Rangelands Revealed — Shadow Earrings

Sterling silver earrings, oxidised, with an organically shaped section removed from each edge. On the opposite side of each oval the edge is stitched in an irregular border of black silk thread. The gently convex design includes a sparse, asymmetrical pattern of raised dots. The earrings hang from handmade sterling silver hooks. The design of this pair of earrings refers to shadows cast by bark curling away from the trunk of the Leopardwood tree on a sunny day. The trunk of the Leopardwood tree is mottled because the bark flakes off in small pieces, however, while the pieces are still partly attached, they cast such lovely shadows. The tree is endemic to the rangelands of western NSW, and is called ngarrkaray by traditional custodians Pilaarrkiyalu language group of the Ngiyampaa Wangaaypuwan people.

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Kate Gardiner handcrafts jewellery in tribute to the rangelands of Western NSW, and she is based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country/Canberra. Though her practice, Kate creates pieces that are a distillation of the colours and the small and large features of the rangelands. Her focus includes the curving ridgelines of sandstone that extent for kilometres through the landscape, the red sandy-loam soil, as well as tiny fragments of tree bark and the brilliant stars that blanket the night sky. Kate was a successful entrant in the Emerging Artist Category of 'The Earring Show' 2023, Craft Council of British Columbia, Canada, and she is a successful entrant to the upcoming exhibition 'Pin 9', being held in August 2023 at the Australian National Capital Artists Gallery, Canberra.

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Material: sterling silver, black silk, liver-of-sulphur, wax.

Dimensions:  4 x 2.5 x 0.5cm