Roses appear in many poems and songs. We love them in gardens and in lush flower arrangements.
No wonder I wanted to create some rose jewellery myself. It’s impossible for a jewellery maker (at least if you work with metal) to mimic the velvet feel of rose petals. Their deep colours and their scent belong to the organic world. Still, even in metal it is possible to capture some of their essence. The layers of petals that tells you that a rose is a rose is a rose.
As a jewellery maker, my take is to keep it simple. To suggest rather than tell. The ring in sterling silver and brass was my favourite to wear for many years. The copper roses are prototypes. I'd love to create some jewellery with these shapes one day.
I write this in the Christmas holiday and come to think of one of my favourite hymns: Lo, how a rose E‘er blooming (or in German Es ist ein Ros entsprungen).
The melody is very simple. In design, a simple shape lends itself to many variations. I mentioned this in another blog post (here is the link if you missed it), how different artists will create different work, even if the assignment is the same. In the realm of art, craft and handmade - also in jewellery making - our personal ways of looking at things play a role.
This song is a good example. It is still being performed and re-interpreted by a wide range of artists, long after it was first printed in 1599. To say that I’ve become enchanted by this hymn is an understatement. It’s an absolute jewel, in itself. It can easily take the disguise of a classical pearl necklace, a pair of whimsy jazzy earrings, a comfortable everyday ring, an experimental brooch, a colourful collar or an intricate chain. Whether performed by strings, organ, brass or human voices, it is like a piece of jewellery we inherited from generations before us, and that we can still wear today.
Are you curious to hear what this 400-year-old hymn sounds like today and how it has made its way into jazz, folk, gospel and other musical genres? Be my guest and come listen to my Lo, How a rose playlist on Spotify.
Do you wonder if there are any other links between jewellery and music? Find out in the previous post, Music for a jeweller studio.