Tjoritja

Brooch

Inspired by the folded red quartzite rock faces of the MacDonnell Ranges in Central Australia.

350-300 million years ago a mountain building event created the MacDonnell Ranges. Since that time, folding, faulting and erosion have shaped the range and created numerous gaps and gorges that we see today. The complexity of the exposed faults is astonishing and totally captured my attention. It creates the illusion of individual bricks. I could sit and follow the lines with my eyes for hours.

The orogen collection began my explorations in Japanese irogane. This technique alloys copper with different metals. The objects are boiled in a niage patina bath to produce a wonderful palette of browns and greys.

The materials used are:
Sterling silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper) – white
Shakudo (6% gold, 94% copper) – black
Shibuichi (25% silver, 75% copper) – grey

Tjoritja is how the MacDonnell Ranges are known by the Western Aranda people.