| This is the bulk of my creations made over the past year. I love working in the steampunk aesethic, an age when beauty, craftsmanship and longevity of an object was more valued than speed, designed obsolescence, cheap materials and the bottom line above all else. My name is Michelle Murray but I'm also known as "steelhips" on various forums and steampunk websites. I'm based in Perth, Western Australia although most of my clients live on the other side of the world in the United States and Europe. Like many other artists and jewellers, I was making "steampunk" without even knowing there was a name for the genre, let alone a thriving community around the world. The steampunk community is very special, not just a fad or fashion. Foremost it welcomes all, with many unique interpretations and a fluid Zeitgeist. It's in that spirit of including all, steampunk artists, in all mediums, are encouraged, supported and helped. Steelhip Design? I had both my hips and knee joints replaced and my right wrist fused all before my 32nd birthday. I've had Psoriatic Arthritis, an autoimmune condition, since I was 12 years old. My right shoulder will be replaced soon. I'm now 43. So it's pretty obvious why a bio-mechanical theme features in many of my pieces. The downside to being an "online" artist is not being able to see people's first reaction to my work. Many people send me messages via ebay and I really appreciate recieving them. You can email me here: mm@steelhipdesign.com. I'm hoping to exhibit in the United States some time in the next 12 months. If you are interested in buying one of my creations, visit my ebay store steelhip design or my etsy store steelhip design to see any new designs. If there are no items in my shops - I'm in the creation phase of the process. I only make about 15 to 20 pieces a month, so I make them over two to three weeks, then photograph and write about them and finally list. If you click on the "add store to favorites" on Ebay, you can choose to recieve a message when I list the new crop. Making jewellery was originally a way to relax after wrangling HTML all day. Self taught, I had some early success selling on ebay. This encouraged me creatively and I'm always trying to improve the finish and detail of my work. In the future I would love to collaborate with a clockmaker and add movement to my sculptures and jewellery. |