The first step in making a piece cast leaf jewellery is to collect the leaves themselves. Most of the Tasmanian native species I work with, such as the Huon, Pencil and Celery Top pine, and Nothofagus (Beech) varieties, exist only in the sub-alpine areas of the Tasmanian forests. Every six weeks or so I travel to different parts of the island to collect small batches of leaves.

In preparation for the casting process I paint the back of each leaf with melted bee's wax for thickness and strength - the front of the leaf remains untouched. The leaves are then sent to a foundry where they are magically transformed into bronze or sterling silver through a lost wax casting process - a practice of metal fabrication which has existed for over 6000 years - forming a once only rendering of each leaf.

The now metal leaves are then sent back to me, sprues, stems and plaster remnants attached. The results are often surprising: I'm never quite sure what I will be working with over the next few weeks. Each leaf is unique, and each series of designs is an intuitive response to the small groups of leaves collected from the forest just a few days before.

This is a creative process that continually inspires, and reflects a very deep, personal connection with place.