Punched Stud Earrings, 2015

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.