Jeanette James
Palawa Woman from Lutruwita (Launceston) Tasmania, Jeanette creates exquisite jewellery using traditional methods handed down to her from her mother, and further back through a long line spanning generations over thousands of years.
Known for the delicate and complex interweaving of Maireener shells, she crafts ‘beautiful necklaces to wear on special occasions and to trade with other tribes for items such as ochre and tools.’
She is also celebrated for her jewellery hand made from the quills of Tasmania’s short-beaked echidna. The long and onerous process results in stunning pieces which express the wild strangeness of this delightful little animal. Echidnas are a protected species but Jeanette has a Parks and Wildlife licence to collect deceased animals. She buries them in her backyard and over time there is little left but quills.
Her work is held in the permanent collections of Tasmania’s Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Queensland Art Gallery and the Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, NSW.
Known for the delicate and complex interweaving of Maireener shells, she crafts ‘beautiful necklaces to wear on special occasions and to trade with other tribes for items such as ochre and tools.’
She is also celebrated for her jewellery hand made from the quills of Tasmania’s short-beaked echidna. The long and onerous process results in stunning pieces which express the wild strangeness of this delightful little animal. Echidnas are a protected species but Jeanette has a Parks and Wildlife licence to collect deceased animals. She buries them in her backyard and over time there is little left but quills.
Her work is held in the permanent collections of Tasmania’s Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Queensland Art Gallery and the Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, NSW.
Jeanette James
45cm chain, 9 x 5 cm design
$300