Materials: Mild steel, roll of caps
Dimensions: 25mm diameter
A mild steel ‘cap carrier’ brooch.
Photo credit: Craig Isaac
Craig Isaac
Brighton, East Sussex. UK
Hampshire boy Craig Isaac trained in jewellery at Epsom School of Art and Middlesex University where he achieved a BA Hons first class degree. His final years work was a collection of mouth jewellery inspired by orthodontic braces. Adopting dental mold making processess allowed him to make bespoke removable tooth decoration, which were spotted by stylist Katie England, and shot by Rankin for Dazed and Confused and later appeared in the publication Rankin Works.
Recent work has continued to cross contemporary/fashion jewellery boundaries and has been included in a number of publications including; The Compendium of Contemporary Jewellers, Sustainable Jewellery, New Directions in Jewellery I and II. There are fluctuations in the style of work but it continues to maintain a glance to the past and uses the objects within those memories.
Jeweller Lin Cheung once wrote “Craig Isaac manipulates the detritus of working class male culture to create a sequence of parodic but elegant jewellery”.
He remains to be inspired by the nostalgia of forgotten items such as the ‘wishbone’ from the family Sunday lunch. He has created pieces that rejuvenate all the associations of this traditional dinner ritual. ‘Furcula Repair’ is a collection of polished and blackened silver necklaces, earrings and rings that re-introduce and restores value to this forgotten ritual.
The necklace is a favourite of actress and style icon Karen Gillan who plays Amy Pond in the BBC’s Dr Who. The collection is currently available from the East London boutique Luna and Curious and Pitch 66 on Upper Gardner Street Market Brighton.
These containers and vessels definitely hold their place in the world of stunning art objects as well as in the world of metalsmithing.
Since the dawn of time humans have created containers to hold things that were important to them, from large vessels to hold food and harvests to intimate containers for small precious things. They might hold memories, ashes, medicine, beverage, fruit or food - but all spring from the imagination and skill of the maker. Some have specific religious functions, some are meant for everyday use. When one thinks of a vessel or container the inclination is to think of something with solid walls - yet many of these works involve the exploration of positive and negative space, and the use of negative space to help create the illusion of the wall of the vessel.
As the world’s largest jewelry related internet site, Ganoksin strives to develop exhibitions showcasing work from around the world. This exhibition was open to all metalsmiths, professional and amateur, advanced and beginner. Participants are from The Netherlands, the USA, Canada, Australia, Costa Rica, the United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Colombia, Romania, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia and Denmark. While most of the pieces are by an individual metalsmith, some are collaborations, one of three artists spanning 50 years.
In total 319 artists contributed 729 show pieces for the permanent online exhibition.
Objects in the exhibition include boxes, lockets, urns, ash containers, bowls, wine cups, reliquaries, match holders, vases, teapots, pitchers, sugar bowls, baskets, nests, pillboxes, clutches and a range of sculptural forms. A variety of techniques are showcased covering a wide range of metalsmithing techniques. Materials used include everything from gold and silver to less expensive metals. Ornamentation includes the addition of enamel, chasing and repousse’, gemstones and found objects.
The exhibition was curated by Beth Wicker, President of the North Carolina Society of Goldsmiths in the United States, and Adjunct Instructor at Northeastern Technical College in South Carolina. Director of the exhibition is Hanuman Aspler, founder of The Ganoksin Project, the world’s largest internet jewelry site.
