My Inspirations | Eileen Moylan

The History of Diamonds

06.20.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

In a previous post I looked at the use of diamonds in engagement rings and discovered what we think of as an age old tradition is actually a relatively recent trend. If you want to read this click here.

The first documented use of diamonds in engagement rings wasn’t until 1477. I wanted to find out why it took so long to get diamonds on womens fingers and what were they doing with the diamonds instead?!

The name diamond is derived from the ancient Greek word adámas meaning unbreakable or unalterable, suggesting that diamonds were used more for their strength than their beauty.

It is believed that diamonds have been around for the past three billion years but the first use of diamonds was in China as early as 4000BC. Scientists discovered diamond fragments with tools which were found at the tombs of wealthy individuals. Theses axes were made from the same material as rubies and sapphires, a mineral called corundum. It is believed the diamonds found with these tools were used to cut the stones and fashion them into workable tools.

These diamonds would have been sourced locally as diamond deposits exist 150 miles from where the burial axes were found. I wondered how in 4000Bc they would mine and sort these diamonds so I did a bit more research. It turns out they were able to sort the diamonds from the gravel by running wet gravel over a greased surface like an animal hide. As the diamond bearing gravel ran down the hide only the diamond fragments would stick to the grease. So they could pick out this sought after hard substance from the gravel.

Corundum, diamond polished axe found in China

It wasn’t until approximately 300BC that they began to be used for decorative purposes. India was the first country to use diamonds as adornement for both themselves and their works of art. Rulers would wear diamond rings as a symbol of their rank and power. There was also a Hindu tradition of placing diamonds as the eyes in statues of their gods. Today some of the oldest known diamonds we have like the Hope and Regent diamond are from India.

As diamonds were intorduced into Europe the strength and indestructibility of diamonds began to increase the belief that they had magical powers. It is said Alexander the Great brought the first diamonds from India to Europe in 327BC. It was thought that if you carried a diamond neither illness or memory loss could affect you. One of the greatest advocates of this was St Hildegarde who wrote about the healing properties of diamonds and their power to ward off evil.

God has endowed precious stones with miraculous powers. They succour man in body and soul, banish Satan and protect all living beings from his malice. Therefore the devil shuns precious stones. They cause him to shudder by day and night

St Hildegard von Bingen, (The Healing Powers of Nature)

As diamonds began to be mined in greater quantities and more attention was being paid to their value, mine owners spread the myth that diamonds were poisonous. They did this so their mine workers wouldn’t attempt to smuggle diamonds out of the mines by swallowing them. While this was a lie I did find many cases of poisoning by diamonds.

Apparently Pope Clement in an attempt to cure illness dosed himself with fourteen spoons of crushed gemstones and diamonds, the doseagee actually resulted in his death. While Catherine de Medici was fond of diamond powder as a means of doing away with her enemies. With stories like this cropping up throughout history, I think I can safely conclude that diamonds are far more beneficial on our fingers!

Lucian Taylor

06.16.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

Since I was at the Mindful of Silver exhibition in London I’ve been having a look at the work of Lucian Taylor. His work is featured in the exhibition along with a video of how the work is created. I found his work so interesting not only because of the amazing forms he creates but the process behind each piece. I can’t find the video on the internet so I’ll have to explain the process…sorry if I don’t do it justice.

Becoming Spherical I & II, Lucian Taylor

He begins by creating the forms on a CAD program so he can work out the exact shape of the sections to create a sphere. This is then transferred onto the silver and cut out. The shapes are manipulated so it loses the precise aesthetic of the computer generated design. These sections are then shaped and TIG welded together. For those of you that want to know the TIG stands for Tungsten inert gas. It’s a type of welding most commonly used to weld thin sections of metal. They are welded together to form an accordion like shaped sphere. These are then expanded using hydroforming so the previous shriveled forms get transformed into bulbous silver spheres. They are inflated with high pressure water until a plump ripeness is achieved. The silver is pushed to its limits and I’m sure this process has suffered many casualties but it’s well worth the risk in my opinion.

In the Mindful of Silver exhibition he references 17th century Dutch art and his forms are influenced by these still life paintings. I love the finished pieces and knowning the process that created them. His use of industrial techniques along with traditional silver raising and forming techniques create these beautiful vessels. I also love the way the stems(where the water is pumped in) of the pieces remain on some of the work so you get a sense just by looking at them how they might be made. If you’re in London call to see them displayed along with the preparatory work in Goldsmiths Hall, the exhibition runs until the 26th July.

Cork Silver Part 2: Republican Silver

06.13.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

This is part two of a series on Cork Silver. If you want to read Part 1 click here.

Republican silver is unique to Cork and William Egan and Sons where this collection of silver was produced. Egans had been in business since the 1820’s and had produced many fine examples of hand wrought silver which still adorn churches and houses around the country.

It overcame periods of turbulence in Irish history such as the War of Independence and the burning of Cork city (including Egan’s premises on Patrick Street) and the Irish Civil War. It is this period which led to the creation of what is now referred to as Republican silver.

In 1921 a treaty was signed between Ireland and Britain which brought an end to the War of Independence (1919-21) and established the Irish Free State. This resulted in a Civil War (1922-23) between those who accepted the treaty and the consequent partition of the island and those who rejected the treaty, demanding an all-island Republic.

During the period July- September 1922 the city of Cork was in the hands of anti-treaty forces. The roads and rail system to the city were closed down making it impossible for Egans to send their work to Dublin for hallmarking. In order for them to continue producing silverware the manager of the business Mr. Barry Egan had three special punches made to stamp their work. These stamps consisted of a two masted sailing ship facing left, a single castellated tower (usually stamped twice at either side of the ship) and the third punch was a version of Egan’s makers mark W.E in a oblong. These stamps were used instead of an official hallmark from the Irish Assay office. The idea to produce their own stamps is said to have come from Oliver St John Gogarty. He was a writer and surgeon and also the inspiration for the character Buck Mulligan in Joyce’s Ulysses (for all of you who might have read it). He suggested that Egan’s should create a special category of silver which could be produced under the current conditions.

Between 60 to 80 pieces of silver was stamped with these punches, making them extremely sought after by silver collectors. Once Egans were able to send their work to Dublin for hallmarking these punches were destroyed. These pieces are collectors items not only because of their scares numbers, but also because they remain as a unique memory of a particular episode in Ireland’s turbulent history.

Images from J. Bowen Book, Cork Silver and Gold: Four Centuries of Craftsmanship

London and the Saatchi

06.10.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

Well I’m back form London with lots of inspiration and some new tools! As well as going to the Mindful of Silver exhibition I went down to Hatton Garden to pick up metal and tools. I had ordered a bossing mallet and a dome stake from HS Walsh which I collected. I had planned to pick up a sand bag too but they were the wrong size so I’m still on the hunt for a nice leather sandbag. Here are some photos of the bossing mallet and dome stake. The bossing mallet is used with a sandbag to give a bowl it’s initial domed shaped. The dome stake is used like other stakes to form or planish the metal over it. I have other domed stakes but this one is much higher, allowing me to get a deeper curve.

I’m working on some jewellery orders this week so I called down to Holts to buy some pearls. They have an amazing collection of stones. I was like a child in a sweet shop and ended up leaving with much more than I needed!

I had hoped to see some exhibitions for London jewellery week but I was a few days early so instead we went along to the Saatchi gallery. The Saatchi contemporary art gallery occupies a premises near Sloane Square and is made up of fifteen equally sized gallery spaces. I had never been there so it was great to see it for the first time. At the moment they have an amazing exhibition of sculpture ‘The Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture’ the exhibition is made up of the work of twenty artists working in sculpture. It’s the first time the entire gallery has devoted the space entirely to three dimensional work.

German artist Dirk Skreber has two pieces in the gallery Crash 1 is pictured above. At first I was worried the cars may have come from actual crashes. Having looked him up afterwards I discovered that they were done in a vehicle testing factory where he ‘choreographed’ the accidents. Here’s what he had to say about the work.

“If you pass an accident and see a car like this, it’s occupied by tragic thoughts for the people that would be involved, and you might see blood. This work gives you an opportunity to see the things like in a dream. It’s clean and polished and abstract.”

Below are a few more photos I took at the gallery. There was no problem taking photos and the great thing was the gallery was free so if you find yourself in London I would definitely recommend a visit.

Copper Sulphate Chartes & Copper Sulphate Notre Dame, Roger Hiorns

Beethoven's Trumpet (with ear) Opus #133, John Baldessari

Riesen (Giants), Martin Honert, (and Me)*

*I’m not a tiny as I look in this picture they’re just particularly tall, 2.72 meters to be precise.

The Travelling Silversmith

05.31.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

This is going to be a short week’s work for me because I’m London bound on Thursday. I’m going over for a friends wedding but I’m managing to mix business with pleasure as I’m going to spend Friday in Hatton Garden buying metal and tools. Hatton Garden is the main jewellery area of London and is packed full of places selling everything from diamonds to tools.

I’ve a list of things I’ve been promising myself for a while now, new hammers and stakes and a much needed sandbag. Hopefully I should come back with all of these and not exceed my baggage allowance! The other great thing about going to London this week is that it’s the start of London Jewellery Week and they have loads of great exhibitions and events organised. Most things are starting on the Monday I come home, but hopefully I might get a sneak peak of what’s on.

There’s also a brilliant silver exhibition on in Goldsmiths Hall called Mindful of Silver. The exhibition features twelve silversmiths each displaying a silver vessel. The really interesting thing about this exhibition is that the artists were asked to also exhibit objects that fuelled the creative process. Apparently there’s everything from torn envelopes to bleach bottles.

The participants were asked to make a vessel but they had to keep any objects, sketches and photos that contributed to the development of the work. It has gathered together a great line up for the exhibition with artists such as Theresa Nguyen and David Clarke. I’ve loved Clarke’s work since I was in college so I can’t wait to see some of it in the ‘flesh’. I don’t know which artist’s piece was inspired by the bleach bottle but I plan to find out this weekend. And of course I’ll write all about it next week…

Collect 2011

05.04.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

I got my copy of Crafts magazine in the post this morning. Crafts is a contemporary craft magazine published by the British Crafts Council. It’s a great place to see new work from international craftspeople and as well as lots of exhibition reviews and listings. This issue came with a free supplement on the Crafts’ Council’s upcoming ‘Collect’ fair. Collect is an art fair that brings together international galleries representing over 300 contemporary makers and it’s on in London this weekend!

This year there are thirty seven galleries that will exhibiting at the Saatchi Gallery. The Crafts Council of Ireland and the National Craft Gallery will be exhibiting a number of Irish makers. This is an amazing opportunity for Irish craftspeople to be seen by international buyers and collectors. There are ceramic artists such as Sara Flynn and Jack Doherty as well as the amazing furniture of Yaffe Mays and Nest Design. I couldn’t find any Irish jewellers or silversmiths exhibiting this year but if I’ve overlooked someone please let me know.

As well as the main fair there will also be a number of other attractions such as the new Project Space where artists and designers will be collaborating and creating new pieces to complement the work on display in the main halls. They will also have another area dedicated to a selection of films by some of the exhibiting makers. This is a great addition to the fair to give the public a glimpse into the practice of contemporary craftspeople. The other focus of the show this year is the promotion of new and emerging makers with around one third of exhibitors being ‘first timers’.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to see all this great work in the ‘flesh’ but I’d love to hear from anybody who makes it to the Saatchi this weekend!

'Fragments No 2', Silver, Ane Christensen

The Origin of the Engagement Ring Part 2

04.29.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

This is Part two of a series on the Origin of the Engagement Ring. To see Part one click here.

In the first part of this series I discussed how the engagement ring developed from a piece of string tied around the bride’s wrist to the gold rings worn today. In my research I discovered that while gold and gemstones were commonly used, diamonds didn’t feature until the 1400’s.

The first documented use of diamonds in an engagement ring was in 1477 when Archduke Maximilian of Austria commissioned a ring for his future bride Mary of Burgundy. After this engagement giving a diamond ring became very popular amongst the wealthy and famous. Around the world the trend continued with the upper classes and over the next few centuries the custom was limited to this sector of society. This changed in 1870 when several diamond mines were discovered in South Africa. Suddenly diamonds dropped in price and were now more readily available to the general public. The market was now flooded with a newfound diamond supply and sales flourished in Europe and the United States.

Tiffanys which had been in business since 1837 began to bring out new engagement ring designs to meet the demand and in 1886 they created the six prong diamond solitaire engagement ring. This revolutionized the concept of the engagement ring as they concentrated on the beauty of the diamond rather than ornate and elaborate metalwork which was the fashion of the time. The diamond was set in a simple band with a four or six claw setting to accentuate the sparkle of the diamond.

In the early 20th century De Beers experienced a drop in sales in America that lasted two decades. So in the 1930’s it sought the help of the advertising firm N.W. Ayer to devise a national advertising campaign to promote it’s diamonds. Ayer convinced Hollywood actresses to wear diamond rings in public and encouraged fashion designers to discuss the trend towards diamond rings. Their efforts paid off with diamond sales jumping by 55% between 1938 to 1941. The market continued to grow as the advertising became more influential. In 1947 Frances Gerety a female copywriter came up with the line ‘ A Diamond is Forever’. This has been used ever since to reinforce the idea that the strenght of the diamond represents the unbreakable bond between the engaged couple. What brilliant marketing!

In the 1950’s Marilyn Monroe helped to secured the the appeal of diamonds for women when she sang ‘Diamonds are a girls best friend’ in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I couldn’t find the statistics for Europe but by 1965 in America 80 percent of American women had a diamond engagement ring. Not bad for a custom that only became popular amongst the general public 100 years previously. The diamond ring had finally become a requisite element of the engagement ritual.

Mastercrafter

04.20.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

I saw a tweet this week from RTÉ about a new programme they are making alongside the Crafts Council of Ireland. This being the Year of Craft they’re looking for amateur craftspeople around the country to apply. They require that you have foundation level skills but you must not or ever have earned your primary income from your craft.

This six show series will take fifteen crafts people from the following disciplines

Ceramics
Wood (woodturning)
Glass
Metal (blacksmithing)
Textiles (weaving)

I know what you’re thinking..no silversmiths!

The idea of the show is that they will place each participent in an intensive two week apprenticeship in the discipline of their choice. I’m sure as the Crafts Council are involved there will be brilliant master craftspeople on hand to run these workshops. These fifteen will then be whittled down to five finalists, one from each discipline. The series finale is recorded in Dublin with one of the finalists being crowned ‘Mastercrafter of 2011’.

It’s great to see RTÉ coming up with interesting ideas like this which involve crafts. I can’t remember the last time I saw a series dedicated to Irish crafts apart from ‘Hands’ and I think that was filmed in the 1980’s! It also gives fifteen amateur craftspeople the opportunity to work with a expert for two weeks. I sure there are lots of talented crafts people around the country who are considering concentrating full time on their craft hobby. This would be the perfect opportunity to refine their skills and also give them lots of free advertising!

If you want to give it a try here’s the link to the application form. All you need to do is fill out the form and send a photo of you and a piece of your work. Applications must be in by the 9th May so get writing and good luck!

Tread Softly

04.13.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

Yesterday I was in Cork city for the day and took the opportunity to go to the Crafts Council of Ireland textiles exhibition in the Cork Public Museum. This exhibition has been touring the country since January and has been in Cork since the 4th March.

Before I went up stairs to the show I had a look around the museums permanent exhibition. The exhibition goes through the history of the city and country through different displays and artifacts. They have a great display of Cork silver with lots of pieces of Republican silver. Republican Silver is silver which was produced in 1922 by William Egan and Sons which does not have a full Irish hallmark. During the Civil War there were three months in which all road and rail links to Cork were cut off so Egans were unable to send their work to Dublin for hallmarking. The owner Barry Egan had the work stamped with a punch which had the symbol of a ship and two towers (the Cork Coat of Arms). Once the city reopened the punches were destroyed and only sixty to eighty pieces of Republican silver exist, for this reason it is much sought after by collectors. I’ll write a post about Republican silver some other time, now back to the Cork Museum!
Anyway after seeing Daniel O’ Connell’s coat and Micheal Collins gun and lots of other interesting things I went up stairs to the textiles exhibition.
The exhibition shows the work of seventeen textile artists who have taken their inspiration from the W.B. Yeats poem ‘Cloths of Heaven’. Here’s the poem for any of you who don’t remember it from school.

Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

The work was selected by Ann Mulrooney (Curator of the National Craft Gallery) and Angela O’ Kelly (Designer, Jeweller and Curator). The great thing about exhibitions with a theme like this is you can explore each artists interpretation of the poem. Each artist has picked up on something different and interpreted it through a range of media and techniques.There was everything from traditional hand stitched patchwork, to pieces incorporating metal and print.

I had planned to take lots of photos of the exhibition to discuss the work but my camera died without warning. What I couldn’t photograph was Helen O’ Shea’s beautiful works ‘Guide Rope’ and ‘Diving’ which were amazingly intricate. I also missed out on showing you Pascale de Coninck’s ‘ This Little Light of Mine’ with it’s dense and rich colours and catchy title that had me singing the song all the way home! So here’s a few photos I managed to take which should entice you to go along to the show..it’s in Cork until the 30th April.

Fools Day Facts about silver

04.01.2011 by Eileen Moylan //

Since today is April Fools Day I’ve gathered lots of interesting facts about silver but it’s up to you to decide whether you believe them or not!

Silver has the most thermal and electrical conductivity of all the metal elements.
Silver is used for water purification because it prevents bacteria growth.
Silver can protect you from werewolves.
It is illegal to use silver as a food decorative in Australia.
Silver is the whitest colour of any metal.
Consequently dogs can’t see silver.
The word silver comes from the Anglo- Saxon word seolfar.
Rolls Royce jet engines use high performance silver coated bearings to give their engines a higher degree of safety.
Silver is mentioned in the bible in the book of Genesis.
Silver is harder than gold but softer than copper.
Lance Armstrong used silver coated fabric in his clothing in the Tour de France to help control inflammation and promote healing during the race.
The symbol for silver Ag comes from the Latin word Argentum meaning silver. That is how Argentina got it’s name.
Alexander the Great was advised by Aristotle to store boiled water in silver containers to prevent diseases caused by contaminated water.
Silver iodide is used to make clouds produce rain.
Silver Fulminate is an explosive.
Silver is so malleable it can be pounded to a thinness of 6/10000 of a millimeter and a single ounce of silver can be stretched into a wire over 48km long.

_{I might have made up the fact about the dog!}