Forming foliage

At the moment I’m intrigued by the foliage in the garden. The way the ivy climbs up the water tank just begs to be recreated as jewellery.

I’m certainly not the first jeweller to think this, there is a long history of foliage as a motif in jewellery and decorative arts. From the Alphonse Mucha’s Ivy panel, where the ivy forms a border and cascades through the model’s hair, to decorative wallpapers, friezes and stained glass. Ivy was used to symbolise eternal life, and fidelity because it is evergreen and clings to its host, but was also associated with Dionysus/Bacchus and vigour.

The leaves I’ve created were first formed in wax, then cast in sterling silver. I’m now developing them into a set of pieces, from single leaf pendants and brooches, to twining chokers featuring cascading foliage.