Jewelry meets illustration in Castro Smith’s intricately engraved items

Castro Smith intertwines conventional strategies with romantic references in jewelry which pays tribute to historic engraving strategies. Skilled as a painter and printmaker, Smith brings his distinctive type to rings created in each usually European and Japanese kinds.

‘I am at all times making an attempt to push the standard strategies somewhat additional,’ the jewelry designer tells us. ‘I goal to precise my drawings and work actually so I have a tendency to not comply with strategies to sure strategies. Somewhat, I might study a method and adapt it to my very own type of carving steel. I additionally discover contrasts within the juxtaposition of symbols, particularly if it is a private fee for somebody. I can typically uncover via personalised customized work a mistake of strategies and supplies used, or typically it is discovering symbols and semiotics via that particular person’s id and our option to specific it.’

Castro Smith engraved jewelry

He’s drawn to private mythologies, his engraved jewelry changing into a vessel for storytelling. ‘The aesthetics are a sort of historic projected Babylonian seal carving over a lustre of steel. However in a way of depth, these items haven’t any bounds by way of conventional layouts and guidelines. For me, the ring and carving create a secret miniature world for the proprietor the place they’ll cover and present as a lot of their lives, desires, wishes and identities as they need.’

Smith makes use of seal engraving – the place the design is etched deeper into the steel than different strategies – for items that rethink the standard codes of a signet ring. 

‘I want to carve for candlelight, the place the expression of deep reduction carvings actually come to life in addition to the delicate shadows and lustre of the steel,’ he provides. ‘However utilizing daring glass enamel and ceramic coatings offers the photographs a distinction to the steel and a boldness that displays my love of comedian artwork, which can be one in all my inspirations whereas drawing.