What does it take to make an heirloom of the future? That’s a question which has been playing on the mind of jeweller Joanne Gowan as she prepares for a major exhibition in North Yorkshire later this month.
The artisan has been working for several years already on a piece she intends will eventually earn that prized position of heirloom with what she calls “the slow process of thinking.”
“I had the idea to produce a Wuthering Heights piece about two years ago, when I moved to North Yorkshire, celebrating the first connection I had with the area from reading the Bronte novels from the age of 10.
“This Emily Bronte piece sort of ‘ate into’ my subconscious on so many levels: spiritual ideas, eternal love, passion, the wild of the landscape and the contrast of good and evil, all wrapped into one.”
So when Joanne joins with a group of the country’s top jewellers for the three-day event at Ampleforth Abbey visitors will have a chance to see her work to date on the piece which is gradually taking shape.
From Yorkshire to Germany, the process has taken Joanne on a journey of discovery.
“Initially I took some images from illustrations of Cathy in early book editions; contacted my gem dealer in York ( R.M Weare ) who sourced a highly talented gemstone carver in Ida Oberstein, Germany. Then the rock crystal carving took over six months to develop, with lots of input back and forth during the cutting process.
“Meanwhile I re-read the novel several more times and gradually listed and narrowed down the elements that I wanted to include. After that a lot of the ‘designing’ happens in my head,” she laughed.
“Over the months I get a clear mental vision and then on the ‘right’ day I sit down and work it all out on paper.”
The design, a vignette or picture piece, can be worn as a brooch or pendant but also is intended to be displayed as a work of art in precious materials. It will represent that ‘Cathy’ moment at the window which in many ways defines and saturates the whole story. Made within a ‘window frame’ of carved soapstone the design is based on the box bed window of Ponden Hall near Haworth which is presumed to be Emily Bronte’s influence for that scene.
“Cathy in rock crystal will appear to be coming through the leaded glass,” described Joanne. “The Ash tree leaves knock against the window, also representing the moment when Nelly speaks to Heathcliff on the morning of Cathy’s death and he leans against the Ash tree. In the foreground on the window sill is a sprig of Yew with its toxic red berries, which was often planted in graveyards and represents the bridge between mortal death, eternal endurance and the supernatural spirit.
“Alongside is a bunch of yellow crocus, the earliest spring flowers brought to Cathy’s bedside by Edgar Linton, representing renewal and hope. Which ties to the end of novel when the children of Cathy and of Heathcliff reach an eventual mutual connection.”
The incredible piece will be made in Rock Crystal, soapstone, silver, 18ct yellow and red gold, black rhodium plating, platinum, rubies and yellow sapphires.
“Many completed pieces of jewellery in my studio have the influence of the Yorkshire landscape running within them. Indeed it has been an influence on my work for very many years. So now I am delighted that I can call this place my heartfelt home.
“I am always very happy to discuss my work and to create jewellery pieces for individual clients which will speak to them in a personal and life-affirming way. Since neolithic times people have felt the joy of creating and wearing jewellery, its possession seems to be an intrinsic part of the human condition.
It feels the perfect time for me to create an iconic art piece of Wuthering Heights.”
The design sketch and rock crystal carving will be on display for the first time at Acquire and can be commissioned for completion.
