Fantastical kingdom of jewellery
- Rie's techniques were perfected at London Guildhall University
- She makes patterns for casting in silver
- Environment and wildlife are some of her main interests
Rie Taniguchi, a Japanese born artist living and working in London, started silversmithing and jewellery making because she thought that “it would be more practical and useful than making art”. Using a mixture of techniques such as press forming, raising, constructing and carving with silver, she makes objects to admire as well as wear. Animals are one of her favourite subjects but her work is also influenced by the environment, the wildlife, folk tales, myths and memories from her childhood. She draws a lot which often leads her into deciding what to make – smaller pieces directly in silver while for the bigger ones she also makes paper and copper models – each process is different and can take anything between a week and six months.
INTERVIEW
Making small objects with metal. I do drawings and work from them. I use silver but also other metals such as copper, gold, stainless steel and other materials such as stone, wood, enamel and acrylic.
Non-human life – seen or heard through human eyes and ears – written or told by humans, images or sound recordings. Individuals with stories are often inspiring. It could be a person or an organisation trying to save a species, or a story of an individual creature.
I usually draw from photographs, choose what I make and draw more. I make models when necessary using paper, wood, copper etc. I’m inspired by endangered species, but not always. Under appreciated and misunderstood species are also all under consideration.
Probably, but I don’t think about those things. I use traditional techniques but nothing specific as I choose the technique that best suits the design.
