I live and work in the Otter Valley in East Devon as an artist/jeweller working with precious and semi-precious materials. A carefully considered design process and laborious hand fabrication and finishing techniques see me fitting comfortably in the Slow Art arena. My work explores the passage of time and the associated erosion and corrosion, often with coastal or woodland associations and resulting in sculpted forms with textures and patinas layered one upon the other.
• BA Hons Three-Dimensional Design at Brighton Polytechnic (now Brighton University), specializing in small scale metal working.
• Member of the MAKE SouthWest, the Association for Contemporary Jewellery and The Green Makers Initiative
• Two of my designs are included in ‘Metal Patination Techniques for Jewelers and Metalsmiths’ – Mark Runfola 2014 (Interweave – USA, Thames & Hudson - UK).
My practice
I work from an imagination fuelled by the stories that surround us and a visual memory enhanced by drawing and photography. My commissioned pieces focus on encapsulating the client’s memories and experiences into unique items of precious jewellery. Textures created by forging, chasing, punching and etching encourage the wearer to interact with the piece and this constant handling changes the surface over time. Sinuous lines and forms suggest movement but my work also moves as you wear it - pearls may tremble, metal components slip and slide over each other, necklaces lengthen or shorten, patinas mellow and change.
I am at my happiest while working with hand tools and especially when working with metal: creasing it with hammers; punching holes and raising shapes; softening it with a flame and then monkeying it around with my hands; the way that the sweeping lines and curls that populate my imagination can be fixed in the material; the way textures can be ingrained into the surface. I like working silver: the noise it makes when work hardened pieces clash against each other and the way textures become clearer as a surface patina develops, a glossy bright shine where it rubs against the skin and dull dark patches in the protected recesses. A darkened silver surface can be used to make gold accents sing out of a design. When making a large piece is constricted by the price of precious metals, I often turn to copper to ratchet up the scale but also to take advantage of the ease with which I can shape designs and a wider range of colours than silver or gold can offer me.
My work is displayed in select galleries throughout the South West and on my website, where items may be purchased.
