My background was in metal casting, and I have extended my skills to casting organic matter as other metalsmiths would work with the lost wax method. I work with lost organic matter and present these things as silver objects to be worn on the body, as wearable art or jewellery.

Each casting is unique, as even seemingly similar castings of a specific flower or leaf type would reveal on closer inspection, with as many differences as each human face would have, in a sea of faces. Each flower or leaf form has its own character and physical nuance.

In studying the seasonal changes of the specific plant species I work with, I have witnessed their flourishing and their ailment, their sleeping periods, and the times when they push out an abundance of leaves. These growth spurts where they capture more sunlight for food prior to flowering, their pollination tactics, their seeding and the mechanics of the distribution of their seeds are constantly in my mind as I think in terms of translating this life force into silver.

In my musings, I compare the state of the plants which surround us to the state of our inner consciousness. Cleaner water, more abundant oxygen, healthier plant life and foliage are signs of the clarity and awareness of the human race. We are not much different in our primal state to that of our plant brethren.

Surprise remains the element which keeps me alive.

Nicolas Bladen
June 2006