Murrine Portal
Portal Neck Pieces in Murrine Cane 2022
All image credit Fred Kroh
The Portal neck pieces were born from an intimate relationship with material, process, aesthetic and the conceptual departure from earlier jewellery works.
The detail created in the (glass) murine cane draws the eye into the work in mesmerising fashion making these statement works tell a story of taste and glass history.
The tube encompasses breathe, inside/outside space and can be worn nestled within the natural curves of the body.
A play with shape, scale, length of suspension delivers a broad scope for individual taste, body shape and personal attraction to colour and detail. The hand sewn, soft, silk sash nestles easily under any garment with no protruding fastening points, these neck pieces can be easily layered between dress and dress jacket.
The glass elements are blown by Ruth Allen in her Melbourne hot glass studio. Colours are chosen, layered and pulled into canes. These long lengths of glass are then cut and placed on the cross section in a tile form to expose intricate patterning.
The tile is heated in the hot shop, squeezed to fuse the pieces together and then rolled up on a blow pipe. Now the canes can be reheated and fused entirely as well as curved slightly to sit nicely on the body.
Once the forms have cooled slowly the shapes are cut, ground and polished using specialised cold working equipment. The surface has been carved in a scollop pattern on a lathe using diamond wheels, in an Italian process called ‘Battuto’.
The presentation sash is hand sewn tubes of silk.
