Meagan Meredith

The jewelry I make will mostly contain an aspect of wax carving as part of the manufacturing process. The wax object is translated into metal via a lost wax casting procedure. The sculptural element of wax carving has held my attention from the very beginning of my ronduvue with jewelry making, and experimenting with translating various objects and textures into metal is a continuing interest.

Working with wax allows me the possibility of creating realistic miniature representations that translate as fragments of the physical world and the imagination. These may be merely decorative or they have the possibility of being imbued, I like to believe, with another significance. This quality comes from bridging the divide between the instinctive, intuitive inner reality (that is expressed mostly through symbols) and the outer world of form, which is true of course of anyone engaged in the creative process. Jewellery as talisman or amulet would be an example of this; it could entail a personal symbolism or be part of a larger collective unconscious.

There is another aspect regarding the concept of jewelry as artifact that fits in well with this understanding. Jewelry is worn close to the body and mostly in contact with the skin. The manufacturing process is also a "hands on" task. It is said that an object can retain a certain quality or energy from the various people who make, handle and wear it.

In the belief that the artifact contains the maker's energy, craftsmen of past civilizations engaged in meditation and purification rituals before starting work. This practice is still alive in modern Japan among the blacksmiths who make ceremonial weapons.

What I find interesting about this point of view, is that it throws a whole new light on "Hand Made".

Text: Meagan Meredith