| new jewellery designs |
| My
contemporary wire jewellery range has developed through experimentation,
playing and doodling with wire shapes, using various techniques such
as twisting, bending, wrapping and sewing to form unique pieces of
jewellery. I use differerent colours, thicknesses and types of wire
- copper, silver and beading wire - alongside beads and vintage buttons.
Visit the gallery to see some of my new
designs. |
| inspiration |
| I'm inspired by many things: nature - the unusual sculptural shapes of trees in winter, the form, texture and vibrant colours of flowers, the various shapes and irredescent colours of shells, feathers, butterflies and dragonflies ancient civilizations - their artwork, symbols, sculpture, jewellery and healing qualities they associated with gemstones I'm
especially drawn to shapes, such as the spiral shape, which
is believed to symbolise the 'cycle of life'. Examples of spirals
have been found in ancient civilizations all over the world, from
Glastonbury to China. More spiral
info and images from Malta... |
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| top images, inspirations from my travels in 2008: spirals in nature; the koru, fern spiral in New Zealand and spirals used to decorate ancient chinese vessels. bottom images, spirals in Malta summer 2010 |
jewellery making background |
| I've always had a love of handcrafted jewellery and began making my own jewellery as a teenager in the 1980s. For many years jewellery making was just my hobby and I enjoyed it as a creative outlet, something I could actually make with my hands, as my job although creative, was mainly computer based design work. |
| skills |
| My skills have developed over the years and I have experimented with various types of jewellery making - I went to a weekly silversmithing class for 5 years, have had 'a go' at beadweaving, gemstone carving and am currently learning glass fusing. I taught myself many different wirework and jewellery making skills, using a variety of materials, such as wire, leather, cord, ribbon and threads. All of this has has helped me find my favourite medium, the direction I want my design work to progress in and also enabled me to develop my own unique style. |
| qualifications |
| I have beginner, intermediate and advanced silversmithing qualifications |
| guild membership |
| A
few years ago, I was selected to join the Art and Craft Guild
of Lancashire as an exhibiting member and recently my work
was selected for exhibitions at the Royal Exchange in Manchester and
at the Arteria Gallery in Lancaster. |
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| making a jade pendant on a jade carving course in Hokitiki, New Zealand 2008 |
bebeady and my jewellery teaching background |
| For the past 8 years the majority of my time has been taken up with teaching. After I completed my teacher training at university, I began teaching design and photo-editing in Further and Adult Education. In 2005, I was given the opportunity to teach my hobby, jewellery making, at my local college and also classes in the local community. I began running my bebeady jewellery courses after successfully completing a business start-up course at UCLAN. I'm very passionate about bead jewellery and enjoy teaching and passing on my knowledge and skills to others. I also find the creative environment of the classroom helps to inspire my students, as well as my own jewellery making. |
