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.
My fascination with beach-combed objects stems from the fact that man-made items enter the sea at a place and time unknown. At this stage, they are often useful, in good condition and are similar to many many other such times. By the time, I retrieve them from the shoreline they are no longer of any use, they are worn and distressed by time and tide, and they are unique. It is the alteration that occurs during this unspecified time period that interests me – it raises so many unanswerable questions: When did it enter the sea, why and how? How long has it been in the sea? How far has it travelled?
One particular fascination is brushes. I find many plastic brush handles but more interesting are the bone or wooden ones. These sometimes present with bristles, whole or partly intact, but the really interesting ones no longer have bristles, just the holes where bristles once were.
I like the contrast between the worn finish and the precision of the holes. I am starting to explore this idea further, combining the found with the made; the old with the new; the perfect with the imperfect.
These three pieces combine hand made paper with found elements. I’d love your feedback!
Helen Frost Artist 