Finding inspiration for my work has always been quite simple: make work about what you know, and what you like. For years I worked with plants - in greenhouses, flower shops and nurseries, and this fascination with biology first inspired me to imagine my own organisms as jewellery objects. Microscopic cells, cross-section of plants, and richly illustrated collections of botanical and marine specimens gave me a visual base from which I started to create playful, tactile and colourful pieces.
    I continue to work with my child-like curiosity, and a keen interest in learning everything. I search for special characteristics of metal for the sake of experimentation, with the goal of finding suitable applications for them as wearable jewellery. I enjoy playing with scale; embellishing large pieces with small detail to draw attention to the workmanship and variety possible with the combined craft skills of metalwork, enameling and goldsmithing, to name a few. Likewise, I address specific themes (social, scientific, emotional, biological) often through recognizable forms, and enjoy the challenge of posing thought provoking and ironic questions about what jewellery and designer are in the context of contemporary craft in Canada today. Writing, in combination with graphic design, which I studied prior to jewellery, allow me to complete the process of designing. Placing my ideas, however unusual, into the hands and minds of my audience, be it in a gallery, boutique, or a picture on the internet, is what truly drives me to keep making, everyday. Jewellery is decorative, and it speaks like every other object or art-form, with its own unique language.

- Emily Gill