10 x 5 x 3.5 cm | 12 x 2 x 2 cm, 4 g
Sterling Silver, Fibres
The artists decided to collaborate as a way of stretching beyond their familiar mediums. Within their work, Chantal and Katherine both reference form, texture, and colour palettes found in Nature. It seemed a natural progression for them to co-create objects that mirror such organic elements. This collaboration is about making connections, literally and metaphorically; they engaged in this with the hope that two artists might find a way to create something seamless, as if emerging from one breath.
The labour of the artists' hands allows disparate elements, wool and metals, to coalesce together. By challenging each other's perspectives, the artists were able to arrive at a more developed outcome than they could have reached on their own. The resulting artifacts achieve a balance between push and pull, soft and hard, flexible and rigid.
Chantal was called to use wet felting techniques to create soft sculptural shapes by painting with fibres such as wool, silk, and flax. Bead embellishments were then needle felted onto the surface.
Katherine employed a variety of metalsmithing techniques including wire wrapping, soldering, and work hardening sterling silver wire to shape unique earring wires from which the felted organic forms could drape.
The coalescence of materials and techniques allows soft fibres to take form and hard metal to gently flow.