The Opening on June 4th, photos.
S.B. Borgersen
S.B. Borgersen
Elemental Legacy, wearable art in fine silver.
Artist’s Statement.
Precious metal clay (silver) and me.
Can I suggest you pick up the pieces and hold them. Then you may feel what I felt the first time I came across precious metal clay (silver).
The medium was created in Japan in the late 1990s as a way to recycle silver. Australian artists found that by firing to a high temperature, the particles fused together resulting in solid pieces of fine silver.
After years of hand building vessels with earthenware, exploring this new medium was a natural progression for me. I work in the same way as I did with clay, but on a smaller scale. There are other similarities: the patient drying and polishing before kiln firing, the gentle ramping up, soaking at 1300 degrees and then slowly reducing the heat. Opening the kiln holds the same element of surprise (and occasional disappointment). The clay binding burns off leaving fine (.999) silver.
Then the differences begin: I use agate tools to burnish away the powdery excesses, time in the tumbler to give strength, then give a final hand polish. The finished piece warms against my skin. I feel the transformation from a pale, dull, malleable substance into wearable gleaming silver.
A note about Keum Boo which I have chosen to use on a few select pieces: Keum Boo is an ancient Korean art of applying 24 karat gold to the silver over heat.
For two pieces in this show I have used a photopolymer process to transfer text and linear art to the silver.
Elemental Legacy: the inspiration.
Element 1. - Pictish Stones. These huge ancient monuments are littered across the wilds of the Scottish Highlands. They are mysterious, carved narratives and symbols in granite.
Element 2. - Transcending Language. As an author and a poet, I am conscious of form and pace. I have carried this rhythm through to my art, and, as with my poetry, it is open to personal interpretation.
Element 3. - Natural Forms. Capturing Spring growth and shoreline finds, preserving nature’s designs for posterity.
Confession: I don’t profess to be a jeweller. I am a tactile artist, if you look closely you may see my finger prints.
Sue Borgersen
East Port Medway
May 2011
