Jess Dare

Inspired by the gumnuts, billy buttons, sticks and seedpods that the artist's son picks up and hands to her like treasures, Making Time is a series exploring the permanent and impermanent. Jess Dare crafts in brass the essence of these little treasures, an exchange between mother and son. A treasure to keep and hold, long after the moment has gone and the memory has faded.

This collection explores ideas of memory and holding onto moments in time, experiencing nature anew through a child's perspective, collecting and collections.

"Nature, botanical specimens and memory influence my exhibition work. I use nature as a metaphor to investigate concepts of the fragility and transience of memory. To me, flowers are a constant reminder that life is ephemeral, ever changing, momentary and precious.

"As a jeweller I have always been drawn to the miniature, it’s how I view the world, in small minute details. For me, this intimate scale draws people into my sense of wonder, whilst the gigantic thrusts a world upon the viewer. I also use this scale to accentuate the sense of intrigue and awe that I get from the natural world."

Contemporary jeweller Jess Dare completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts specialising in Jewellery at the Adelaide Centre for the Arts TAFE SA in 2006.

Practicing flameworking for over 10 years having been taught by local and international glass artists, glass now forms an integral part of her practice.

Jess joined Gray Street Workshop (est.1985) as an access tenant in 2007 and in 2010 became a partner of the workshop, joining Catherine Truman and Sue Lorraine in continuing its legacy and shaping its future.

She exhibits nationally and internationally and is represented in major national collections including The National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide and the National Glass Collection, Wagga Wagga.

In 2014 Jess undertook an Asialink Residency in Bangkok Thailand researching traditional floral garlands (Phuang Malai). And in 2015 she undertook a residency in Shanghai, China teaching workshops and researching Chinese culture. In 2016/17 Jess worked closely with Professor Richard Johnson to create Reflection, a permanent memorial in Martin Place, Sydney, symbolising the sea of flowers laid by thousands of people following the December 2014 Martin Place siege.

Image: Jess Dare, Making Time: Exchange between Jess and her son, 2019. Photo: Marcus Ramsay.

"Collection of white metal pendants made to referencing Australian native flora

Photograph of assorted dried flowers, gum-nuts and sticks

Photograph of hands holding a dried wild iris, and a white metal pendant imitating the wild iris

Photograph of hands holding a dried Gumnut and also a white metal pendent reinterpreting the Gumnut

Photograph of hands holding a dried Callistemon and a white metal pendent of a Callistemon

Making Time, 2019

Wild Iris, Eucalyptus, Fuschia Gum, Wattle, Flowering Gum, Billy Button, Native Frangipani, Callistemon, Stick, Gumnut, Crepe Myrtle, 2019
Dimensions variable, 17 pendants
Powder-coated brass, silk, sterling silver, wax, heat shrink plastic.
Prices: $240-$800.

Making Time: Banjo's Found Objects, 2019
Gator board.
NFS

Making Time: Exchange Between Jess and Her Son Banjo (Wild Iris), 2019
Gator board.
NFS

Making Time: Exchange Between Jess and Her Son Banjo (Gumnut), 2019
Gator board.
NFS

Making Time: Exchange Between Jess and Her Son Banjo (Callistemon), 2019
Gator board.
NFS

Film by Angus Lee Forbes