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#youseejunkiseejewels - The concept of what I do, is to see the potential of the old, rough or discarded, often of little to no value, and to transform it into something new, pretty, of value. Of value because of the labour I put into it – with my head, heart and hands – and the form I give it, all with a story behind it.

I am drawn to specific forms, especially bold organic forms and textures found foremost in nature and derivatively in my favourite 20th century art styles and movements like surrealism and biomorphic abstraction.

I have explored form since childhood and have added a dedicated section Finding Form with a curated collection of drawings, paintings and photographs that provide a deeper context to my three-dimensional work.

Metaphore

But there is more that feeds into my work than what I see in nature and visual art, like words, from literature and poetry to wise things people once said, from lyrics to political statements. Words matter. So does music. And dance! And last but not least: the state of the world. I am always looking for the metaphor in the metamorphosis.

Material

There is a difference between working with primarily old materials (or discarded offcuts), and working with materials ‘fresh off the shelf’ .

Firstly, my design process is often in reverse. Rather than drawing up a design for a ring or a small sculpture and then getting the necessary materials and tools, my starting point is to see what is available to me and then figure out what I can make with it that fits my aesthetic style and principles.

Secondly, my work involves a lot of laborious identifying, sorting, taking things apart, cleaning, straightening, getting rid of sharp edges and polishing before I actually make a piece.

Thirdly, a significant difference between working with old or new material, is its traceability! My sources range from random finds on the street and the beach to thrift shops, auctions, bits and pieces I have collected over the years, the scrap metals and lucite offcuts box at the atelier where I work once a week and last but definitely not least: generous donors.

Traceability

Although I can describe where I found a material, or on the rare occasion bought it, or who gave it to me, for many materials it’s impossible - with the naked eye - to determine its original source, its exact composition or in the case of old base metals, the specific alloy (e.g. brass).

With vintage beads like pearls or with second-hand lucite this is generally not an issue but with some of the salvaged base metals I have, like vintage brass, this means they are workable for objects but not for jewellery (unless I would have it properly tested for the alloy which entails prohibitive costs).

When I started out with metalsmithing, I was mainly developing prototypes and worked with anything I could find. Along the way, I have shifted some of my sourcing towards offcuts (scraps leftover from work with new materials like base metals with a specified alloy) - offcuts from my own as well as colleagues’ creations. Although this is ‘scrap metal’, strictly speaking this is not ‘old’ but rather ‘discarded’ material!

Luckily, silver and gold items are - in principle - hallmarked. This tells me something about the alloy (e.g. sterling silver is 925/1000 silver), the maker and the year in which they made it. But when someone donates an old silver spoon or broken bracelet, I know little to none about the circumstances under which the silver was mined and processed maybe a century ago. It does not classify as ‘green’ / ‘eco’ / ‘ethical’ silver.

Both silver and gold are infinitely reusable without losing its purity and qualities, and have been melted down and repurposed for over 6000 years - nothing new under the sun! So unless you buy it straight from the source (e.g. Fairtrade or Fairmined), it’s hard to impossible to verify or judge its whole history.

Tools and techniques

When I started out with metalsmithing, learning about all the various tools and techniques, I was committed to trying everything once. Some techniques matched my desire to work mostly with old things, while minimising the negative impact, better than others. A few common metalsmithing techniques like filigree and etching were not for me. I’m still learning and I’ll keep trying new things, but in my daily studio practice I try to stay away from techniques involving toxins or endless patience.

The tools I use, depend in part on where I am working - more on that in My Studio. My favourite techniques are really the ones that allow me to work outside with basic old-fashioned hand tools like hammers, saws, files and punches. I bought some of these tools at a local wholesale supplier - Bijou Moderne - and some come from my family tool shed and brocante markets.

I made some punches and my first (unofficial) maker’s mark stamp at Atelier Drie, the studio where I work one day a week and where I have been taking metalsmithing lessons for many years under the wonderful guidance of Greetje Sieders. I made a few more punches as well as gravers in Egypt at Azza Fahmy’s Academy with super instruction by Sara Zaki. My official maker’s stamp was made by WaarborgHolland, the Dutch assay office that tests and hallmarks precious metals such as gold and silver.

Whether I have made something in- or outside, on- or off-the-grid, right at the end most of my small metal work goes into my favourite electric piece of equipment: a rock tumbler, filled with little steel balls, for hardening and polishing metal (and pearls!). Another electric tool I sometimes use for particularly fine work like piercing with a tiny drill or texturing, is a Proxxon handheld power tool from HBM machines.

Most of the metalsmithing techniques that I use, are ancient and have unfamiliar technical names like planishing, raising, dapping, chasing and repoussé, annealing, reticulation and granulation. When and where applicable, I describe these in a little more detail per series of jewels or objects but the main factor with all these techniques is whether they are ‘cold’ (off-the-grid) or ‘warm’ (on-the-grid). The cold techniques allow me to work basically anywhere (with noise), preferably outside, and the warm techniques are generally more convenient inside (my kitchen or Atelier Drie).

For chasing and repoussé (hammering relief into metal with punches), I use my own alternative ‘chasing pitch bowl’ that holds the metal securely while hammering forms. Mine is filled with dried beans covered in beeswax rather than the more common petroleum / resin based pitch. When I’m in a rush, I find that cork coasters from my kitchen work pretty well too!

The tools that I use for sculpting soapstone come from museum Beelden aan Zee, where I bought my first piece of this metamorphic rock. I started out with their soapstone kit and later bought more rocks from arts & crafts store Bertus Workel in the east of the Netherlands. All of these rocks come from countries on the other side of the world like Brazil and India. For these soft stones the technique consists of endlessly rasping, filing, sanding and polishing with beeswax.