Louise Douglas is a long standing jewellery artist here at Kina, creating delicate and distinctive works inspired by her natural surroundings. We had the pleasure of asking Louise about what makes her tick and what her creative process looks like.
Your work is beautifully organic and sometimes ocean like and nature inspired, where do you find you seek your inspiration for your jewellery works?
I have always been inspired by the intricacies of the ocean and the natural world in general. I love art and fashion too, but the truth is, what I am most inspired by is what stems from nature. I look at a lot of old scientific botanical style drawings when I design, but I stylise things to fit my aesthetic. My main aim is for people to feel closer to the beauty of nature when they wear my work.
You incorporate precious stones and pearls into your works. Do they determine the final design, or do you work around the stones to see what takes shape?
Sometimes I will start with a stone or pearl for inspiration, but other times it will be something I add in to enhance and refine the design. Nothing like a little sparkle to finish a piece off!
You utilise the lost wax method for your jewellery, to create the intricate designs and details. When did you first begin using this as a creator?
I started working in soft sculpting materials when I first started in jewellery at 18 years old. I then discovered the lost wax casting process for jewellery and I was hooked. It's a very diverse, loose and creative material to master and allows you to be a sculptor on a miniature level. It's a very satisfying and rewarding process.
I love how you blend different elements into your designs, whether it be different precious metals, textures or stones. Do you decide this from the get go or have a play and see what marries nicely as you create your works?
It is definitely an experimental and playful process. I will often make many models and choose only one or two for the final item. Other times I might work on one intricate design for many days, this one may be more planned out and structured in its form.
Do you get inspired by the different seasons? For example, coming from summer through to autumn. Are there aspects of this that come through in your work?
Sure, but not intentionally, if you are looking at nature you can't deny that the seasons will be of influence in some way. I love seeing the acorns and the falling leaves in the Autumn or the new buds and flowers of spring. I'm so happy when there's a different creature, shell or seaweed on the beach bought in by the ocean's current. I'm always observing my natural surroundings.
Is there a local area to you, or a part of Aotearoa that is dear to your heart?
I live in my dream location... Nelson City. It is surrounded by mountains, ocean and nature. It's a lovely sunny place to live and work and I love to get out in nature and enjoy the all the peace and inspiration it brings.
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Louise Douglas is a long standing jewellery artist here at Kina, creating delicate and distinctive works inspired by her natural surroundings. We had the pleasure of asking Louise about what makes her tick and what her creative process looks like.
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