Physical Address
Pearly Beach
Western Cape
7220
The 6th Creative Napier Art Route ended yesterday, April 27th, leaving behind a trail of sawdust, charcoal, and stories. But perhaps no story is more evocative of the “Tide” in our name than the jewelry of Ben Goodwin.
While many jewelers work with cold steel and industrial molds, Ben looks to the ocean. He works with cuttlefish bone—not a bone at all, but the lightweight, calcium-rich buoyancy chamber of a cephalopod.
The Sacred Press
Cuttlebone is prized by artists for its unique property: it is incredibly soft on the inside while holding a rigid form. Ben’s process is a delicate dialogue with this marine material:
- Flattening the Sea: He takes two pieces of cuttlebone and sands them with sandpaper until they are perfectly flush.
- The Key and the Design: After grinding the edges, he marks a “key” across both pieces to ensure they align. He then carves the first side of his design—perhaps a small animal—directly into the soft, porous interior.
- The Transfer: Using a fine white powder and a gentle tap, he “ghosts” the image from one half of the cuttlebone to the other.
- The Compression: Unlike hard bone, cuttlebone can be pressed. Ben notes that you can use a tool to compress the material, creating a flat surface without exposing the grain. However, he often prefers to accentuate the natural grain of the “bone” to give the metal a beautiful, organic texture.
Sacrifice by Fire
The climax of the work is the pour. Ben carves a thick pouring spout into the cuttlebone, creating a target for the molten bronze. As the liquid metal hits the aragonite structure, the cuttlebone does something extraordinary: it singes and sacrifices itself.
The heat turns the material into ash, meaning each mold is a singular vessel that can never be used again. What emerges is a piece of jewelry that carries the literal “fingerprint” of the sea’s grain.
The Depth of the Dark
The final aesthetic of Ben’s work is achieved through a controlled aging process:
- Liver of Sulfur: He submerges the bronze in a cold mixture of caustic soda and flowers of sulfur, which blackens the piece entirely.
- Buffing the Tide: By buffing the metal back, Ben highlights the raised edges while leaving the dark oxidation trapped in the deep grains of the cuttlefish texture.
- Time: For a truly intricate piece, this journey from the ocean floor to the jeweler’s bench can take up to two days of focused carving.
As we wrap up the 2026 Art Route, Ben’s work remains a testament to the Napier spirit—taking the discarded remnants of the tide and refining them into something deep, dark, and permanent.
