'The Most Romantic Film': The Inspiration Behind Tessa Blazey's Clementine & Joel ring

To champion the launch of Tessa Blazey's latest exhibition, Kindred Spirits, we took a moment to discuss the design inspiration behind one of her vibrant, sculptural rings. Read on to learn how Tessa selected gemstones and surface finishes to represent the complex relationship between two fictional film characters.

Your work often reflects the personas of film heroes and villainesses. How do you translate the essence of these characters into your jewellery designs?

"I think one of the most romantic films I have ever seen is 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' by Michel Gondry, which inspired my Clementine and Joel ring.

The couple Clementine and Joel (played by Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey) are both so traumatised when they break up that they each attempt to have all of their memories of the other person wiped from their mind. Whilst undergoing the memory wipe procedure, Joel changes his mind and decides he does not want to forget Clementine even though it's hurtful to remember her. He tries to hide a version of Clementine in a shameful memory from his childhood where his friends are bullying him. Clementine steps in to protect him. It's such a sweet gesture.

In the scene she is dressed in a child's cowgirl costume in pastel blue and pastel pink. Clementine is impulsive, dynamic, extroverted and such an interesting and strong personality in the film; her eclectic outfits and frequently changing hair colour are reflective of this. I thought a bi-colour gemstone would be a lovely way to express her dynamic nature. I chose a beautiful 1.33ct long emerald cut bi-colour pastel pink and green watermelon tourmaline to represent her character, and a 0.40ct round pastel blue sapphire to represent Joel. He is introverted, thoughtful, kind and rather naive. Together, these stones remind me of the sweetness and innocence of the characters in that scene."

"I wanted the setting design to have glitches and gaps and be a bit surprising, as a way of reflecting the scenes when Clementine is being erased from Joel's mind. The tourmaline is set skewed on an angle and the sapphire is set on a little angled claw tower above. Both stones have been set with a mixture of rounded and pointed talon claws to reflect the glitchiness in the final scenes of the film. The ring band has gaps and holes through it to reflect this as well."

"I really love how this ring has turned out. It's rather mad and beautiful."

What kind of characters do you find inspiring?

"I find all sorts of characters inspiring but I guess the thing that ties all these film relationships together is the level of vulnerability and intimacy the characters grow to have with each other. Many of them are strong and have a powerful sense of self."

To see more of the rings from Tessa Blazey's current exhibition, visit the Kindred Spirits event page.