Artist, bird nerd, strength profiler, nature lover, business coach, academic and bush spiritualist; Rebecca Lea is a woman of many passions and talents, and a fascinating blend of science-based, logical thinking and spiritualism. She uses her academic background in positive psychology to create unique jewellery and in her work as a bush spiritualist. Connection is at the heart of everything she does. Connection with nature and connection with others.
She’s also very lovely, which I discover as we huddle over chai during the recent wintery blast.
The Birds and The Beach, which was launched earlier this year, 'blends science and ancient wisdom' through re-earthing, mindfulness and Bec isn't afraid to pull out a tarot card or two. “It does get a bit woo-woo and I’m happy with that,” she said.
White Clay Mountain is the home for her wildly popular, small-batch polymer clay and gemstone jewellery stocked throughout the region (you can find her stockists here).
Each collection is inspired by nature and I first discovered her work when I purchased a pair of polymer clay earrings at the Wollongong Art Gallery. I instantly fell in love with the bright pink and red colourway, which I found out later was inspired by seaweed washed up on McCauley's Beach, a beach I regularly walk on.
I thought that was a nice little coincidence and it turns out there’s an air of synchronicity about everything she does; small moments that have changed the course of her life. A bout of postnatal depression after the birth of her son led to Rebecca needing to rekindle her connection with her daughter.
"I’ve always been creative,” she said, “and I knew from my study that tactile creativity, that’s really good for wellbeing.”
Setting out with no real idea of what form that creativity would take, she ended up with a kit to make unicorns from polymer clay, an activity she knew her daughter would love – because, well, unicorns – but that would also help improve her own mental health.
“We made this little unicorn together and it was horrific! My unicorn was pathetic but she loved it,” Bec said.
"And then I had all this clay left over.”
These earrings are inspired by his photo of a Green Rosella. Photo: Rebecca Lea
Bec began making earrings, first as a creative outlet, then as gifts and finally White Clay Mountain was born.
“I knew I wanted it [the jewellery] to be nature-inspired and with my tie to the Illawarra I wanted it to inspired by my local environment,” she said.
This is where that meshing of what Bec refers to as her “two very different sides” brings a unique perspective to her work. She spends time in nature to boost her wellbeing, an activity backed by science, but it’s also how she gets inspiration for her jewellery collections. Each is inspired by an encounter she has had with an animal or a plant. She then spends time researching the species, which adds another layer of meaning to the final pieces.
Bec hopes that these nature-inspired pieces will in turn help the wearer.
“The idea is when you’re wearing the jewellery you get the same experience from nature. You’re thinking of nature, your brain goes, ‘oh nature’ and your wellbeing improves,” she said.
"I didn’t create my businesses as businesses, I’ve created them as an extension of me. These are the things I like doing and I want to take you with me. I want to be able to inspire people, empower people to be able to follow the things that feel right to them."
