Julie Blyfield

Adelaide-based jeweller and metalworker Julie Blyfield is renowned for her use of the traditional techniques of chasing and repoussé to produce delicate works of jewellery that reference the preserved Australian floral specimens in natural history collections.

Dog Wattle vessel (2007) Gray Street Workshop, South Australia. Blackened copper 10.0 × 8.2 cm (diam.); Ed and Sue Tweddell Fund for Southg Australan Contemporary Art 22007, Art Galley of South Australia, Adelaide. Image couresty Julie Blyfield.

Julie studied a little jewellery making while training as an art teacher in the 1970s and fell in love with the small scale and intimacy of the work. The real turning point came in 1985 while teaching in the UK. “It was my ‘a-ha’ moment. I saw bold, bright jewellery made from all kinds of materials and knew I had to pursue it,” said Julie. “Back in Australia I learned enamelling, chasing and repoussé, but I never finished the course! In 1987 I joined Gray Street Workshop, a jewellery collective where I worked for 23 years.”

Julie set up a garden studio in 2010 and has worked there ever since. “I look out onto a lush garden I've lived beside for over 30 years. It's my happy place.”

Australian flora, particularly the preserved floral specimens found in natural history collections have been an important inspiration to Julie’s work. She creates delicate jewellery that references botanical forms, a tradition that goes back to colonial gold- and silversmiths working with wattle, gum blossoms and grass trees.

Julie accepts that the future for craft makers in Australia is tough. “Funding cuts and reduced education opportunities make it harder for young makers to see a path forward. But I'm optimistic,” she said. “They're intuitive, savvy with social media, and can access the world's jewellery scene in ways we never could.

“Pathways like studio placements at JamFactory in South Australia offer real professional development. I hope through mentoring I can encourage them to keep going. The practice will evolve and grow to reflect the times.”