POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Form from the Flourish series by Julie Blyfield

Object No. 2006/97/1-3

Adelaide jeweller, Julie Blyfield, made these three pod-like forms in 2003 and 2004 as part of her 'Flourish' series. The work reflects Blyfield's interest in her family history, particularly its six generations of gardening enthusiasts, her love of collecting and passion for gardening and botany. (Her previous series, 'Traces', also touched upon these themes.) 'Flourish' evolved from studies of botanical specimens and pressed plant collections held in museums and herbaria in Australia and the United Kingdom. The result is a delicate series of raised, three-dimensional pieces representing non-specific, organic forms. 'Flourish' demonstrates Blyfield's interest in mastering complex techniques to create intricate, textured pieces. In 2002, under the tutelage of South Australian metalsmith, Frank Bauer, she mastered the process of metal raising in which a flat disk is labouriously shaped into a contoured vessel. This process has been expertly applied to these three forms. Each piece in the series took between seven and seventeen days to make, with the bottle-like example in this group being the most labour-intensive item.