'spore': wire and fibre flower brooch
Some of my first wire and fibre creations were embroidered brooches - I made a series of seven and each had a name; marshmallow (pink!), forest/moss (dark green) and rainforest (darker green with black accents), into the garden (lush green lawns with flowers), and so on. The names have stuck, reappearing whenever I work on a piece in a particular colourway if it seems appropriate.
the original 'spore' brooch
Some of the names are a little 'odder' than the others; 'spore' and 'skookumchuk' for example.
The 'spore' series came about when I was working with some purple fibres and found objects/upcycled jewelry-making remnants on an embroidered flotsam brooch. Around the same time I also cleaned out the car. My son was around 4 years old, a champion snacker and litterbug. Some of the detritus I found around his car seat had taken on a life of its own (I did wash my hands between jobs, rest assured). I added the fruiting bodies, the little stems with metal crimp cover beads, to my work after this discovery.
'skookumchuk': wire and fibre flower brooch
'Skookumchuk' appeared following a holiday to the Sunshine Coast. One day we took a hike to the famous whirlpools of the Skookumchuk Narrows which form at the entrance to the Sechelt Inlet.
whirlpools at the Skookumchuk Narrows
The word itself is derived from Chinook jargon, the old trading language for the area, for 'strong waters'. The strong swirls and eddies were incredbly impressive, almost to the point of inducing nervousness. The original blue flotsam brooch featured embroidered or wire swirls and waves on its surface, inspired by the whirlpools, plus other 'jewels from the sea'.
the original 'skookumchuk' wire and fibre brooch - note the wire mesh offcut used as the canvas
Of course, none were as weird as the brooch 'space junk', made from smashed up cell phone innards and inspired totally by The Clangers
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