Nora Rochel: Phytophilia

Artist list

Nora Rochel

Nora Rochel's new work is called “Phytophilia” a word invented by ethologist Ireaus Eibel Eisfeld and means “love for plants”. She draws her inspiration from the miracle of life, the cycle of growth, bloom and decay. The emphasis is on life affirming energy and the positive symbolism of plants and flowers representing growth and fertility.
Working with wax and exploring the potential of the material are key steps in the process. First of all she shapes her models by kneading, dripping, fusing and melting. She works with a variety of waxes from synthetic plastic­like waxes to fragrant high quality beeswax.
After preparing the model and adding the feeding channels, the second step is to convert the model into metal by a technique known as “lost wax casting“. After years of experience with this technique she now creates elaborately formed necklaces and sets the channels in the right places so that the necklace can be cast in one piece.

She likes working with the traditional materials of a goldsmith, including silver, gold, bronze and steel because of their timeless, solid qualities. Although these are serious metals Nora achieves an element of lightness by adding playful details or even a few bizarre touches such as leaving her fingerprints on the pieces.
Nora Rochel works with fair trade gold whenever available because protecting the environment, fair trade and sustainability are topics very close to her heart. Although she works only with metals, her jewellery still has a surprisingly rich colouring due to the use of various alloys and patination. Her pieces range from snowy white to shades of grey to dull jet­black ­ in some pieces combined with reddish bronze colours or warm tones of gold.