Like many others who do not live within walking distance of the beach, I am taking the opportunity to work with my existing collection of found objects. I like the idea of making jewellery but also making art in the form of jewellery. Some of my finds are rusty or delicate and some hold the secrets of untold years in the sea, sent to my bit of coast from who knows where. And some of these pieces are not suitable for wearing so here they are presented as if they could be.
I thought some of you might be interested in the journey between my finding objects and a finished piece of work. Sometimes I pick up an item immediately knowing how I can use it, but, more often than not, the idea develops over time.
On each of my last two walks at Church Norton, I found a small plastic square inscribed “P.W.C” – 6 days apart and on different ends of the beach. I believe P.W.C stands for Portsmouth Water Company.
I had no definite idea when I found the first, but when I found the second, I immediately knew how I was going to use these rigid plastic squares. The uniform shape and size and the rigidity brought to mind covers for a small book! Next, I started to think about what form the book would take, how I would hold the pages in place and how I would secure the finished article – it seemed an obvious choice to try and use the drilled holes.
After some experimentation, I decided that rather than have conventional flat pages, I would consider some sort of Origami form. Using the squares as inspiration, I created the inside pages and found a format that I liked and that suited the “covers”. Here is the outcome:
I have a few mobile phone parts with which I may be able to construct something similar so I’m off now to have a play!
Helen Frost Artist 