition. 24 contemporary jewellery designers were asked 'what have you done for love's sake' and created a piece of jewellery inspired by the question. I particularly loved the piece made by Luzia Vogt 'A locket to hold a treasure of the loved person inside.' I love lockets and its so nice to see the traditional idea of a locket but with a contemporary edge.

http://www.dailypoetics.typepad.com/

http://www.platina.se/Pressrelease/Thingswedo_press.html

Jeanine Payer

2008-12-30T11:52:00.005Z

I recently came across the work of Jeanine Payer, a jewellery designer who uses text and poetry in her work. Her work is quite simple yet powerful.

http://www.jeaninepayer.com/

Some Things of Mine

2008-12-29T23:54:00.015Z

Just some images of things I have done in the past. As you can see the idea of using text and handwriting within my work is something I have always liked!

The Beauty of Handwriting

2008-12-29T22:37:00.006Z

One thing which will play a huge role in my work is handwriting and text. I have a huge love just now for vintage postcards which I get from The Scottish Antique & Arts Centre, Abernyte. There are hundreds of them, beautifully worn and aged with handwritten messages! I get very excited by them and think that they will look beautiful set in silver or resin. Handwritten notes and messages adds a very beautiful personal touch and gives the viewer a glimpse into the life of an otherwise unknown person.

The ceramic work of Fiona Gray incorporates this idea through her use of personal letters and diary entries. I find her work very inspiring - it is beautiful, precious and delicate and I hope you like it too. Here is a link to her shop and images of her work http://www.asmallfi.co.uk/

Where it began...

2008-12-29T20:42:00.001Z

The idea for my degree show came from quite a few different things. I have always been interested in vintage items and things from the past which show signs of age. The idea that these items once belonged to someone else fascinates me and I have always wondered who they were, what they liked about the item and the relationship they had with it. My engagement ring is antique and all I know about it is that it is from the 1930's - I would love to know who the ring once belonged to and what they were like!

When my granny died earlier this year I ended up with a lot of things which belonged to her, such as her jewellery box, her sewing and knitting box and hundreds and hundreds of buttons which she had kept from old cardigans and jumpers. These little items have such a sentimental value to me and remind me of her whenever I see them. It was then that I began thinking about the power of objects and the memories/stories they can reveal and how they could be incorporated into my jewellery designs.

Hello and Welcome

2008-12-29T19:49:00.001Z

Since this is my first post, I will begin by making the aim of this blog a little clearer. I hope that through this blog I can gather ideas and inspiration for my degree show and interact with others who are interested in my work, can contribute to my work or just share the same interests.

My main aim for this year is to create jewellery which provokes a memory or tells a story by drawing a connection between places, dates, times and people. I will draw on the memories, stories and lives of myself and others, gathering research from photos, handwritten cards/letters/journals and personal keepsakes. Found objects which relate to the person or memory will also be incorporated.

I hope that this blog will become an exchange of art works, memories, stories and photos between myself and visitors to this blog and these will form a large part of my design work and degree show. I will post regular images of my work as it develops, as well as the work of other artists and designers who inspire me and also anything I receive from the blog visitors. Hopefully it will be a success. xx