We are so excited to introduce to you our newest designer, Cinnamon Lee. Cinnamon is based here in Sydney, Australia, and I know you’ll agree with me that her designs in both jewellery and lighting are beyond awesome! Read on for an insight into how the series of Straight Secret Rings are made, and a little about Cinnamon’s background.
Having always enjoyed making small things, and with a tendency to fixate on the finer details, Cinnamon got into jewellery design immediately after finishing high school.
Oye Modern: What attracted you to jewellery design?
Cinnamon: The main attraction was the tools and equipment on offer, more so than the jewellery itself. I can still remember the first time I used a metal lathe (at the tender age of 18), it opened the door on an amazing new world of possibility – where I realised you could make ANYTHING! After TAFE I wanted more, so I decided to further my studies at The ANU School of Art in Canberra where I completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts with Honours in Gold and Silversmithing in 2001.
Hugs & Kisses ring and the Going My Way ring from the Straight Secret series
Oye Modern: How did the design of the Secret ring series come about?
Cinnamon: This series is a continuation of my exploration of CAD and digital manufacturing techniques. My jewellery is designed to exploit the unique technical capabilities of 3D modeling and rapid prototyping to create intricate geometric structures in virtual space.
Computer generated 3D model of a ring
These structures can then be materialised as real objects using rapid prototyping or 3D printing, before being cast in metal, which not only turns them into durable and precious objects, but also extends the new potential of lost wax casting, an ancient metalworking technique.
Cinnamon's studio workspace in Surry Hills
I chose to concentrate the ornamental details of these rings on the inside. The symbols are hidden from view so that they remain a secret for the wearer.
Oye Modern: Can you describe how the rings are made?
Cinnamon: Each piece is constructed using 3D modeling software before being rapid prototyped in a special polymer that can be invested like wax, cast in metal and finished by hand.
The ‘virtual construction’ process begins with the creation of a single unit that morphs from a circle to another shape. This unit is then multiplied to make a single row of units. For this particular series the units are held together by a scaffold of rings and posts that are built up and joined to the grid of units.
Once the building of the ring is correct, the sprues or feeders that deliver the molten metal to the model during the casting process, are also built in.
The finished computer model is then ‘printed’ using an additive manufacturing process that builds a model of the ring layer by layer in a polymer material.
Rapid prototyping process and polymer wax model
The silver ring is made using the lost wax or investment casting process where the polymer model is ‘invested’ in a plaster type material, which sets around the polymer model before being heated in a kiln, so that the polymer is burnt away. This leaves the cavity for the molten silver to be forced into. In this way each polymer model is destroyed in the process, making each piece a one-off.
Cast silver ring with sprues, and with sprues removed
The cast silver ring then needs to be finished by hand. The sprues are removed and all the surfaces are cut back. The insides of the rings are polished and chemical oxidisation of the surface is used to enhance the contrast of pattern and scaffold.
Hand finished and oxidised Hidden Hearts rings
Oye Modern: In addition to jewellery design, you’ve designed some amazing lighting. What inspired you to get into lighting design?
Cinnamon: Lighting design has complimented my jewellery practice, and earlier this year I finished my Masters in Canberra, where my research investigated the potential of new lighting technologies for decorative lighting.
Spectrum light installation, from Cinnamon's Twighlight exhibition
I was initially drawn to lighting design as a reprieve from design that was limited to the body. Working with the light object as opposed to the worn object allowed me to work on a scale that wasn’t restricted to the body and could operate beyond the conceptual exhaustion of contemporary jewellery that I must admit I felt surrounded by in the late 1990s. Lighting’s ability to not only transform but ornament space continues to inspire my attraction to designing lights.
Photon suspended kinetic light sculpture, Twighlight Exhibition.
Thunderstruck and Sunlight/Featherlight installation, Twighlight Exhibition.
Oye Modern: So now that you’re back in Sydney after completing your Masters, what’s your favourite place to eat/drink nearby your studio in Surry Hills?
Cinnamon: Toko does a great Umeshu (plum liqueur) cocktail and the infamous Bourke street bakery have started making a passionfruit meringue tart that is next level.
Oye Modern: What’s your favourite thing about/in Sydney?
Cinnamon: Having spent the last 10 years in Canberra the thing I am enjoying most about Sydney right now is the diversity of its folks. But the best thing about Sydney has to be its beaches.
Oye Modern: Wow, what an incredible insight into the detail and technicalities of the design process. It just makes the final result even more beautiful and coveted. Thanks so much for sharing Cinnamon!