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Hammer formed vessel. Pierced, reticulated and fused, enamelled lichen

Britannia silver, sterling silver, vitreous enamel

250mm high x 130mm diameter approx

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AWARD 2018 - Short listed for the Schoonhoven Silver Award.

Exhibited at the VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM March 2016 - May 2017. 

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Availability: AVAILABLE NOW

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CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Photographer: Paul Mounsey, Sylvain Deleu & Syd Buron

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Please note: All items are produced by hand and may have small variations in appearance. Each piece is uniquely made in Cornwall.

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 Each of the ‘Lichen’ pieces are hand cut, formed and curated, making each item of jewellery a unique and one-off artwork. To find out about commissioning a ‘Lichen’ work please use the button below

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The Source of Inspiration

The ‘Boscawen-Un’ Vessel was the result of a lifelong interest in the ancient monuments of our landscape. From that original piece, a range of ‘lichen’ jewellery and silverware has developed. 

Standing stones often provide habitat for lichen and moss, a plant form which is usually overlooked but is particularly interesting when studied in close detail. Cornwall has an abundance of both ancient monuments and lichen. In the course of the research many monuments were visited around the country including Avebury, and Holy Cairn and Torhouskie in Dumfries & Galloway, however, the main focus was the Boscawen-Un Circle, a place that has particular resonance.  The vessels are intended to evoke the spirit of a monolith, a stone that has stood for generations, and feelings of ancient stillness.

Boscawen-Un is in southwest Cornwall in the Penwith district north of St Buryan by the road from Penzance to Land's End. Boscawen-Un is a Cornish name, from the words bos (farmstead) and scawen (elder or elderberry tree). The suffix Un denotes an adjacent pasture. Therefore, the name translates as the pasture of the farmstead at the elderberry tree.

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‘A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae and/or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi in a symbiotic relationship. The combined life form has properties that are very different from the properties of its component organisms.’ Wikipedia

The lichen on ‘Boscawen-Un’ Vessel symbolizes the symbiotic relationship that the ancestors, the builders of our ancient monuments, had with the land; a relationship we have lost in our modern culture.

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The Design Process

The design process for this range of works involved several visits to the Boscawen-Un Circle to observe, contemplate and meditate, and to document the stones through photography and sketches, particularly concentrating on their lichen growth. Observations and documentation of lichen has been extensive, both on standing stones and in other environments, throughout the project.

The lichen evolved through working and experimenting directly in the material. Numerous techniques and pierced patterns were used before settling on the final outcome. Many of these silver test pieces were then used to create colour tests in the enamel.

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The Production Method

The dish was hand sunk and planished using a variety of stakes and hammers, and then textured using a rock to beat the surface of the silver, before refining with texturing hammers. A small foot was then fabricated and soldered to the base of the dish. The lichen was pierced from sheet silver, hammered, reticulated, fused, and then vitreous enamel is applied & fired. The ‘lichen’ was then applied to the body of the dish and is intended to appear as if growing on the vessel.

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Please get in touch via the CONTACT page to commission a similar piece.

Commissions are handmade to order, please get in touch to discuss lead times and dates.

Each piece is individually made and styled and will vary in appearance.

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