In the 1970s, hand-made jewellery was all the rage.
Teenagers sported necklaces and bracelets made from all kinds of seeds, shells, thread and other found materials. One Whanganui woman, Ngaire Swinburne, took creative jewellery-making to a whole new level by recycling scrap metal into funky bracelets, necklaces and earrings.
The Whanganui Regional Museum has a comprehensive collection of jewellery designed and made by Ngaire, chiefly made from scraps of copper and copper wire.
Ngaire was born in Masterton in 1925 and moved to Whanganui in the late 1950s with her husband Bruce. She took up jewellery-making in 1970 when she and her husband bought a new television set.
According to Ngaire, she wanted to “counter the effects of watching too much TV so I [wouldn’t] get square eyes”.
Ngaire kept a bucket of copper wire and copper scraps handy to use for creating things, plus a few basic tools, such as wire cutters and pliers. She sourced the copper from local scrap metal dealers.
Most evenings, she played around with the copper pieces and copper wire, exploring the materials - and sometimes, she said, something would come out of it.
She exhibited her finished creations in displays by the Whanganui Rock and Mineral Club, of which she was a founding member.
I first came across Ngaire’s jewellery while looking for collection items to support an education programme about adornment.
A necklace from the 1970s, made by Ngaire Swinburne of Whanganui, from from copper, thread and shell.
Whanganui Regional Museum collection ref: 2001.54.58
The Year 10 technology classes from a local secondary school were designing and making their own contemporary jewellery from everyday materials, and they visited the museum for inspiration.
Ngaire’s work intrigued me because it was such a delightful example of reusing waste materials to create something both functional and beautiful.
Many of Ngaire’s jewellery designs in the museum collection consist of interlocking spirals of copper wire, simply made with a pair of pliers.
Ngaire also incorporated other interesting materials, including coloured thread and shell. Some examples of her work feature enamelling, a process that requires intense heat be applied to enamelling powder which has been carefully arranged on a relatively flat copper surface.
Enamelling takes jewellery-making to a whole new level of skill, and Ngaire obviously developed plenty of expertise in handing this material.
Ngaire died in Whanganui on February 12, 2016. Some of her marvellous copper creations are in the newly-opened museum exhibition Whanganui Mūmū - Whanganui by Design, which opened on December 4.
The pieces on display include a colourful enamelled bracelet, a pair of spiral earrings decorated with thread, and a copper pendant with a mother-of-pearl insert.
As adornment is both social and personal, our reaction to jewellery is tempered by fashion as well as aesthetics.
Enamelled copper jewellery won’t appeal to everyone, but for those of us who can remember the 1970s, Ngaire’s jewellery made from copper wire and enamelling may evoke a feeling of nostalgia, as well as admiration at her creative recycling.
Margaret Beautrais is the Educator at the Whanganui Regional Museum.
