Tessa Blazey
(b. 1974, Melbourne. Lives and works in Melbourne)

Tessa Blazey’s jewellery showcases the geometric structures of natural crystals. Crafting all her pieces by hand, Blazey creates sculptural forms from unusually shaped gemstones housed in curious settings. Often inspired by the personas of film heroes and villains, her pieces conjure the aesthetics of their cinematic references, appearing simultaneously ancient and futuristic.

For Melbourne Now, Blazey presents three cocktail rings celebrating some of her favourite female characters. Madison ring, 2021, is a tribute to actor Daryl Hannah’s mermaid in the 1983 romantic comedy Splash. It uses rough Australian opal and aquamarine set in spiky gold that resembles a sea urchin. The sizeable Eleanor Zissou ring, 2021, pays homage to actor Anjelica Huston’s larger-than-life character in Wes Anderson’s 2004 comedy The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. It features a coral-like formation of lab-grown emerald, rough aquamarine and Australian opal, round-cut aquamarine and Australian parti sapphire, and uncut octahedral spinel. Huston also inspires Blazey’s new Ethaline Tenenbaum ring, 2022, referencing the unmistakable style of Anderson’s 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums, in another sea urchin design using rough Australian opal and aquamarine. Made in Blazey’s Northcote studio, these one-off pieces are whittled in wax then cast in 18K gold.

Blazey’s work has been widely exhibited in solo shows at Pieces of Eight, as well as at Craft (Melbourne), Business of Design Week (Hong Kong), the Australian Design Centre (Sydney), the Australian Embassy (Washington, DC) and the Powerhouse Museum (Sydney). Her jewellery is held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Sculpture) and Interior Design (with Honours) from RMIT University – where she won the Carr Design Award – and an Advanced Diploma in Jewellery from NMIT, receiving the institution’s Studio Ingot Design Award. She lectured and tutored at RMIT University from 2002 to 2015.