A (Sort Of) Artist’s Statement!

For as far back as I can remember, I have always enjoyed drawing and making things. As a child I always had a secret collection of little ‘treasures’ that I had found or been given that I liked to take out and look at. That still defines me as an adult for although I have spent decades honing my skills I still love drawing, painting and sculpting, and I have a huge collection of photographs (thank God for the digital camera!) and images that inspire me, as well as a vast collection of materials that I can use to create artworks. Just looking through these things brings me a buzz of excitement and ideas.

I like my world to be pleasing to the eye, positive and upbeat and the things I create tend to reflect this. I like harmony and balance. I love to research before starting a project so I have lots of ideas going round in my head before I start to design or commit my ideas to paper. Inevitably, my work tends to lean towards organic, flowing and sinuous shapes.

Despite my love of drawing I was denied the opportunity to pursue art as I was told I was not good enough to take art exams at school. So I ended up following a scientific career until I had my four children. That put a stop to a lot of things (!) but as they got older and started school I began to get my much desired art qualifications as an adult learner at the local college. Anything vaguely art related that I could fit around the family I signed up for and over a period of 14 years achieved A levels in Fine Art, Fashion and Textiles, and 3D (Ceramics); a National Diploma (ND) in Fashion and Clothing, and a Higher National Diploma (HND) in 3 Dimensional Design. I also took courses in Interior Design, Life Drawing, Cake Decorating and Sugarpaste, and Silversmithing.

I have really enjoyed every course I have taken and really value the things I have been taught. My one abiding passion though has always been silver. I have always preferred the look of it to gold but could never wear it for long without the inevitable black tarnish creeping over it. The silversmithing classes were an inspiration but I hated all the constant cleaning of the firescale between every operation with the torch. Then I discovered pure (fine) silver – what a revelation!! – what a joy to work with and a pleasure to wear!! Because the metal is so pure it hardly tarnishes and even when heated to melting point all it ever does is sometimes retain a little coating of white on the surface that is easily removed without chemicals – but usually it says shiny and bright!

So I feel I am where I belong now…working with a material I love…making items that I enjoy creating…researching and sketching and developing my ideas…and then using my skills to make my ideas a reality!! How could I ask for more?

My wish is that some of my joy and happiness, and love of my work gets infused into each and every piece of jewellery I make so that it can then be transferred to you!