Angela reports back from Craft snippets at Upper Riccarton Library which featured guest crafter, silversmith Maree Grant. The next Craft snippets event is on Wednesday 30 November with Jena Johnston of Silvereye Laser Cutting.
The last Craft Snippets event saw us all sitting around the table with silversmith Maree Grant, demonstrating how she makes her one of a kind distinctive gingko earrings.
Before Maree took up silver jewellery making she was an art teacher and dabbled in any craft that was the latest fad, and consequently her family had the latest fad in their Christmas stocking every year.
Discovering silver
When the opportunity to live in Nelson for 6 months presented itself through her husband being dispatched there for work, Maree decided to take a sabbatical and spent a lot of time in as many crafty shops/galleries as possible. Nelson is renowned for its creative bent and Maree soon came across a Wakefield woman who made silver jewellery.
Maree was totally in awe of the jewellery and asked the silversmith if she taught the craft. Maree was politely told ‘no, not really’. However this didn’t put her off and after a few weekly phone calls she got the answer she was looking for “Alright. Come and I will see how you go. You can make a ring”.
Well, from there she was hooked. She was mesmerised by the ability to make something from metal by heating it and manipulating it into a shape. Maree asked if she could come back and so it was that Maree went once a week for a day to learn how to become a silversmith using silver plate (this is a sheet of silver metal) and wire.
Acquiring the tools
When Maree and hubby came back to Christchurch the next step was to find a place in their home where she could do her craft. This turned out to be the kitchen table and Maree had a small kit of tools. As luck would have it she was able to purchase an extremely large silversmith tool kit from a retired jeweller in Dunedin. She went down with her husband and a truck to pick it all up. There was a workshop bench with the leather apron attached to catch all the shavings and dust for recycling (the scraps go in a glass jar and are sent away to get melted down), huge amount of drawers filled with files, saws, an industrial polisher and every other tool of the trade. It sounded like heaven for Maree.
On the drive home Maree’s husband decided the whole load would certainly fit in the small garden shed. She finally had her studio, albeit a very small one. Maree said it was a lot of luck and good will by amazing people that helped her get where she is today.
Maree then went on to demonstrate making a gingko earring. Gingko leaves are Maree’s favourite piece of jewellery to make. She uses leaves from all the seasons as each one is different.
Making gingko earrings
First of all she traces around it onto a plate of silver and cuts it out (all her silver is ethically sourced from a New Zealand company).
Using a filing stick Maree files and buffs the leaf to make it smooth and shiny.
The stem is then rounded of and a tapered hole is made in the top of it for the finder to go into. To create the veins on the leaves Maree does some forging. Forging hardens the silver. A small hammer is used to make the veins and then it is sanded to remove any hard edges.
Maree uses a jig that she has made herself to make the finding. The finding is the piece of wire that the earring hangs off and goes into the ear - I never knew that there was name for it!
Maree pulls on the silver wire which is wrapped around the jig and then pliers are used to straighten it up.
The finding goes into the hole on the top of the stem and, voilá you have one gingko earring! The whole process to complete a pair of earrings can take 3-4 hours.
Not only is Maree inspired by the gingko tree she also takes inspiration from many other natural elements such as the many moons: solstice, silver and Luna Rosa moons; Coral moss, peeling bark from the Totara trees in the botanical gardens in Geraldine, “moon milk mushrooms” from limestone caves and the silver birch trees from an Ansel Adams photo. To create some different colours Maree will heat up copper to a bright red and then drop it in borax. The chemical reaction creates different shades of red.
Crafting resources
Silversmithing
Thank you Maree for a wonderful evening and sharing your story along with demonstrating your skills at the same time. Maree mentioned these places if anyone was interested in learning more about silversmithing:
Latest craft titles
We also had a few books on the topic plus many more crafting books on display.
Items shared at our September 2022 gathering.
Upcoming craft events
At the end of the evening we did a quick round up of what events are coming up in our area:
- Amberley Christmas Country Fete 27 October
- Miniature World display, 22-24 October, 10am – 4pm at Silhouette Studios, 6 Sheffield Cres, Burnside.
- Crafting for Wellbeing, Saturday 19 November 1.30pm to 3pm, Tūranga
- Create your own giftbags @ Tūranga, Saturday 19 November, two sessions, 11am to 12pm and 1pm to 2pm, $10.99 per person, bookings required
Our next and last Craft Snippets for 2022 will be on Wednesday 30 November with Jena Johnston of Silvereye Laser Cutting.
Angela,
Upper Riccarton Library
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