The beauty of craftsmanship often finds echoes across different fields and practices. So it is when the ceramic artist Jeanette Adrienne Wee encountered the fine jewellery icons of Tiffany & Co. The realms of earthen clay and gleaming gold may seem far apart, but they share common qualities. A tradition of handwork; a delicate sense of line, shape and proportion; an abiding attention to detail; and the courage to explore new creative possibilities through artisanship and fine craftsmanship.
For Wee, her ceramics practice is in a newfound space of experimentation and daring. But she holds that the fundamentals are immovable. Not breaking the rules per se, but continuing and creatively furthering them.
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A first step like wedging, for example, is non-negotiable. This is where soft clay is kneaded by hand to remove air. Wee uses a spiral technique, learnt in Japan, where formless clay is kneaded into an almost nautiloid shape. Done before the material even reaches the wheel, this technique is a delicate process that gives the clay strength.
Strength, as it happens, is an emotional core of the HardWear collection by Tiffany & Co. Inspired by an archival chain bracelet, HardWear’s design is a contemporary interpretation that joins U-shaped links with round ball ends. The idea is the transformative strength of love—that the security associated with a chain can also be imbued with delicacy.
The result is bold and chunky with a hint of an industrial aesthetic, but HardWear jewellery also moves with remarkable suppleness. That’s because each link is individual. Every one is finished, polished and hand-set with diamonds in certain designs, then joined one by one to create an elegant whole. A tremendous example is the Graduated Link necklace, where the gauge links are largest front and centre, and scale down in size towards the clasp end on the back.
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A collection like HardWear taps into a long-established tradition of chain designs in fine jewellery. Even Lock, which is one of the youngest collections at Tiffany & Co., takes its inspiration from an archival padlock from 1883. While the original is ornate, the contemporary Tiffany Lock is instead a sophisticated distillation of pure sculptural form.
Shaped as a minimalist oval, the Lock collection’s signature feature is a swivelling clasp. On the key bangle styles, the notch on the turning side is minutely detailed with a small indent. It simply pulls outward to release and clicks right back into place— an ingenious interpretation of a padlock’s design that’s both easy to use and secure. It took Tiffany & Co. over a year to design this clasp, turning a functional detail into one of movable beauty.
Another uncommon perspective that Wee is working on these days is to gently challenge the notion that ceramics are fragile entities not to be touched. To wit, her latest creations in development are clay sculptures with interactive wood details. A melon-shaped vessel, for example, with a T-shaped spinning top in wood that she’s carved. “Up till now, my works have been look-and-see. But I want to change the perception and encourage people to touch and play with it.” Not unlike jewellery, which must also be felt to be appreciated.
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Time taken to perfect a creation is a part of the ceramics craft process that Wee is familiar with. One aspect that takes a high level of experimentation and refinement is glazing, the process of coating a piece to give it durability, colour and its visual finish before it’s fired in a kiln.
Commercial glazes are readily available, but Wee develops and makes her own. The blues of the sea and sky are a constant inspiration for her, and it has taken over a year on some pieces to develop a glaze that would achieve the desired shades, textures and effects. While shaping and detailing clay is physical work, she describes working with glazes as chemical. “It’s a part of ceramics that isn’t always shown,” she says.
Whether gold or clay, as in fine jewellery or ceramics, the resulting creations are the fruits of finely-honed craftsmanship—a pursuit that shapes and reveals beauty.
Photography and videography Brian Don/The Creative Coup
Styling Jasmine Ashvinkumar
Hair and make-up Lydia Thong/Makeup Entourage, using Keune Haircosmetics and Fenty Beauty
Photographer’s assistants Koko and Fried Rice
Producer David Bay
Watches & jewellery editor Gordon Ng
The July/August ‘Cravings’ issue of Vogue Singapore is available online and on newsstands.
