About Rebecca Chalkley
Rebecca is degree educated in Jewellery Design and is an expert in the use of lost wax casting to create very special and intricate sculptural jewellery.
Here is Rebecca's personal statement:
"I often consider my work to be classed more as 'mini sculpture' as opposed to jewellery, I appear to have an obsession with scale and detail, which results in me creating small and intricate pieces that often take a lot of time to produce. I have developed my own techniques for manipulating wax and I am still experimenting with textures and effects that could be used successfully.
"The lost wax casting process is my main focus throughout my designs although I do also enjoy using traditional silversmithing techniques when relevant to the design and its concept. The Victorian era, their perception on social etiquette, their love for romanticism and sentiment often influences me and became the concept behind my most recent pieces. I attempt to bring these concepts of the Victorian era forward and into the 21st century, often comparing the way in which we live now to how the Victorians did and bring those social changes forward and through into my work to create contemporary jewellery that is acceptable and relevant for today's market and somewhat contributes to the revival of traditional techniques and Victorian concepts of which, I believe have helped to shape the way in which we live today. My jewellery is designed with the intention to make the wearer question themselves, their surroundings as well as the concept of the piece itself.
"The natural world and its cycle are my main sources of visual inspiration, flowers and decaying objects or plants are of particular interest to me, the structure, colour and textures intrigue me and I find that I am often automatically drawn to anything that has these organic qualities. Antiques and social history also fascinates me and I like to enhance my knowledge of these subjects through research and incorporate them into the creation of my pieces where applicable."
