“Curly Purpleheart”, Pendant on black volcanic stone necklace by Cathy Van Den Essen Jewellery

I completed my BA Craft Degree majoring in Gold and Silversmithing in 1992. I am constantly exploring new ideas and styles. I currently use a variety of metal smithing techniques to achieve patterns and textures with my silver. Some of the techniques I like to use include saw piercing, soldering, cold forging, roll-pressing texture patterns with a rolling mill, and Precious metal clay. PMC is an incredibly versatile material that can be rolled out, cut, embossed, and joined like clay. Once the work of shaping is complete, the piece is fired leaving you with a metal object. I choose to use local recycled woods and different exotic species for their unique colours and patterns. I am also hand-painting some beautiful and colourful mandalas on wood.