Glorious Goldwork

I rather like January despite the cold damp weather. I’ve always found it a peaceful, reflective month in which to plan projects for the coming year, brush up on old techniques and find out about some new ones. At first glance nature seems to be pausing too, but of course she never really sleeps, as the green spikes of bulbs in my garden, and the tiny buds and tightly furled catkins along the hedgerow testify.

December is often too busy to get much crafting done, but is an ideal time to catch up on reading. I’ve treated myself recently to a wonderful set of ‘tomes’ on traditional Indian jewellery. Hours of happy study to look forward to within its 600 or so pages – it’s so heavy I struggle to lift it!

I love the rich multi-layered look of the skilfully crafted pieces and it inspires me to create something using a rich colour scheme of golds with some jewel like accents. I did some quick doodles last month and one of those provided a starting point.

 One of the techniques I’m keen to explore this year is ‘goldwork’ which uses a variety of textured metal threads and wires. Traditionally it is often done on a background of silk dupion, which ties in nicely with all my recent experiments with this material. I’ve also treated myself to a variety of goldwork threads and materials and I can’t wait to start creating some exciting new pieces with them.

January promises to be a very enriching month craftwise!