Designs in Blue
“We love to contemplate blue ... not because it advances to us, but because it draws us after it.”
My fascination with the colour blue started in 2017 when researching for my Graduate Collection at Art School. The colour blue, as a pigment was once worth more than its weight in gold. As a jeweller, I was enchanted upon discovering this fact. I played with how the colour blue could be symbolic of value in my work, creating my own hand mixed pigments to dye wood.
Since then, the rich - or often contradictory -history and symbolism of the colour blue has become an endless source of research for me. Blue is both a luxurious and utilitarian colour; a rich deep azure when combined with gold is the ultimate display of opulence, yet the dark navy blue is synonymous with uniformity. Throughout history, blue is symbolic of both strength but also vulnerability; the Celts decorated their body when going into battle, perhaps to come across more intimidating and yet the Virgin Mary is associated with purity when dressed in blue. I know that blue will permeate my work for years to come.