Craft Council of Newfoundland & Labrador 50th anniversary exhibition

In September of 2022, the Craft Council of Newfoundland & Labrador (CCNL) marked its 50th year.  I was honoured to be invited to participate in the exhibition that celebrated this milestone.  Twenty-five long-time members of the CCNL were each asked to contribute a piece in response to a particular work made by a founding member.  I was paired with a colourful felted vessel by Lois Martin seen in this photograph.  In my mind, fibre or textile was an unusual medium with which to make a hollowware item, so I chose to exhibit my Jade Syrup Pitcher which is also a vessel made from an unusual material.  I was also impressed by the predominance of colour in the felted piece, and this is echoed by my use of jade throughout rather than mainly silver or gold.

The three images on the left illustrate stages of sculpting the jade. The light blue material is styrofoam, which has been carved as a preliminary model.
This photo of the finished Syrup Pitcher shows the hollowed out interior. The wall thickness toward the upper edge is 1/8", which allows light to illuminate the lighter green areas.
Larger chunks of jade were cut away using a 4" diamond wheel on a sander-grinder; a certain amount of rounding of the shape was also done with this wheel. Final contours were then carved using 1" to 1.5" diameter diamond burrs and were further refined using diamond hand files and abrasive sticks.
The shapes of dark and light green areas coincided beautifully with the overall form of the piece. The peridot in its green gold setting extends nearly all the way through the scroll and is locked in place by a large sterling rivet wire running side to side.
As I carved the jade, it was very exciting to see how its natural patterns and areas of luminosity emerged. In this photo, the shape of the scroll-like handle has been established and the area at the top is ready to receive a peridot gem set in 14 k. green gold.
The scroll-like handle is rounded underneath and is perfectly centred. When picked up with one's right hand, the pitcher balances comfortably; then with one's left hand under the curved lip opposite the spout, the pitcher easily tilts to pour syrup.