Inspired by nature: The story behind my wire jewellery and wire art
The story behind my work
Welcome to my new blog! If you’ve not met me before, I’m Judith and I’ve been working with wire for over 20 years, making handmade jewellery and wire flowers. An inspirational thread throughout my work has always been plants and flowers, and over the last few years I’ve become a real nature lover. In my current collections you’ll find silver wire jewellery featuring tiny wire leaves and decorative wire flowers for your home inspired by meadows and hedgerows. If you love nature inspired craft or enjoy creative experiences like craft workshops keep reading on to discover the story behind my work.
How nature inspires my designs
I’ve always loved nature, I remember entering a school art competition with a pebble I’d painted with a primrose, I don’t think I won anything, but the fact that I remember it at all represents that I understood that I enjoyed expressing what I saw in nature creatively. In 2012 I moved to the Staffordshire Moorlands, on the edge of the Peak District, a much wilder part of the world than I was used to. The seasons and nature came further into focus, even more so during the lockdowns during the pandemic, when my partner, Steve and I went walking everyday watching spring unfold in front of us, a time that was so difficult in many ways, but afforded such a unique opportunity to become absorbed in nature. I took thousands of photos over that time, many of which I still refer to now for inspiration. Follow me on Instagram to see how my nature inspired designs continue to develop.
The art of wire work - bringing nature to life
In that period the thing that fascinated me most were the different grasses waving in the breeze, seedheads silhouetted against the sky and delicate wildflowers growing in meadows, and this was how my wire flowers collection evolved. I used some of my favourite wire techniques, but also developed new ones to work on a bigger scale to the jewellery I was used to creating. Initially mostly 2D, I was drawing with the wire and I was interested in translating the movement, shapes and angles of stems, as well as the delicate details, into my wire flower arrangements.
Then the influence of nature crept into my handmade wire jewellery, and my Foliage collection developed. Almost without me realising at first, little silver wire and bead fronds grew around wire bases to create earrings, delicate wire leaves were created by looping, twisting and wrapping the wire and became necklaces. Then, more consciously, I looked to my photos for specific inspiration. I still love this collection and there’s more to come.
Along the way I’ve also been collecting nature inspired colour palettes in my head! Eventually I corralled some of these into order and explored how I could use these colours in my existing jewellery Geometric collection. The shapes in this collection are more contemporary than other collections and the main focus of the designs is the beading. So I used tiny Japanese glass seed beads to showcase some of the beautiful colour combinations you can see on a walk in nature. There are colour palettes inspired by moorlands, woodlands and the beauriful colours found in moss and lichens.
Would you like to create your own nature-inspired wire art? Join one of my popular craft workshops, they’re beginner friendly and you don’t need any experience of working with wire.
My nature inspired bestsellers
My earrings are always very popular as gifts or as the finishing touch to complement an outfit. You will often find green manages to sneak into most of my Foliage designs – it’s my favourite colour after all! Here are some bestselling earrings in the foliage collection.
One of my favourite wire flowers to make are my ox eye daisies, luckily you seem to love them too! Inspired by a beautiful, hidden meadow near where I live, where, for a few short weeks the daisies flourish amongst hogweed flowers, orchids and butterflies. These can be bought as an arrangement, or individually.
My most popular nature inspired craft workshop at the moment is, without doubt, my wire seed head stems, where I teach you to make a variety of wire stems to display in a vase, inspired by cow parsley, poppy seed heads, honesty and more. Here you can see some wire stems made on one of these workshops. Browse all workshops here.
""I've had a great day. As well as making some things I think are beautiful, I found the experience relaxing and mindful, your teaching style was very appropriate and calm. Thank you."
The Calm of Nature: Inspiration for My Handmade Jewellery & Wire Art
Enjoying nature can be such a tonic for your soul in an over busy world. I certainly learnt that during lockdown. Observing the natural world change each day was grounding and soothing when everything we were used to was suddenly out of reach. The joy of discovering the name of a bird and learning its song, noticing tiny plants that previously would have passed me by, and feeling excited at the moment where a deer and I startled each other on a walk. Our lives are busy, but when you can, get out there and just look and listen and see what you can see and how it makes you feel. After a difficult year, where I have missed most of my favourite, restorative nature experiences due to an accident, I can’t wait for spring to really get going!
The Mindful Joy of Making
Having put my creativity at the centre of my life I am able to dedicate time to an involved creative practice, and translate what I see and feel in nature with my hands to create nature inspired jewellery and wire art. The act of making can be very mindful, when you are making you can escape everyday stresses through the slow and sometimes repetitive movements you make. I absolutely love teaching and sharing my passion for the skills I have learnt over the last twenty years, so whilst you may have limited time to create, a relaxing day immersed in learning a new skill at nature inspired craft workshop can bring many of the benefits mentioned here.
Join Me on This Creative Journey
Bringing nature and creativity together has been at the heart of my journey as a maker, and I love sharing that passion through my jewellery, wire art, and craft workshops. Whether you're looking for a handmade piece that captures the something of the natural world, a creative experience to immerse yourself in, or simply some inspiration to slow down and appreciate the world around you, I hope my work brings a little bit of nature’s joy into your life. If you’d like to explore more, browse my online shop, join me for a craft workshop, or sign up for my newsletter for a behind the scenes look at my creative process. I hope we can enjoy nature together.
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