Thesis (MA (VA)(Visual Arts. Jewellery Design))--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / In this thesis I explore my jewellery practice as a transformative process. I suggest that the handling of material can be described in alchemistic terms as a process that is primarily aimed at the transformation of the alchemist him/herself. This view is applicable to jewellers who employ an alchemistic approach to their own practice. I will demonstrate this point by dividing my exploration into three sections, namely transformation of material (which also entails the transformation of value), transformation of meaning, and finally, the ritualistic process of transformation as a transformative element.

Thesis (MA (VA)(Visual Arts. Jewellery Design))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / In this thesis I concern myself with a rather particular process of making jewellery – a creative process which epitomises repetitive, labour-intensive and timeconsuming actions, results in an “optimal” experience (Csikszentmihalyi 1990) and leads to meticulous and refined products. In dealing with this process I present its conceptual framework which I understand as a sequence of physical, mental and emotional elements through which I move from fascination (the initiating factor of the process) to product (a concrete and legitimising by-product of the process). As I progress from fascination to product, I move through the distinct, yet interwoven stages of ideation, planning and preparation, production, meditation, incubation and insight. These stages, together with fascination and product, constitute a continuous, three-dimensional spiralling form which characterizes the conceptual structure of my process. Within that conceptual structure, I differentiate between the phase of decisionmaking and the “experiential” phase (here signifying “to experience”). The former phase comprises the stages of ideation, planning and preparation, and production; whereas the latter phase stretches over the stages of production, meditation, incubation and insight. I define decision-making as a sequential thought-process and distinguish between an open-ended and a highly restricted or defined type of decision-making. The open-ended type takes the form of free experimentation and dominates the stage of ideation, leading to those ideas which I choose to translate into concrete jewellerypieces. As I move from ideation to planning and preparation, and subsequently to production in developing and implementing my idea, I increasingly make use of the restricted type of decision-making in the form of relying on previously accumulated knowledge and experience. Understanding decision-making as “a logical process leading to a conclusion” (Loy 1988:146), I interpret decision-making in general, and the restricted type in particular, in terms of the philosophical notion of dual thoughtprocesses, based on the causally and sequentially linked elements of decision-making. As the stage of production progresses, the dual thought-processes of decisionmaking are increasingly relegated to my sub-conscious. Consequently, my consciousness is free to engage in what I refer to as meditation, as a result of which I move into the experiential phase of my process. My meditative state of mind can be ascribed to non-dual, spontaneous and random thought-processes which bring with an atmosphere of incubation out of which insights arise. As a result of my non-dual mind-set I experience both my thinking and my acting during meditation as non-dual, accumulating or resulting in an exhilarating, overtly positive, worthwhile and fulfilling experience. Even though this experience acts as a motivation for engaging in the process and is therefore of enormous significance, the tangible product of the process does serve a legitimizing function as it endows my almost excessively time-consuming and labour-intensive acts with purpose. However, as a result of the input of enormous amounts of personal energy over prolonged time-spans my process leads to an intimate relationship between my products and me, causing a dilemma and paradox as I struggle to let go of my jewellery-pieces.