Jane, naturally

I can't imagine where I'd be today if I had not been born in South Africa and exposed to this amazing nature and big-sky-landscape that still feels to me like a draught of cold water when you are very, very thirsty.
Introductions were made by fabulous excursions with my Dad, a keen bird-photographer and environmentalist (long before it was fashionable), climbing every available tree, spending hours sketching bugs & flowers, or making mice out of an old fur coat. My favorite Christmas present were boxes of coloured pencils and paints, chosen by my artistically talented mother.

The reconnection with the arts came in the form of me attending a hobby class for jewellery making. Attention to detail came easily to me (thanks to a lifelong habit of close observation) and I instantly loved to work with metal. This ancient and intractable material that could be turned into the most delicate shapes and forms, inspired me to take up studies in jewellery manufacturing.

Even though I always wanted to do fine arts, I was equally fascinated by life sciences and chose to do my bachelor of science in Joburg, which lead to a year at the Oceanographic Research Institute in Durban as a research assistant. Here, one of my tasks was to cut up crustaceans and my doubts about research as a career were confirmed. I don't regret the studies though and still find our planet and it's life an infinite source of wonder.

My design lecturer at Technikon Natal (Durban University of Technology today), Chris de Beer, introduced a multidisciplinary approach, and taught me to try to see a thing for what it was, rather than what I had hoped or expected it would be, and encouraged me generally. He also made me aware of how the process of how something is made is reflected in it's appearance, in a similar way to that the beauty of the natural world results from it's evolution and function.

In this day and age where jewellery is often judged by the artificially created value of its components or simply reduced to the materialistic display of wealth, I find it important to reconnect with a wider audience with the concept of the expression of identity through jewellery, both for the manufacturer and for the customer alike. For me it feels quite an honor and it gives me great satisfaction when people really enjoy wearing jewellery that I have made for them.
If you would like to see more of my work, please contact me by email jmcilleron@vitalitybroadband.co.za or by phone +27 (0) 83 331 8935.