Cecilia Nel

Brief biography

Cecilia is born in the Northern Cape, in small town called Loeriesfontein. She grew up on a farm, after she matriculated she decided to study Jewellery design and Manufacture at cape Peninsula University of technology. She is now in her 3^rd year, graduating at the end of 2011. She is planning on doing her degree in 2012.

Principle Concern

She chose the ‘Rococo’ era to base her 3^rd year on. Her wish is to design and manufacture jewellery that everybody would like. Her designs are quite similar to the era to recognize the jewellery from certain aspects for eg. tipe settings, tipes of designs, cut outs, etc.

Attitude towards design

She is very open minded when it comes to designing, meaning that she tries to explore all sorts of ideas and designs. When she finds an idea that she likes she tries to make it work. She likes bold and abstract jewellery. She plays around with ideas on paper and design until she is satisfied with something. This way she’ll always be excited to complete the manufacturing of the piece.

Themes

Since she started studying at CPUT she worked around designing to the Victorian/Rococo era. She likes patterns, curls, swirls and cut-outs as she feels one can do a lot with it. She looks a lot at the architecture and clothing of that era to inspire her. She personally doesn’t really wear jewellery but, likes pieces that are elegant and has an ‘old’ touch to it.

Aims and Aspirations

At this stage she is looking at completing her studies, and degree. She also wants to enjoy the rest of the course at CPUT, memories that will always live her by. Looking into the future, she would like to own her own shop. Although she says she would be satisfied working for a small period of time as an sales person to gain some experience.

Influences

She looks at pictures that she likes to get inspired but like most of us, she’ll also get bitten by the ‘idea-bug’ and then draw it onto paper. She believes to start off with a simple shape and explore and modify it to get herself an amazing piece by adding other techniques and elements.

Marketing herself

At this moment the only way she is marketing herself is by telling people that she is studying Jewellery design. She believes the rest will take care of itself. She will adjust her marketing as she goes on, depending on where she is in life. She also believes in by word of mouth.

Use of materials

From first year she has been working with silver, copper and brass but mainly only uses silver now. She incorporates a lot of stones, resin, Perspex, pearls and enamels as she feels it suits her design style.

Techniques

She uses all the techniques that she has learnt so far. There isn’t one specific that she likes, but sticks to the basics because she believes using one main technique will carry you through and works for her. She uses other techniques like blackening, fly-pressing, repousse, etc.

Silver earrings with pearl

                          Silver ring with pearls; silver neckpiece. All 3 items part of her 10 piece project

        Some of her work during the year. As one can see, she likes abstract things and a lot of swirls.

Local Jewellery designer

•Theresa Burger is a jewellery designer based in Cape Town, South Africa and Dublin, Ireland.  She is a graduate of Cape Town Peninsula University of Technology. Between 2005 and 2009 she completed a BTech degree in Jewellery Design and Manufacture and  graduated top in her class. In those five years she was trained as a silversmith, learning metalworking techniques, drawing and design.

•The training also included hand manufacturing in 18ct gold and platinum in the final 2 years. She also took part in a national platinum competition, PlatAfrica in 2008 and 2009.She likes to combine wood an resin with precious metals. She has got a strong passion for design.

•She is currently enrolled at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, in a 2 year MA degree.

 

Although a lot of her designs are very nature-like, she recently started using (and learning) the CAD CAM technology where drawing up the pieces on Rhino and then cutting and casting them.

“I love life and I am fortunate enough to be able to travel regularly and delight in absorbing foreign cultures and sights.”

She believes exposure to such places and people helps with her design inspiration and self awareness. She also feels that the process of designing and making her own jewellery enriches her life and she loves exploring these creative energies. 
 

Although a lot of her designs are very nature-like, she recently started using (and learning) the CAD CAM technology where drawing up the pieces on Rhino and then cutting and casting them.

“I love life and I am fortunate enough to be able to travel regularly and delight in absorbing foreign cultures and sights.”

She believes exposure to such places and people helps with her design inspiration and self awareness. She also feels that the process of designing and making her own jewellery enriches her life and she loves exploring these creative energies.

•She manufacture most types of jewellery, from rings, neckpieces, earrings and brooches. She describes her jewellery as being contemporary individualistic items that reflects her creativity. She enjoys the designing process and her items always begin with pencil and paper. The most important aspects to her designing is that the objects are wearable and aesthetically pleasing. The meshing of these two elements in a design are essential to all the jewellery she designs and manufacture.

 “I go through stages where my designs are very organic and narrative in nature and then stages where they are abstract and the designs are less literal.”

•Where does her design inspirations come from?

•There are many things that inspire her, she believes that it is imperative as a creative person, one must know what inspires you. She also believes that anything that has potential, has the power to inspire us. She is very inspired by the beauty of nature (where as I am aswell) but also by previous art and craft movements, her favourite being the Art Deco period. A lot of her work also revolves  around autobiographical themes, and sources from her own personal experiences. With her current collection it is Africa that is her source of inspiration, like colours, textures and vibrancy serve as fantastic inspiration sources.

 

 

•What materials and methods does she use? She has mostly been working in silver, but also have gold and some platinum experience. Her 2008-2009 graduate collection consists mainly of silver, semi-precious stones and resin. The collection mainly revolves around her family tree and each item was inspired and designed around various family members, the tree going back 3 generations. For this particular collecting she used more traditional metal fabrication techniques, a lot of hollow construction and piercing. Of course resin work is a big favourite of hers and she loves experimenting with various ideas. She produced a collection of rings where she made the ‘stones’ from the resin in different geometric shapes, using clear resin set holding suspended gold or silver leaf. She is currently working on a collection she calls ‘AfricaRich’ . This body of work is more commercial and designs have been simplified for faster production. She has incorporated silver, different woods, bone, animal horn, recycled glass beads and epoxy resin to create vibrant and fun items.

•I really can relate to her tipe of work because I also feel comfortable and inspired by nature but sometimes like clean lines and geometric shapes. It is also very inspiring to see how beautifully she incorporates resin and wood into her designs, something I really want to look into.

•http://www.theresaburger.com/

•www.theresaburger.com/blog

•www.kitandcaboodle.ning.com/profile/TheresaBurger

case study: international jewellery designer

John S. Brana

 

Distinctive jewellery….

•John S. Brana was fortunate to grow up in a house where art and craft was encouraged. His father who was a artist and teacher was his first and certainly most important inspiration. He grew up watching his father perfecting his techniques in metal, resin casting, fabrication and woodworking. After taking a few art classes he realized that he wanted to expand his interests and knowledge into ceramics and stained glass. He attended the University of Michigan and helped his father build up his sculpture business.

    “My aesthetics and philosophy have been shaped by my family, world travel and the cultural diversity of Northern      California.”

           He moved to San Francisco Bay in 1990 where he worked in the legal and banking professions. After his fathers death in 2003 he decided to re-consider his priorities and decided to follow his childhood passion for crafts. This is where it all began…

Design philosophy

          “Nature is my primary source of inspiration. Whether I’m driving down the coast, strolling through a park or tending my garden, the natural world shows that the creative combinations of colours, textures, patterns shapes and symbols are endless.”

  As I do, John also gets his inspiration from nature and not just by looking at it but also joining and experiencing it. He loves creating special handcrafted jewellery with a personal touch. His style is very classic and contemporary but each piece is uniquely manufactured and made from top quality materials.

  Normally when not designing for someone specific he likes to get a specific ‘character’  to design around. He believes this way it makes his design more interesting and makes the whole process more challenging.

Materials

  In his studio, John likes to use 14-24carat gold, copper, silver and gold precious metal clay. He incorporates hand-picked sterling silver and  vermeil beads, faceted gemstones, fresh-water pearls, Venetian glass and hand carved  semi-precious and precious gemstones.

Techniques

  He likes to use intecrate detail like filigree and putting together a big piece with wire. He also uses techniques like wax carving to cast and texturing to make it look real.

Contribution to the design world

  He has a very big contribution to the design world. Not necessarily  just on design it self but also to what it will become. I say this because people like John S. Brana inspire me because if you take a look at his story  you will notice that he actually has a executive background and that he found inspiration so close to him that he had no choice but to follow it himself and today he is a well known designer and manufacturer in San Francisco. He build up his studio and career from nothing and made it big.

          The relevance of his work to mine is that we draw our inspiration from the same source. I also like to do things in nature and use it as a sound board instead of just looking at the shapes and textures. Also, I like to add a personal touch to everything and make it more special. I only like making handmade jewellery and accessories  and therefore I feel we have a lot in common when it comes to the industry.

Some interesting facts…….

  Seeing that John has a special connection with nature, it is not a surprise that he is a jeweller that tries to use recycled metal and material to  manufacture his stunning designs. He also tries to incorporate the rustic recycled  look into his design to  create a stunningly unique design but says that it is possible for it not to look that way because not all materials have to look recycled.

  He started to use aluminum as a metal in his jewellery as it is less reactive, more affordable and also very light weight.

  John likes to try out new and innovative techniques and to keep up with new technology although he still goes back to doing it the old way. He is not afraid to try a new product or enhancements, because in the end he might’ve just gained some experience  and a wonderful way to add to his designs.

  "After seeing the fashion and jewellery industries suffer this holiday season, I decided I would make it easier for customers seeking handcrafted fine jewellery to find me," says Brana of his business strategies. "And when they do find me, I want to be sure I’m giving them the styles they want."  Brana is known for his handcrafted jewellery designs inspired by the landscapes of San Francisco and has been consistently experimenting with new textures, such as embossing, or adding new layers to his metallic collection of "SOMA" jewellery.”

Relevant to me…….

  I find his work inspiring and his design style very similar to mine. He likes to add meaning to something rather than just making something. One day, when I have found my feet and is settled, I would like to look back on all the learning curves and where it has brought me to that day.

 bibliography:

•Google

–http://www.johnsbrana.com/

–http://www.handmadecopperjewelry.com/

–http://www.jbrana.blogspot.com/

Elretha Brynard

209075945

Design diary

 I like this bangle, because I think it is something that suites me and that I would wear. I like it because it is big, bold and quite plain!

 I came across this picture and thought it was absolutely beautiful. I have never seen butterflies like these around here. The colour is very rich and I also like the fact that the two different shades fade into each other.

 This piece of jewellery I will most certainly not wear! I just think this is very interesting and well made. It is one of those pieces that tries to tell you something about the person wearing it, something very deep and personal.

This little fishy is very cute! I'm not so sure if it is a real fish but either way it is very cute with its big-out-of-proportion body and little tail. The colours on it is also very striking, which attracts me a lot.

infecting the city. . .

To be quite honest, I would not have known about infecting the city if Mark didn't tell us about it. The only add i saw was in the train station, which I only noticed after we had been there. . . therefor I think they should have done a little bit more when it comes to advertising the event. Otherwise I thought it was quite succesful, very interesting types of 'art' and most definately something to think about! Everyday that I walked past, there was a different artist performing, attracting new people everyday. I think it is a great way of tyring to make people aware of the great artists that we have and also 'galleries' that we never seem to visit or know of.

Handmade

I believe handmade jewellery in particular has more value and character because it was not constructed by a machine. This means that more time and effort and special care was put into it which makes a piece then just more appreciated and desired.




What makes good design?




For me good design is something that pops off the page, something interesting to look at, something that makes you think. . .