Ordinary objects turned into silver

My name is Rachel Llewellyn and I make narrative jewellery based on secrets, stories and memories. I was born in Aberdare in Wales, but moved to Staffordshire, the heart of the Potteries, when I was 19 to study 3D Design & Crafts. I used to visit the museums and wander around the seconds factory shops and I am sure that this had an influence on my work.

During this time I became interested in culture and the notions of things both sacred and ordinary. What is ordinary to one person may be regarded as very special to another; it is this perception that interests me most. I remember visiting my Gran’s house as a child where I would marvel at the precious objects she kept stashed away, play with her glass perfume bottles, and listen to the conversations she and my mother would have over a long cup of tea. I set out to make work that would explore this cross-over of cultural identity and question what sacredness means.

In my work I enjoy making ordinary objects seem unexpectedly sacred. I often do this by miniaturizing them and using precious metals. Each object is my interpretation of the full scale real object not just a scaled down version, which gives them their own character and a preciousness that the original object may not have initially possessed. I regard my tiny objects as sacred vessels; they hold memories, stories and feelings. They speak of nostalgia, memories of work and play, stories of people’s lives both past and present.

I am fascinated in objects touched by people and the stories of their lives. I particularly like vessels, tools, and utensils such as cutlery, pans, or cups, that may have been used everyday by somebody. The objects depicted in my work are typical to ordinary life, so that when you look at a piece of my work you can impress your own stories and memories onto it. After a lifetime of wear who knows where it will have been and what it will have seen. What stories it could tell if only it could speak! I was inspired to make this bracelet after seeing some miniature pans at the Roman Baths. It fascinated me that real people had used these pans a long time ago to throw offerings to the Goddess Sulis Minerva. It reminded me of my Gran’s glass cabinet, her precious vases and jugs could be precious or ordinary, depending on how they were used by their owner.

The jugs

I make each of the jugs by hand; fabricating sheet silver, and soldering on wire for the handles, then embellishing each miniature vessel with details. I may give a jug a certain handle, or a curiously shaped spout, or I may make its body fat or tall,buckled, shiny or tarnished. This is all part of the fun of making. I add different details according to whim and visual judgement, and I am never quite sure what the end result will be! I then make the chain of the bracelet from wire, and vary the shape of the jumprings to give further interest to the piece. Finally I polish the bracelet in my barrelling machine and then alter the finishes on some of the jugs to add to the character of the final piece. Finally I send it out into the world to continue its journey and make its own story.