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Julie Blyfield makes jewellery, small-scale vessels and sculptural objects in her studio nestling in the garden of her home in Adelaide, South Australia. Inspired by the botanical landscape in Australia, Julie’s favoured medium of expression is silver. This she uses in its softer pure form as well as in its stronger alloyed form – sterling silver. Her jewellery and vessels are characterised by seductive textured surfaces created using traditional silversmithing techniques such as hammering, chasing, punching and piercing. Rhythmical repetition is a key element of both her design process and her aesthetic, and the use of colour is also apparent. Following the traumatising Australian bushfires of 2007, Blyfield echoed the scorched colour and searing heat with enamel paint and startling glints of gold and silver set against charred blacks and ash greys.
‘My work is inspired by the botanical landscape in Australia, which I interpret in my metal work using the technique of ‘metal raising’ and ‘chasing’. I enjoy exploring and collecting plant specimens from rich and diverse environments such as the Simpson Desert in the north of South Australia and further south around the coast of Kangaroo Island. Working with both pure silver and sterling silver as my preferred choice of material, I texture the surface to create individual pieces in the form of vessels and also more sculptural pieces. During the making process, I enjoy the way the metal ‘moves and shifts’ in almost unpredictable ways to create the organic forms which shimmer with the silver textures or colours derived from nature.’ – Julie Blyfield, 2016
Public Collections include:
Aberdeen Art Gallery; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, Australia; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia; National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh; V&A, London
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