This weekend I was back to West Dean for the Sculptural Sustainable Wood Jewellery course.
I booked this a while ago and had been really looking forward to it. I was not disappointed.
I love wood as a material, love how warm it feels and how versatile it is, so when I saw the things Sarah King, our tutor, had made I couldn’t wait to find out more.
It was a small class with 5 of us and we all had some knowledge of jewellery making so it made for quite a relaxed class with Sarah showing us techniques and then allowing us to use them in any way we wanted.
We started by making a hard wood pendent with silver dots inlayed. The technique is quite simple, but looks very effective.
Next I made an ebony ring with more silver inlayed. This time a strip along the top with some dots down the sides. Getting the shape right took the time with this one. Finishing both of these with wax made them sing.
On our second day I worked mostly in lime wood, which was much softer to work with. Again I made rings, but this time more sculptural using holes and paint to give an interesting surface.
I also made a laminate with I cut up to make a pair of ear rings, although I didn’t quite get them finished. It won’t take long in my jewellery class next week.
Many of the things we worked on, we used superglue to keep in place. This was very reassuring as I’d never thought using glue in jewellery making was very professional, but it shows there is a time and a place.
I really enjoyed the weekend and learnt so much. Now I’m trying to work out how I could incorporate glass with wood, maybe in rings or brooches. I love how going on courses like this builds on what I’ve learn before and while I might not have a fully formed idea now, it’s the sort of thing that will come with time.
