"Phantasm is from Middle English fantasme, a borrowing from Anglo-French fantasme, which itself is a derivative of Latin and Greek words—and ultimately the Greek verb phantazein, meaning "to present to the mind." The Greek verb took shape from phainein, meaning "to show," and this root appears in several English words that have to do with the way things seem or appear rather than the way they really are. Phantasmagoria and diaphanous are examples. Also from this root are words such as fanciful and fantasy, in which the imagination plays an important part."
As someone who grew up in a small town on a farm, surrounded by nature, most of my inspiration comes from plants and animals. I like taking pictures during hiking or gardening or go through macro photos of plants and then using these examples for sketches to turn my ideas into silver jewelry. I try to make everything from scratch which is silver sheets and wires, or carved from wax and then cast in silver – the only exception is the clasps for chains and the pin bits for the brooches. I like experimenting with different methods and techniques to bring my ideas to life hence the textures on certain pieces are always hand fabricated, often made by hammering, rolling milling or carving/engraving in specific ways but with regular tools.
My art process usually goes by "Taking pictures -> sketching ideas based on the pictures -> making a few test pieces either from wax or silver -> updating the original sketch -> making the final piece". The test pieces aren’t thrown away either, they often end up as something I wear or I make a whole new piece of them. Creating my pieces themselves for the first time is always a little different and usually their final version is the second or third try. For example if I’m making a wax carving, I would use a little wax cube, transfer the sketch onto it then with a regular scalpel or metal ball burr I would carve it to shape. Working with silver is very different than wax because I have to choose the right size of sheet, wire, the right method to bend them, cut them, solder them. Sometimes even during a process I get new ideas and the piece might not end up how I originally planned. That is why sometimes the first idea might not be what I end up going with when I add it to my showcase or simply because I’m not satisfied with the size, weight, shape of the end results. However, it’s always exciting to make something for the first time, the trials and errors and the joy of success is something as an artist I find very enjoyable.
Even if a piece doesn’t work out how I intended it, the journey there always holds something to learn!
My art process usually goes by "Taking pictures -> sketching ideas based on the pictures -> making a few test pieces either from wax or silver -> updating the original sketch -> making the final piece". The test pieces aren’t thrown away either, they often end up as something I wear or I make a whole new piece of them. Creating my pieces themselves for the first time is always a little different and usually their final version is the second or third try. For example if I’m making a wax carving, I would use a little wax cube, transfer the sketch onto it then with a regular scalpel or metal ball burr I would carve it to shape. Working with silver is very different than wax because I have to choose the right size of sheet, wire, the right method to bend them, cut them, solder them. Sometimes even during a process I get new ideas and the piece might not end up how I originally planned. That is why sometimes the first idea might not be what I end up going with when I add it to my showcase or simply because I’m not satisfied with the size, weight, shape of the end results. However, it’s always exciting to make something for the first time, the trials and errors and the joy of success is something as an artist I find very enjoyable.
Even if a piece doesn’t work out how I intended it, the journey there always holds something to learn!