BESPOKE GEMS
discover the art of the gemcutter
Motifs and Stories
A series of miniature sculptures drawing inspiration from traditional Japanese and Asian motifs and stories.
There is a tradition stretching back as far history goes of gemstones being fashioned to record stories upon their surfaces and to portray culturally significant motifs and symbols. The people of the ancient Roman and Greek empire were fond of their engraved intaglio gems and cylindrical “story” stones often worn as rings or used as seals. The Egyptians are famously associated with the scarab beetle. The Chinese and Japanese cultures have long traditions of working and carving jade and other stones, and the list most certainly goes on.
Humans have had a very, very long association with gemstones indeed. I find that such a very interesting concept and wonder just why it is we hold some stones in such high esteem and not others. We raise grand buildings and monuments from stone and wear gems upon our bodies. Where and how did this relationship come about?
Each piece in my Motifs and Stories collection is a thoughtful combination of an inspiration or idea with a particular stone. Every stone has its own unique shape and I have found over time that they will lend themselves to one thing or another. I will look at a stone and think, perhaps because of its relative thinness for example, that it would be perfect for leaves, such as in my carving of Five Ginkgo Leaves or in another piece of raw stone I may see koi carp leaping up a waterfall. Granted, it can take a bit of imagination but if you can keep the mind’s eye open it is surprising what it can see.
Some of my most challenging work has been in this genre. Taking an idea or a story and portraying it through a three dimensional piece of stone requires a certain distillation of essence. The finished object has to embody what it is you are trying to represent. I have found that Chinese and Japanese artisans are especially skilled at doing this.
Take for example the netsuke carvings or the sublime lacquer work of the Japanese artisans. Their ability to capture a scene is astounding and it boggles my mind the skill that is required and the years of training and practice it must take to produce work so profoundly natural and seemingly simple. When such work truly and so effortlessly appears so, you know you are looking at the work of a master.
I have a particular love of rose quartz and it's soothing soft pink hues that glow gently with inner warmth and serenity.