Spiritus Centrepiece
Sterling silver, Britannia silver & Fine silver
H 500mm x W 580mm x D 350mm
2014

Whilst visiting The Orkney Islands, I was inspired by the undulating and succulent seaweed forms that I found on the beach. I was moved to take photographs and make drawings in order to capture their essence and to then try and translate these qualities into silver. I have tried to capture the tidal movement of the waves with the aim of achieving a sensuous surface and fluid form in the piece.

It was a challenge to make a contemporary piece of this size using traditional techniques such as fold forming. I folded the silver in half and used a textured hammer in order to apply patterns to the surface and then opened it out to reveal a three-dimensional form.

The technique of anti-clastic raising was employed to form the tail end, to stretch the metal in two different directions. The wires were then hand forged from thick metal rods to produce tapering lengths of two metre wire. The technique of hammering and soldering were used throughout the making process in order to produce the graceful curvature of the piece.

I really love how the piece is able to show something new and interesting as you look at it from different perspectives.