Jan 2020: Metalsmithing, cloisonné enamel, engraving, garnets and petrified palmwood
(all pieces in private collections)
My Hopeless Romantic collection was my second cloisonné-focused collection. It was inspired by the poetry of Keats and launched in January 2020 before the poop hit the fan.
Here’s what I first wrote about it:
Growing up, I had literature and art the way other people had friends. But I came to Keats somewhat late, and as a direct result of a kind of 'spiritual awkwardness' aka me being an opposite-person. Here's how:
In college, I decided I'd study Sciences. Not because, like all the other kids studying sciences, I had any notion of going into medicine - but because I felt the other option, languages, would be way too easy. I wanted to take the most difficult course. And woah, did I get it! I found the Sciences incredibly tough, and I curdled at the bottom of my class, the feeling of being the worst at something embarrassing and unfamiliar.
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There was an attempted coup from the head teacher in the English department, who on reading an essay I'd written for a national competition that was open even to the science classes, demanded I drop this science nonsense and go over to the languages class immediately. And part of me, one term in, REALLY wanted to. I was in way over my head and I found every aspect of sciences (except classification in Biology), unbearably boring. I really just wanted to stick with it because it was difficult, and I didn't want to give up. For future reference and in hindsight - these are dumb reasons.
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One year in, I was either failing or only just scraping by each and every science test I took. Realising I needed better marks to get into uni, I decided to study for an extra English major and sit the exams. Doing it solo, I got to pick my own books and poems from the set list. Almost every college teacher always chose the war poems for their class, which tbh I find eww. So I picked Keats, and took refuge from the organic chemistry I knew I'd fail to tumble into a world of dense pulsating imagery from this strange consumptive Victorian poet, dead at 25 but oh god, had he ever been alive!
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I passed those stupid science exams with letters I did not even know were passing marks (E?). I did ace my English though.
I wanted to introduce you to my 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 collection this way, with how Keats and I connected first. I'll tell you more with each piece
