As artist/jeweller, I have explored different parts of the body. Recently I have been discussing the breast in my work

For Meldings, I have isolated the nipple from the body as Gerd Rothmann isolated the lips, nose, etc. Where he used metal, casting directly from the body, creating a copy, I have chosen to work in a painterly fashion and further abstracted the form. I have interpreted the colour using beads in as a painter would use paint. From the community, I selected varied sizes, ages and skin tones as my models. The nipples are cut off from the body in the same way as the male gaze severs them from their function.

The nipple is taboo in �real life�. It is the object of constant exposure to the mass media, but only in the stereotypical pert youthful form. I focus on the diversity of the nipple, revealing its beauty performing its primary function, and the soft fading colours of the aged nipple for example. I hope to refocus the attention of the viewing public to this part of the body normally concealed even suppressed (if not compressed) by the bra. I also reveal the beauty and diversity of the male nipple, which has hitherto received little or no attention.