From scouring goldfields as a youngster to making swords, wrought iron furniture and outdoor sculptures and back again, Blackheath metal artist Ron Fitzpatrick has come full circle with his new collection.
A year in the making, his Sacred Feminine jewellery range reflects that journey and Fitzpatrick's lifelong connectedness to precious metals and gemstones.
It features eight styles of silver rings set with amethyst, peridot, turquoise, uncut aquamarine and Australia's national gemstone, the opal.
Their shapes reveal "the balance we're all looking at in ourselves" - the femininity of fine jewellery design with the masculinity of metal.
The new jewellery range follows Fitzpatrick's art show Adorn at Hartley Historic Site in November 2019, which upscaled many of his small designs into larger sculptures.
"I like to think of these new jewellery designs as wearable art, which is significant given that many people have a deep emotional connection to artworks," he said.
Fitzpatrick's own artistic journey began with jaunts around the Victorian goldfields with his father in the 1960s, and at school with a teacher who taught mechanics and metal skills.
He left school for a fitter and turner apprenticeship at age 15.
During a trip around America when he was 20, Fitzpatrick met an artisan knife-maker in San Francisco.
On his return, he opened a shop in Caulfield, Melbourne, in the 1980s and sold the knives and Thai Chi dancing swords he made.
During the years, he took up tree surgery work, travelled to India, worked as a cook, then got a job installing security grills, where he was introduced to the wrought iron work for which he is now renowned.
His metal art has evolved since he opened Talisman Gallery at Hartley.
First there were wrought iron pieces, polished dragons and mirrors. Then came the exploration of driftwood and large coloured glass garden sculptures.
Through it all have been recurring themes - gemstones, ammonites and nautilus shells, Fibonacci spirals and the Balinese jewellery he imports.
Today he coaxes metal into art on the forge in an old woolshed on the side of a hill overlooking a clutch of sandstone colonial buildings at Hartley Historic Site.
"I feel like I've come full circle,'' he said.
Talisman Gallery at Hartley historic village, Great Western Hwy (400m before turn off to Jenolan Caves heading west) is open from 10am to 5pm Tuesday to Sunday. Details: https://talismangallery.com.au/, 0407 723 722, talismangallery@bigpond.com or the Facebook page @Talisman Gallery Hartley.
