Collecting, arranging and making things have been a part of my life since I can remember.
It is a passion I have shared with my parents Els and Piet, grandparents, Bep, Wim and Miep, aunts Marion, Olga, Atie, Mieke and Liesbeth, uncles Adri,Theo and Tom who between them have/had careers or an interest in everything from antiques, tribal art, textiles, photography, contemporary art, furniture and design to plant and animal life.
Emigration to South Africa as a child, back to the Netherlands and then Australia, presented dazzling natural environments and cultures for exploration. Often my extended family would visit and trips into the "veld" and later, "bush" would yield unexpected booties and a wealth of impressions, while second-hand shops and roadside vendors were a source of many extraordinary finds. My mother was my principal partner in these adventures and when she died in 1994, my focus shifted.
In the last few years these precious items, or later finds with associations to particular times and places, have begun to play a more meaningful part in my jewellery. There is humour and sadness in some of these pieces, even guilt, while others are simply a celebration of the beauty of individual elements, transformed when placed next to others.
Usually materials form the starting point for a work, or often I have a title in mind and the piece develops from there. Much time is spent arranging and drawing until I find harmony and tension between compositional elements.
A material I am currently exploring is ceramic honeycomb block, known more for its heat distribution qualities during soldering than as a focal point in a piece of jewellery. I am mesmerised by its beauty and the possibilities it presents aesthetically and conceptually.
Challenging notions of preciousness in conventional jewellery in a way that is gently humorous and sometimes ironic remains an enduring theme in my work. I love word plays and how they create new layers of meaning when used in the title of a piece.
Most importantly, I want to make surprising, beautiful objects that move people, to seek and to think and to smile. What could be more precious?