COUP de ‘BLUES’ avec Emily GILL, fascinated with biology

Emily Gill
« Jewellery is supposed to be fun. Fun to make, fun to wear. And DIFFERENT. I like to play when I design my jewellery »

« For years I worked with plants – in greenhouses, flower shops and nurseries. This fascination with biology first inspired me to imagine my own organisms as jewellery objects. Microscopic cells, cross-section of plants, and richly illustrated collections of botanical and marine specimens give me a visual base from which I create playful, tactile pieces.
I am continually guided by a child-like curiosity, searching for special characteristics of a plant which I might recreate as wearable jewellery. By observing the minuscule and delicate workings of plants and marine life, I find inspiration to recreate those shapes, forms and textures in metal. I enjoy playing with scale; zooming in on small details and building them large enough to change from tiny specimens to their own entities with unique personalities. The addition of colour through enamel brings jewellery further to life. I find this process intriguing, as it can be controlled or unpredictable, vibrant or subtle in appearance. I look for interesting methods of cold connecting these enameled bodies together in ways that, like in living creatures, can serve both a structural and aesthetic purpose. »

She works with a group of  jewellers at a cooperative studio in Toronto : www.jewelenvy.ca
« An important part of my design process is to utilize the structural elements of jewellery (how something is constructed, built, assembled) with its aesthetic qualities. »

« Arthropod » &  ‘Mitosis » Broochs/Pendants 

 In this piecees I have connected the enamelled components to the copper ones entirely with tabs and tension. I play with form and volume, what is concave and convex, hidden and showing. The back of the piece is equally as important as the front, as it too reveals something special

Arthropod Brooch/Pendant

Endemic Species Pendant

Vegetative Propagation (Brooch)  – ooops ! it’s not blue ? but I love it !

Aristotle’s Lantern Pendant/Brooch

« I was completely inspired by the botanical/marine illustrations in my hardcover edition of « A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities ». Aristotle’s lantern is the actual descriptive name of the mouth of a sea urchin. I interpreted the forms into this large pendant. »

You can SHOP all this on Etsy !

 

Upcoming Exhibition: YIELD 
Harbourfront Centre, York Quay Centre, South-facing vitrines
Saturday, April 16, 2011 – Sunday June 12, 2011    
Opening Reception Friday, April 15 6-10pm (coinciding with 7 other opening exhibitions at York Quay Centre)

YIELD: 8 Canadian Jewellers
Featuring work by  Catherine Allen, Colleen Baran, Paul McClure, Emily Gill, Anneke von Bommel, Bridget Catchpole, Silvie Altschuler, and Shannon Kennedy
York Quay Centre at Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto
www.harbourfrontcentre.com