This course introduces contemporary jewellery practice for art and design applications for students involved in creative work for the first time. It presents the context for designing and making, introducing students to the practical and theoretical concerns of contemporary jewellery and object design through a study of current issues techniques and materials.

Through experimentation with materials and jewellery processes students will be asked to realise works which are wearable jewellery objects. The studio activity will examine a variety of materials with a focus on the technology of metal and its translation through heat into three-dimensional forms. The techniques of soldering, casting and fabrication will be explored using non-ferrous metals to translate drawn designs into finished objects, giving students the knowledge and skills necessary to undertake contemporary jewellery design projects for various applications.

This is a studio-based course, where practical projects are informed by the integration of research, concepts and material experiments to be realised in finished jewellery works. These contemporary jewels are made using hand processes and in some cases a combination of these processes with industrial processes and new technologies.