The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 50 no 1 April 2011

Workshop
Getting a Handle on Findings
for Ceramic Jewellery
Jeweller Roseanne Bartley discusses the principles of findings and how they contribute
to the va lue, aesthetic and experience of ceramic jewellery.
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Findings is a term used to cover a broad range of jewellery mechanisms
of which brooch fittings. ear wires or bracelet clasps are examples. These
small devices. often metal, enable a piece of jewellery to attach or be worn
securely and effectively on the body.
The issue faced by many makers of jewellery is whether to use
commercial findings or make their own. The decision can be a pragmatic, I
simply don't have the time or skill. and to do so would price me out of the
market. But I hope this article may help you rethink the design parameters
within which you work and give earlier, if not greater, consideration to the
findings that you use.
If you know what to look for, commercial findings generally function
adequately. However, one problem to overcome is the aesthetic discord
that occurs between handmade ceramic objects and manufactured findings. Often the intrinsic aesthetic
value of a piece is undermined by the use of a mis-matched finding.
A successful pairing of a machined product with a handmade form is often compromised by the way
the components (eg. ceramic brooch and metal brooch finding) are bonded. More often than not a blob
of glue finds itself positioned as the middleman doing all the work. The problem with glue. aside from
looking unattractive, is that it has to work really hard to compensate for poor engineering. Glue can be
used as the noble assistant (e.g. to lock tight a screw) but it shouldn't affect the main substance of the
bond.
The material properties of clay provide specific challenges when working in combination w ith other
materials. particularly metal. Clay shrinks when fired, it cannot be joined by soldering, and it is relatively
weighty, yet fragile. One simple solution might be to provide a recess to situate the finding (e.g. brooch
fitting or ear stud), or to include the fitting as part of a frame in which the ceramic piece is set. I would
strongly advise ceramicists who make jewellery to place the same emphasis upon designing the finding,
and its relationship to the wearable object, as they would to the design of a handle for a cup . Rather
than being a last minute consideration, findings add intrinsic aesthetic and functional value to a piece.
Ideally they uphold or accentuate the concept or design expressed in the object. When designed and
made well, findings mediate or shape the wearer's experience of an object; for the wearer they can be
difference between pleasure, frustration or despair, especially if the piece is lost.
There are many different ways to create a brooch fitting, an ear wire, or a necklace clasp. If they
cannot be made by the maker, then it's possible to have them custom made by a jeweller. Alternatively,
a finding design can be drawn up in Illustrator and cut by CNC cutting options. There is no rule to
say you must work with precious metals. Materials such as silver or gold add to the value of a piece,
68 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS APRil 2011