Grant McCaig | Ovalis

This series of brooches explore an idea of wholeness and clarity. There is a determined omission of decoration across the group encouraging an awareness of the deeper primal sensory qualities; form, surface and material. The pairing down and stripping away of decoration, remains part of the tradition of looking inward; introspection and self-reflection. The oval (Ovalis (Latin)) form is a common motif throughout, a shape that sits at the nucleus of the group.

Working in silver is inspiring and creative, technical and expressive. Using the traditional techniques of the silversmith as my foundation, I build pieces that explore the relationship between functionality and self-expression. I want my work to be individual in design and concept and give pleasure to the user. There is something magical about silver. When it arrives in the brown paper and card board packaging, which is promptly unwrapped and examined, a voyage of discovery begins. I have never once look at a sheet of silver and thought nothing of it. My mind skips to the possibilities and the ideas that I originally purchased the metal for tend to pale in the face of the endless possibilities that lie before me. Soft and rounded, or crisp with sharp edges and plain bold surfaces! Silver, you will find, can do it all

The simplicity of each piece is balanced with my fascination for the complexity of mechanisms. Jewellery, for me, has to be worn to be fully realised. Connecting to the body Is the challenge of making pieces to be worn; whilst producing something that is both enduring and practical it must be elegant and well considered and effortless to use. The carved pear wood pieces offered the greatest technical challenge. I did not want to compromise the simplicity and purity of the form or the material with an ill-conceived pin. The Final design encompasses the dynamism of all materials used; the softness of the wood with the tension of the stainless steel.