- Words by Angela Cowan Photography by Don Denton
Stop by on Oak Bay Avenue, and you鈥檒l find a collection of jewellery that you won鈥檛 see anywhere else. There鈥檚 finely crocheted or knitted gold and silver wire, woven with iridescent pearls, Swarovski crystals and semi-precious stones that make up necklaces, cuffs and collars. And the collection of drop earrings invokes a sculptural and abstract sense of the natural world.
Veronica Stewart has been a mainstay at the gallery for a decade, and her pieces are unquestionably beautiful, but they also have a striking uniqueness to them that leave no doubt her jewellery belongs within gallery walls.
So often while browsing traditional jewellery stores, trends emerge from season to season鈥攙ery like the fashion world鈥攁nd it can be difficult to find something out of the box. But Veronica鈥檚 jewellery is in a category all its own, in large part because she approaches her designs with an artist鈥檚 eye for form, texture and colour.
Born and raised in Scotland, Veronica graduated from the Edinburgh College of Art in 1979, and quickly emigrated to Canada, settling in Victoria in 1981.
鈥淚 grew up in Scotland in a pretty hard time. It was really tough to make a living,鈥� she says. 鈥淚n those days, Canada was the place to be. [It] was the great free country where there was lots of support for the arts.鈥�
Opportunity did indeed knock, and by 1989 she was working as a full-time artist while raising her two sons. It was another decade or so before she started seriously exploring jewellery, and then she made a discovery that would shift her career path dramatically.
鈥淚 was a potter for the first 20 years,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd then I discovered this amazing product, which was precious metal clay.鈥�
Also known as PMC and something that is growing in popularity in the art world, precious metal clay is essentially gold or fine silver that鈥檚 been ground into a powder and then mixed with a binding agent.
鈥淵ou work with it just like a clay,鈥� explains Veronica. 鈥淥nce it鈥檚 fired, everything is burned out except for the silver or gold.鈥�
The malleability of the product meant she could approach jewellery making with a similar process as she鈥檇 used in her ceramics, but on a smaller, much finer scale.
鈥淎 lot of it is trial and error, and I do get a lot of inspiration from nature,鈥� she says. 鈥淎 lot of my designs are abstracted, or line drawings of flowers.鈥�
Veronica makes her own stamps to press into the clay, often creating designs that highlight a microscopic point of focus from something in nature: the innermost workings of a flower, for example. Using PMC, she can even take a piece of the silver or gold clay and press it directly onto a leaf or other object.
鈥淥nce you鈥檝e fired it, you鈥檝e captured that impression,鈥� she says.
Some of her most impacting pieces are made using another technique she鈥檚 honed over the years: crocheting and knitting fine gold and silver wire.
鈥淚 love doing the really extravagant bigger pieces鈥攖he collars and the cuffs鈥攂ecause it becomes so much more creative,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like wearing heavy jewellery, so I try to make things that are delicate but still a statement. That鈥檚 one of the advantages of using the crocheted wire.鈥�
The intricate loops and twists are often woven with Swarovski crystals or freshwater pearls, creating a complex yet delicate piece, particularly since Veronica uses 22-karat gold or fine silver for her creations.
As the process is as labour-intensive as it is intricate, Veronica tends to work on a few pieces at a time, with rest periods between to recharge her creativity and get new ideas, often from her garden.
鈥淚鈥檓 a manic gardener,鈥� she says with a laugh. 鈥淚t kept me sane through lockdown! I can always find things to do in the garden, and it makes me happy, looking at the flowers and trees and trying to figure out how to use them in whatever it is I鈥檓 working on.鈥�
From her early career in ceramics to her current work creating elegant jewellery collections, Veronica has been an artist for over 40 years, adapting and improving both her process and the business of her craft.
鈥淚 think of the whole journey that I鈥檝e been on since I first started making jewellery鈥 was doing markets and craft fairs,鈥� she says, remembering the early days. It wasn鈥檛 long before her work found its way into art galleries鈥攂oth in BC and further afield鈥攂ut it was a chance meeting with Heather Wheeler at an exhibition at Langham Court Theatre that introduced her work to the Oak Bay community. Heather, the founder and owner of The Avenue Gallery, invited Veronica to put her jewellery in the gallery.
鈥淚 love how The Avenue Gallery really does focus on local artists. It鈥檚 so important,鈥� says Veronica.
鈥淚 have huge respect for gallery owners. Once I became a gallery artist, it definitely increased the visibility of my pieces. And it鈥檚 really nice for me, especially at this stage, to just do the making. I get to do the fun part.鈥�
You can find more of Veronica Stewart at the or at her .
