By Lily Fonzo
On a chilly day in October 2022, Natasha Day and Lily Fonzo sat down over hot drinks to discuss Natasha’s capsule collection for GroundJewels. From its materials, processes and inspiration. To how her past experiences from Iceland, to the Norfolk Coast have influenced her. Read on to delve deeper and shop the collection.
Natasha Day is a mixed media artist with a primary interest in materials and their possibilities for mutation, change and evolution. Through both machinery and by hand. Her work always features the attraction of organic shapes lending themselves to both the tactile and visual senses with references to the natural world. Natasha lives and works in Norwich.
The Status of Scrap
Since beginning an MA in Fine Art at Norwich University of the Arts, Natasha has predominantly worked with steel and machinery in the 3D workshop. The focus of her GroundJewels capsule collection was to question how we view the value and status of ordinary and scrap metal.
“Steel is not usually considered a Jewellers first choice as a material although it has a very interesting history in the 19th Century as Berlin Iron, the metal of which steel is an alloy. Experimenting with both machinery and the material resulted in such beautiful contrasts both with shape and colour from the heat, resulting in the wearable pieces in this one off collection. I use found, scrap and reused materials as far as possible.”
Notes on the collection, by Natasha Day
(Wo)Man vs Machine
Favouring heavy machinery not usually associated with jewellery production, Natasha utilises ‘traditionally male’ tools in her craft. She employs the plasma cutter, the welder and the grinder to explore the potential for metal to be embellished, elevated and worn as sculptural art pieces. Playing with the juxtaposition of the tool’s harshness and jewelleries traditional delicate nature. The collection also references her family history as one of both Jewellers and smelters.
The pieces she creates are to hold, to wear, to feel, to look at. They are to be seen as unique, wearable, sculptural objects. Each creation is sealed with Heritage wax to protect the metal. As special costume statement pieces they are best worn over clothes and kept dry.
Far Away and Close to Home
Travel and varied experiences have been vital in feeding Natasha with inspiration and ideas. Memorable residencies in both Wales and Iceland, with the differences in culture, food, language, and landscape enabled her to create afresh. However, no matter how far afield her work takes her, the local North Norfolk coast continues to heavily influence her work.
Natasha feels strongly that making art is another way of working through both ideas and questions about our place as humans on this earth. Using materials to explore and express both ideas and feelings sometimes to resolution, sometimes to further questions.
Background
For many years Natasha’s worked as a practicing mental health nurse, both in the UK and Australia. This involved the use of art and counselling as part of an expressive, healing and therapeutic process with clients. On returning to the UK she transitioned to become a freelance artist, running empowering art workshops and exhibiting her work. After moving to Norwich from Cambridgeshire, she enrolled in a life- changing art course. This led to an application in 2018 to study at degree level in Fine Art and onto to the current MA course.
We currently stock a capsule collection of Natasha Day’s work, so be sure to be quick! Click here to see the full range.
For more information, see www.natashadayart.artweb.com and @natashadayart1
