Fragile / Strong

Piece Number: 0002

Title: Fragile/Strong

Type of Piece: Brooch

Materials: Abalone, Porcelain, 18ct Gold plate pin

Techniques: Liquid porcelain dipping, polishing

Inspired by/Learned from: Paper Porcelain Masterclass

Size: 5,5cm x 2,5cm

Date Made: 25 July 2025

Prize: Shop Soon online

Making & Meaning:

Over the years, I’ve taken many courses, workshops, lectures, masterclasses. Each left something behind, but a few stayed with me in a deeper way. One of those was the Paper Porcelain Masterclass by Tinne De Bruijne.

It wasn’t about traditional porcelain techniques. It was about experimentation, learning what porcelain can be when you stop asking it to behave. That course cracked something open in me. If you’re curious about the wilder edges of ceramic work, I can’t recommend it enough.

This piece began with a shell I found on one of my quiet walks, the kind where I keep my eyes close to the ground, scanning for materials. It’s a fragment of abalone, considered a delicacy in some places, but for me, it’s something else entirely: a sliver of iridescence, soft light trapped in hardened time.

I added three tiny spikes, made from toothpicks dipped in liquid porcelain. A simple gesture, really. They’re sharp, fragile, and yet surprisingly strong, a balance I admire, in materials and in people.

There’s a kind of poetry in that duality:
To be delicate and resilient at once.
To hold your edge, even if you shimmer.

Object of Doubt