On the Block Jewellery Show
30th June - 29th September 2018
A selection of jewellers who all create unique statement pieces of contemporary jewellery deserving special attention. These beautiful jewellery collections are given a platform to showcase the qualities found in various materials and reveal a variety of ways pieces are constructed using traditional jewellery making techniques.
Image; Stacey West
Stacey West
Stacey works from a small studio space in Cornwall. She Studied for a BA (Hons) Degree in Jewellery and Silversmithing at Plymouth College of Art. Stacey has always held a strong interest in the process of creating something beautiful from raw material and she explores the qualities and properties of a variety of mediums. These explorations are combined with traditional jewellery silversmithing techniques to create an eclectic fusion of experimental, artistic and classical jewellery design. Living in an area of outstanding natural beauty it is easy for Stacey to be inspired by the organic shapes, textures and forms that make up the environment. Her jewellery explores what the natural environment offers us as well as being directly influenced by its artistry and charm. Stacey’s ‘Found Treasures’ collection plays on the idea of finding something beautiful within a seemingly worthless material; much like crystals found among rock and stone. Sterling silver and cast pewter create a contrasting combination of geometric shape and organic form as colourful synthetic stones look to be emerging from the uneven surface. ‘Interlocking Strata’ is a collection of contemporary jewellery pieces that encourage the wearer to interact with moveable, interlocking textured elements. Paired with handcrafted sterling silver structures, the elements move freely and satisfyingly interlock, creating an experience for the wearer whilst retaining a luxury aesthetic inspired by the lines, textures and colours found in the stratified cliffs of the stunning and rugged beaches across North Cornwall.
Lindsey Gallacher
Lindsey’s great grandfather worked at the pavement works during the early 1900s. The machines used to cut stone then comprised of wooden batons that rubbed sand back and forth to wear a grove into slabs. These paving stones have been used to pave cities all round the world including Edinburgh's Royal Mile where Lindsey studied at the Edinburgh College of Art. The feeling of knowing she was walking over these stones whilst living away from home, had a mild sense of calming on her homesick mind. Lindsey moved back to Caithness after nearly 20 years away. The local landscape was so familiar and she struggled to accept why she had never appreciated the beauty and uniqueness of the wild open spaces before. Lindsey’s new home is surrounded by miles of well-crafted stonedykes. Gaps are appearing in the walls and these days farmers patch the holes with wire fencing, the craft of drystone building is a dying art. Lindsey spent two years working with Caithness stone figuring out this beautiful and frustrating flaky and muddy material, then in 2016 was awarded money to purchase a powerful stonecutting machine. The stone that Lindsey carefully picks is covered with the very common Crab's Eye Lichen or Orchrolechia, an indication of the clean air of Caithness.
Catherine Thomas
Catherine is a Dorset-based jeweller, working from a small studio at home and exhibiting through various galleries and fairs. Catherine’s designs are informed by many influences from her life and often stem from a general sense of what feels ‘right’, whether that's in the limited colour palette of semi-precious stones that she uses, or in the etched patterns and textures which characterise her beautiful work. Each item is entirely handmade employing traditional jewellery bench skills. Catherine works largely in sterling silver and enjoys adding highlights in gold, creating contemporary designs that are functional, easy to wear and highly individual.
Nicola Rawlings (Seed)
Nicola’s Jewellery is an exploration of different media and she often works with with silver wire, ceramic stoneware, rubber and leather. An important part of Nicola’s making process involves the sourcing of materials and ideas. Nicola’s work begins as a wall of inspiration very like a mood board; she gathers pieces of information including visuals, photographs and item’s she has selected for their colour or surface texture. She is fascinated with the idea of blending the industrial and the natural world in order to create some form of balance. Nicola often constructs sample pieces by hand exploring ways in which her studies can be transformed into contemporary wearable pieces. These studies are further manipulated and later translate into designs. Nicola’s cross-disciplinary approach enables her to manipulate traditional methods such as etching, embossing and hand building with elements of print and collage exploring the relationship between the material and herself.
Rachel Butlin
Rachel seeks to challenge the concepts of contemporary interactive and wearable jewellery producing a range of high end, mixed material wearable pieces. She loves to challenge the way in which people perceive a piece, by creating small scale sculpture that can be worn on the body, in a way chosen by the wearer. Intrigued by Japanese culture and tradition; the art of placement and cultural colour palettes remain central in Rachel’s designs. Her inspiration is drawn from Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement, which focuses on harmony, colour use, rhythm and elegantly simple design. She is also fascinated by Japanese traditional architecture, unique characteristics bringing together natural materials and colours, with dark and bright contrasts. This is reflected in her playful and detailed approach to design and the making process. She gathers materials in a collection, waiting to explore them through combination and placement, in a 3D drawing process. Drawing with materials is an essential part of her practice, with linear forms, featuring strongly alongside geometric shapes and spaces. These ideas and themes are explored through bold strikes of colour and simple lines, brought together to create statement brooches, rings and neckpieces. By stacking, layering and placing components together, she finds different ways of constructing pieces using traditional jewellery techniques such as setting and riveting. This process allows her to explore and explode original thoughts, creating new ideas from one original starting point.
Lynn Clayton
Lynn completed a degree in Metalwork and Jewellery at Sheffield Hallam University in 1997. Since then she has mainly been working in Art Education and raising her family. Lynn has always taken inspiration from geometric and architectural forms, particularly Deconstructivism, Russian Constructivism and Architectural drawings. She explores lines and solid forms; how these elements meet and fit together, interlocking to create simple shapes. In the development of her ideas she likes to dismantle forms and draws things out, making space and dimensions important. Lynn enjoys seeing what crisp, clean lines can be created with different materials and the contrasts that can be achieved within a piece.
Tiki (Cécile Gilbert)
Originally from France, Cécile is a self-taught designer-maker living and working in Brighton. Her main medium is polyester resin, which she combines with oxidised sterling silver. Inspired by Bakelite jewellery and designs of the 1920s and 30s, Cécile has created a range of contemporary jewellery that reflects those qualities, whilst adding a 21st century sophistication. Through the years she has developed cut out and recasting techniques which allow her to play with geometric shapes and abstracts motifs. Bangles are chunky, necklaces bold and earrings eye catching. All are cast in strong colours and finished to a lustrous shine. Cécile mixes her own pigments to get the exact hue and shade.
Harriet Morris
Harriet is a British designer maker based between San Miguel de Allende, a town in the central highlands of Mexico and the UK. After studying History of Art at Cambridge University Harriet continued her arts education at City and Guilds of London Art School. Since then she has gathered a wide range of experience in design, becoming a member of the Design Team for London 2012 Olympic Ceremonies and working as a costume designer and art director for film and theatre in London. Harriet began her jewellery studies at Kensington and Chelsea College with Kelvin Birk before coming to Mexico to continue at Sterling Quest School in San Miguel de Allende.
Michele Daykin
Michele is a designer maker based in Fife, Scotland. She studied at Edinburgh Telford College (Diploma in Stitched Textiles) and then at Dunfermline Carnegie College (Jewellery Design and Manufacturing). Michele now combines these two disciplines in her jewellery designs made from silver and batik fabric. Inspirations for Michele’s designs come from surfaces; the repeat markings on Glasgow pavements, the chisel markings on Edinburgh walls along with aged and weathered brick and stonework. Michele works predominantly in silver where she treats each piece individually; no two pieces will be exactly the same. Michele batiks the fabric herself and mixes the pigments to dye each panel separately.
Kelly Munro
Kelly grew up on the north east coast of Scotland in a small finishing town called Wick. She is heavily inspired by the town’s historic fishing industry. Her collections draw inspiration from creels, nets, ropes, buoys, the Silver Darlings and her most recent collection is inspired by the drifting tides of Caithness. Combining wood and silver to make her pieces she creates a contrast of bold colour with detailed saw pierced net like structures in silver. She graduated from Edinburgh College of Art with a first class honors degree in jewellery and Silversmithing. The technique of intricate saw piercing enables her to create nets and lightweight structures. She aims to shadow the forms of the nets and pots, and loosely interprets these shapes in her own way. Kelly often creates detailed patterns combining charred edges and loose paint strokes onto weathered wood. Her work aims to portray the rustic look of items found near harbours and tide lines.
Pendant
Pewter pendants
Pendant
Bracelet of many stones
Lichen cufflinks
Brooch
Mustard spot walnut pendant
Walnut and enamel line earrings
Statement walnut bamboo and enamel necklace
Seed Design (Nicola Rawlings)... | Seed Design (Nicola Rawlings)... | Stacey West... |
---|---|---|
Stacey West | Tiki (Cecile Gilbert)... | Tiki (Cecile Gilbert)... |
Harriet Morris... | Harriet Morris... | Lindsey Gallacher... |
Lindsey Gallacher... | Michele Daykin... | Michele Daykin... |
Rachel Butlin... | Rachel Butlin... | Catherine Thomas... |
Catherine Thomas... | Lynn Clayton... | Lynn Clayton... |
Kelly Munro... | Kelly Munro... |