A little while ago I was thinking about who to write about next in my Artist Profile series, and naturally I wanted to continue with the theme of makers I went through university with. As such, it is with great pleasure I introduce Julia Storey.
I’ve written recently about Julia – her cufflinks have now made it into my collection!
All images used with permission of the artist; not to be reproduced without permission.
Julia at her (super-fantastic) bench
1. What have you been up to since we graduated from our RMIT undergraduate degree (at the end of 2006)?
“In 2007 I began studying my Masters of Fine Arts (Gold and Silversmithing) at RMIT. In that year I had my work shown at Gallerie Marzee in The Netherlands, Buda Contemporary Australian Silver and Metalwork Exhibition in Castlemaine and I was a finalist in the Kaiserman Prize for recently graduated students. I also curated a small exhibition in Fitzroy featuring the works of two photographer friends and my jewellery.
After a year of the Masters Degree I realised it wasn’t quite right for me at that time so I took time away from it and began working at Makers Mark Gallery in Melbourne where I became the Artistic Adviser and Merchandise Manager.
I started missing making jewellery, so along with three other girls from the undergraduate course, set up a studio where we could come together, bounce ideas off each other, and make jewellery again!
Recently, I have been working alongside a wonderful goldsmith with an amazing wealth of jewellery knowledge and technical skills, and who is a mentor to me.”
One of my favourite pieces Julia made in her final year at RMIT is the Wedding Group below – where mesh has been formed around little ceramic kissing figurines, carefully cut to release the original model, and then painstakingly rejoined. I especially loved that our friend Lucy Hearn had one of Julia’s little sculptures on the top of her wedding cupcake-cake!
Wedding Group
2. What has been your most exciting / rewarding experience over the last few years?
“Last year, two friends of mine asked me to make their wedding rings. It definitely scared me at the start, but I really enjoyed custom designing the two rings with them, incorporating their ideas with mine and then the technical challenge of creating them. Making the rings involved teaching myself a whole lot of new skills and when they were finished I was really proud of how they turned out.
The icing on the cake was going to the beautiful beach ceremony and knowing when they were exchanging the rings that I had been part of something wonderful.”
Such a lovely story!
Below are some of Julia’s more recent work – Continuing Neckpiece and Sapphire Continue Ring.
3. What do you like most about making?
“Getting my hands dirty! I like the immediacy of metal and how it allows me to see my ideas come to life right before my eyes. When I get inspired or excited by something it kick starts the imaginative cogs in my mind and gets me thinking of textures, techniques and forms.
It’s amazing how many ways you can manipulate metal and just how much this can change its appearance.
Most often I have many pieces going on at the same time. I like that when working with metal if something isn’t quite working at that time, or if I need more time to think over its design, I can continue on with another piece and come back to it with a fresh mind. Over time I have trialled and worked with a variety of materials and you don’t quite get that luxury with a lot of resin, silicone or clay.
Construction fascinates me too. When looking at other examples of gold and silversmithing I am always trying to figure out how it has all come together. I have been to a lot of exhibitions so I could see jewellery in real life, and not in textbooks. I really feel that helps you learn about the artist and expand your own creative and technical boundaries.”
During our degree I always thought Julia was one of the most courageous and exploratitive amongst us – always happy to experiment and learn new techniques in order to bring her imagination to physical existence (where many of us often restricted our design due to our undeveloped skill-level).
Neckpiece from 2007
I hadn’t seen the above piece before – it’s so lyrical, a little mystery landscape…
4. What is the next step for your work / What does the next year or two hold for you?
“I have spent the last year or two making jewellery to sell through galleries and would like to continue to develop this. In conjunction with that I will be getting my website up and running (www.juliastorey.com.au).
It has also been a little while since I’ve made exhibition work and I would love to get back into that. I have a few ideas of the pieces I want to make and now I just need to set myself the challenge of making them.
Oh and hopefully buying more tools (I’m completely addicted!!!)”
Time Apart 2007
Also, check out Julia’s kit-and-caboodle page; her profile on Breathing Colours site (which has an image of her lovely ‘cage’ necklace); and of course we await for more to come on her website.
Many thanks to Julia for being so generous and sharing so much about herself.
I now share the studio with Julia and two of our friends from uni. I love spending time with her in the studio, and especially talking with her about jewellery – she always has amazing ideas on how to see something I’m working / stuck on and suggest other things to consider (respectfully of course!); and naturally, her tool collection is a huge bonus!
All images used with permission of the artist; not to be reproduced without permission.
Update (20th September 2011): I am happy to say that Julia has provided an image of her makers mark / hallmark … please also see my Makers Mark page for other artist marks!
Julia Storey; with permission of the artist
… last artist profile: Michelle Taylor …
Melbourne Jeweller 