An Evolving Stone Series

It’s hard to believe it has been about a year since I first introduced the Wishing Stone Collection! The past year has felt so long and so short at once. The collection initially came together quite quickly and intuitively following a trip to Newfoundland in the early fall of last year. Since then, it has evolved and expanded slowly as I continued to reflect upon and examine my main inspiration: wishing stones.

The past year has been one of change, often filled with discomfort stemming from uncertainty and having to adapt to new ways of doing things. This sort of upheaval of the familiar status quo inevitably rippled into my art practice, but in ways I never could have anticipated. While the world around me was turned upside down, it felt difficult at times to continue making work in the way I always had. I couldn’t have foreseen that changing the way I created work would be the beginning of an exciting new series.

In the early peak of the pandemic, many of my main suppliers were temporality shut down. I was getting low on some of my essential materials, but knew that the only way I could cope with my stress and anxiety surrounding the pandemic was to continue to spend time in my studio keeping my hands busy. In a fury to distract myself one day, I pulled out my scrap metal bin, and started sorting through bits and pieces of discarded metal, amongst which were pieces of brass wire. I started forming the wire into a soft oval form, the shape of a stone, which at this point, had become something comforting and familiar. I hammered the metal and soldered on additional wire to create a thin line, the characteristic feature of a wishing stone. It wasn’t an immediate ah-ha moment, but I continued to make these forms in different shapes and sizes until I realized I had taken a big step in a new direction. Focusing on the silhouette and line of each stone was a way to capture just the right amount of necessary detail to convey the notion of a special stone. 

This way of working, fabricating each individual piece from scratch, is technically quite different from many of my other designs which can be replicated infinitely using a mould, and a process called lost wax casting. With my new wire wishing stone designs, each piece is one of a kind; no two pieces are exactly alike, which is also the way real stones exist in the natural world. 

Over the past year, I’ve also taken a lot of time to think about and study stones by creating work in other mediums like watercolour paint, and spending lots of time outdoors, looking at and sitting with stones in the landscape. 

This new series, the Wishing Stone Silhouette series, began as earrings, and has expanded to include rings, pendants, and a bracelet design is currently in the works too! In the past month, I’ve also started experimenting with creating more three dimensional pieces by incorporating an arch instead of a flat line. I’m really excited about how this series is coming together. Keep and eye out for a shop update very soon where you will be able to browse and shop this new series online. 

Thanks for reading! :)