For me the most exciting things about dopamine are the feelings of desire, the anticipation and the rewards. I wanted to make a piece of jewelery that reflected some of these things. I wanted the jewelery to have some extravagance to it because I feel that dopamine is a special neurotransmitter. I decided that this molecule in my jewelry would be a 3D structure so it had some weight and some added intricacy. The finished pieces are given a high polish to reflect the sense of desire, like a magpie I often find myself drawn to shiny metal so it seemed an appropriate finish.
The first necklace I made I think of as a dopamine rush with many small pieces of ‘silver dopamine’ linked together. This was probably one of the most time consuming pieces I have worked on and I was certainly anticipating seeing the finished result. The rest of the dopamine collection is inspired by this necklace.