In the Studio: Stefanie Cheong
We visited some of this Elements year’s makers in the studio, going behind the scenes as they prepare for Elements Festival in the autumn.
Stefanie Cheong is a designer and maker who explores geology and rock formations to inform her work. She brings a contemporary aesthetic to traditional lapidary process by cutting found and discarded rock and creating jewellery and objects. Often these are paired with recycled and fair trade metals. She started using Scottish found rock but recently she has also introduced making her own rocks from waste streams such as e-waste, plastics, glass and ceramics.
Stefanie’s studio holds countless examples of rock and fossils collected from her travels across Scotland and beyond. From granite and marble to obsidian and lapis lazuli, Stefanie has carefully curated a collection of ethically-sourced geological jewellery and objects.
Stefanie works from her studio at WASPS The Briggait in Glasgow, which she shares with fellow Elements 2023 Exhibitors Kelda Young and Rhona McCallum.
Stefanie in the process of creating her signature Interchangeable Ring, which can be made in both recycled silver and recycled 9ct gold. Stefanie cuts each stone by hand in her studio, and developed the Interchangeable Ring as a way to easily and seamlessly change stones, allowing the wearer to curate their piece. Each stone must be precisely cut to achieve the perfect dimensions to pop in and out of the ring.
The Lapidary machine in Stefanie’s studio in Glasgow. Stefanie carefully cuts and polishes each piece of rock to the required dimensions. Here, she cuts a piece of fossilised coral found in Helmsdale in the Scottish Highlands. Each stone is entirely one-of-a-kind, and the design of the Interchangeable Ring allows the wearer to flip to stone to showcase the front or back, revealing the unique qualities of each side.
Examples of (L to R) fossilised coral found in Helmsdale, Green Jasper from St Cyrus in Aberdeenshire, Scottish Jasper with red and yellow lines also found in St Cyrus, Diorite found in Dunure, Ayrshire, and Scottish Agate also found in Dunure.
Images by Eda Obermanns, Digital & Communications Officer
Published July 2023