Sharon Church intends her brooch Shimmer to be worn pinned above the heart, and describes this placement on the body as both a lure and an animate curiosity. The tenderness implicit in this work has come from Church’s focus on her domestic environment and garden. There she has observed the quiet, moist movement of slugs and the plumpness of her aloe plants – two unusual sources of inspiration for her sensuous and organic jewellery forms. Of these organisms, one has the potential to sting and irritate the skin, the other to heal it; both ooze protective moisture when touched or pierced. Church carves her fanciful creatures from wood, studding them with old European cut diamonds that sparkle against the buttermilk paint to create a wistful reminder of nature at its most vulnerable.