I created this one-of-a-kind handmade brooch, The Cow’s in the Corn, from a 4x5cm piece of slate, a broken piece of marbled plastic, and a bent piece of metal with a hole for an ‘eye’. It reminded me of the nursery rhyme: “Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn. The sheep’s in the meadow, the cow’s in the corn”. I found all the bits and bobs to make this brooch on the streets of Melbourne.
I normally create wall sculptures and 3D sculptures from the wood, metal and tiles I find on the streets of Melbourne. However, through Instagram I met handmade jewellery designer Lynn Powers from New Orleans. She encouraged me to try making jewellery from the objects I found on the street, but I never had.
Then I saw that the Contemporary Art Society of Victoria was holding its annual brooch exhibition, so I entered–and found that making brooches is great fun. My brooches were displayed in 2019 in the Australian National Brooch Show at the Fitzroy and Eltham public libraries. In 2020, my brooches appeared in two exhibitions: Wearable Art at The Old Auction House in Kyneton, and Survival Kit (online) at the University of Melbourne George Paton Gallery. Now my brooches are also available through Incube8r Gallery, in both shops as well as online.
