Texture is feeling

Texture in Jewelry Design, lesson 2

Lucie Gledhill

Lucie Gledhill, Shell brooch, Copper and silver solder.
This piece was recently acquired for the Goldsmiths’ Company Collection. Read about it below.

Texture evokes an emotional or visceral response in addition to a physical one.

Jewelry is intimate.
We hold it in our hands and wear it next to our skin.
How it feels has as much impact as how it looks.

Craft objects differ from paintings and sculptures because crafts are meant to be touched. As designers, we can utilize both visual and tactile textures to tell a story and evoke emotion.

Texture can result from the materials used, such as raw surfaced gems, fur, leather, and wood, or from the process used to create the form.

Emotional Responses to Texture

Here are examples of jewelry where texture is used to express concepts, startle the viewer, or for pure pleasure. Sometimes, the texture is hardly noticeable, and in other pieces, it is dominant. In all examples, you will agree that the work would be diminished or fail without the element of texture.

Acquisitions for the Goldsmiths’ Company Collection 2024

We start with a selection of jewelry made by artists whose work was acquired for the 2024 Collection of the United Kingdom’s Goldsmiths’ Company archive.

from the Goldsmiths Company website:

“The Collection of The Goldsmiths’ Company is dedicated to silver, mostly made in Britain, from 1350 to the present day; as well as studio art jewellery, and art medals. It is a working collection that is displayed, loaned, worn, and used for both its intended purpose and to teach the next generation of makers.

The gifts, commissions and purchases outlined in this report broaden and extend the story of remarkable contemporary jewellery, silver and medals in the Goldsmiths’ Company Collection, and honour our ongoing commitment to supporting the trade and craft.”

You can view a catalog of the celebrated items here.

Ebbe Weiss-Weingart, (1923-2019) Pendant, Diskus, Fine gold, silver. 1988. Photo by Uwe Dettmar

An impressive collection of Weiss-Weingart’s work was gifted to the Collection, adding to previously acquired items and reflecting her impressive legacy.