Liz Gallie Cane and Silver Necklaces

aaaJungle Jeweller

aaaaaFrom a studio surrounded by Queensland rainforet, Liz Gallie creates
aaaaastriking 'wearable art' that matches precious metals with native cane.

Thanks to Australian Country Style (oct 06) ooowords by Eugenie Navarre000Photos by jared Fowler

AAlthough Liz Gallie is celebrated as a maker of jewellery, the backbone of her creations is far from the precious metal and stones one might expect. Prominent in her studio is a selection of rattan - and not just any old cane, but pieces taken from the lawyer vine, a native of north-east Queensland that has made a signature element of her ‘jungle art'

Though the vine grows wild, Liz approaches it as carefully as a vigneron selecting grapes for a rare vintage: “It needs to be slow growing, on high, not wet ground, so its strong and durable”, she says.

Lawyer cane, a prolific climbing palm growing in the Northern tropical rainforest gains it's name from the fine stems covered with barbs which easily ensnare a passer by. Liz's jewellery also does this, ensnaring your imagination with her bold and innovative designs and attention to detail and form. “Jewellery is no different from other adornment, it must have great design, fit perfectly and be comfortable to wear”.

The studio, a quaint wooden building on stilts, is tucked into a stand of rainforest at Bingil Bay

This is cassowary country and although the big birds' endangered species status has usually meant they're rarely seen, these days it's not uncommon to see one slipping boldly through the undergrowth beside the Gallie studio.

I have taken advantage of what's come my way”, she says, “Often living in isolation. I've been inspired by the beauty of this place. I can stop work and go to the beach, but what I really love is the habitat here that harbours all the living things of the rainforest”.

For Liz Gallie, this is a paradise, the only place in which to live and work. “I feel so privileged to live like this and make a living. I have the freedom to evolve how I want. My work is not forced or pressured. Apart from jewellery, her work includes photo frames, candlesticks, knife handles, sculptural pieces, napkin rings, bracelets and striking cane-based necklaces.
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Each piece of jewellery is made using fusing and fabricating techniques creating a distinct look evocative of ancient civilizations yet with all the sophistication of the modern world. Liz works the metal from the melting and milling process

to the final finish preferring a soft molten glowing look complimenting natural materials such as bone, horn, and south sea island pearls.

Liz works with a combination of gold and silver and a variety of natural materials. The combining of these precious metals with lawyer cane was an evolution from weaving baskets while experimenting in jewellery making more than 20 years ago.

With a particular interest in the mechanics of catches and clasps, she often integrates them as the main feature of a design, being both a thing of function and beauty.

Her work is a paradox. It is organic and fluid but is still cold metal. She combines the bizarre and the unusual but never fails to produce a harmony of material, that in turn gives each piece of jewellery it's own spirit of individuality