Kate Gardiner has created this charm in sterling silver and stitched it with coloured silk thread. Cast from an antique button that was discarded in a paddock in the rangelands of western NSW, the coloured silk refers to the red soils of the region. The manufacturer's text on the face of the charm reads, 'Ask for Crowns'.
A handmade jumpring has been fixed to the button, ready to be worn on a necklace or bracelet.
Sterling silver, silk thread.
Dimensions: 13.5mm x 5mm
Kate Gardiner’s Rangelands Revealed project combines the artist’s contemporary jewellery practice, her knowledge of Australia’s rangelands and respect for the people who live there, as well as her creative writing.
Rangelands cover approximately 80% of Australia’s landmass and can include savannas, woodlands, shrublands, grasslands and wetlands. Across these regions people are working to repair the environment through consultation with First Nations People, and by applying innovative, critically informed practices.
Kate’s range of sterling silver, silk and gold jewellery draws upon the formative aesthetic influence this environment had on her during time spent in western NSW. Every piece is infused with elements unique to the rangelands, from curved sandstone ridges to the bark of the ngarrkaray (Pilaarrkiyalu language), also known as the leopardwood tree, to the bright spots of gold in the wide star-lit sky. The coloured silk borders suggest red soil, vast blue skies, the pink feathers of galahs and the golden tan of the stockworkers’ kelpie collaborators.
Kate is an Australian maker based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country, Canberra.
