Emily Nixon’s work is a real inspiration for me as she, like me, is heavily influenced by the natural world. She is particularly intrigued by the organic forms she comes across where she lives, on the coast of Cornwall. I think her design influences really come through in her work, specifically through the textures and shapes of her pieces. I love her ability to show her influences proudly within her work, but not so much so that the wearer couldn’t make their own speculations about the piece. I think it is important for jewellery to show the personality of the designer as well as being something of value only to the wearer.

I love Brunacci’s use of colour and texture in her designs. The application of the lost wax carving technique allows her to create beautifully tactile pieces that relate greatly to her influences of the natural world. For example, the silver ring below takes inspiration from the form and textures of seaweed. Tactility in design is very important to me as I believe a textured piece of jewellery or silversmithing is much more visually engaging to a viewer or wearer. This is something I’d like to include in my own work for the final wax designs.

Art Nouveau 

Art Nouveau was an incredibly influential movement from the late 1800s until the beginning of the First World War. It focused on the use of flowing organic lines, taking inspiration from natural forms. Art Nouveau designs are anything but plain and are stark contrasts to the art movements that follow it like Art Deco and Bauhaus with their embellishments and decorative finishes. Much of late 19th century and early 20th century architecture, graphic design, interior design and fashion was inspired by this movement and produced countless well known artists, designers and artworks themselves.

Left – Moulin Rouge, Henri De Toulouse Lautrec, Middle – The Casa Batllo, Antoni Gaudi, Right – Monaco Monte Carlo, Alphonse Mucha

Arts and Crafts

The Arts and Crafts movement was popular in mid 19th century Britain and was, first and foremost, a backlash against the new industrialisation of the UK. Art and Crafts focused on the use of traditional making skills, creating handmade pieces inspired, like Art Nouveau, by natural and organic forms. The movement championed handmade goods, in the form of wood carving, textiles, tiling and glassware. Arguably the most famous participant in the Arts and Crafts movement was William Morris. Morris’s textile and wallpaper designs are instantly recognisable and he too was a believer in the continued use of classic production techniques rather than yielding to the new method of mass produced goods. His use of traditional woodblock printing for this wallpaper designs is an example of this.

        

 William Morris textile and wallpaper designs

I am especially drawn to the work of William Morris, particularly due to his bold use of colour. His colour palettes perfectly compliment the stylised organic forms in his designs. The overall premise of the Arts and Crafts movement interests me also, because of the strong desire to use traditional making methods, I often find that I enjoy making more when I can really feel the materials I’m working with and I have that tangible relationship with the piece I’m creating. I love Morris’s use of pattern in that he has managed to pack as much vibrant decoration into his work as is possible without it being too busy or garish. Going forward, I’d like to try and incorporate Morris’s application of pattern into my chasing and repoussé panels and try to recreate the balance between detail and successful design that he achieves.

Louis Osman

While scrolling through the exhibition, I was immediately drawn to Louis Osman’s sketches of his silver goblets. My eye was captured by the wonderful colour contrast between the white soft pastels he has used against the brown paper background. The designs are then brought to life by the dark charcoal or soft pastel shading. The realised design is just as captivating with Osman’s beautifully textured metal and both the contrasting shapes and colours.

I also loved Louisa Osman’s ‘Architectural Heritage Medal’. Again, I was drawn to the piece by the sensitive soft pastel sketches, this is a technique of design drawing I would like to try because of the charming and detailed finish it achieves. The actual piece is interesting as well because of the bronze casting method which makes the piece fell almost ancient.

Angela Cork

I love Angela Cork’s rosewater dish because its visible link to her research. The deliberate folds in her metalwork clearly show her interest in her subject of inspiration. The choice of boat sails is an intriguing subject due to their ever changing form. This is an area I am  interested in, the concept of jewellery or silversmithing appearing to change depending on the viewpoint.

Theresa Nguyen

I was fascinated by Theresa Nguyen’s work because of it’s relevance to the form and nature brief for this course. The final form is so true to life that it almost looks as if it has been cast, but the artist has achieved this look by folding and textured hammering. I also love the tactile nature of this piece, the folds in the leaves give it a sense of movement, making me want to hold the piece and fully understand its form.

Junko Mori

Mori’s ‘British Hedgerow Cups’ are a beautiful representation of the interesting form found in the countryside. The pieces perfectly illustrate the seed pods and plants that make up hedgerows and the individual handmade punches are a playful way of showing  this. I was also drawn to these designs as chasing is a technique I’m really interested in learning about as I’d love to be able to transfer illustration I’ve done onto metal in some way.

Gilbert Riedelbauch is a German designer who combines practical silversmithing techniques with modern digital design methods like auto cad. His combined use of digital and traditional making allows him to edit and view his designs before realising them as a final piece of metalwork, saving time and materials. I love Riedelbauch’s minimal style of working, the simple scores he makes in his work lead the eye around the piece and that, combined with bold colour choices, makes for a visually stunning end result.

Ellys May Woods is a recent graduate from the Glasgow School of Art and is heavily influenced by the minimalist modern architecture of Scotland. She models her designs on the interesting shapes created by the bridges crossing the Firth of Forth, which change depending on the viewpoint. Her combination of contrasting colours and clean cut, geometric folds in her metalwork allows her to achieve a sculptural and minimalistic aesthetic in her pieces.

Based in London, Paul Wells is renowned for his use of scoring and folding methods in his jewellery and silverware. He is responsible for the creation of curved scores in his metal, a technique which allows the metal to be folded in beautifully unusual ways. I particularly love Wells’ insect collection (right) which explores the folds of the natural world. The intricate curves and striking patinations on the pieces make for a visually engaging series of work.

 Sarah Cave is a Perthshire based maker who creates hand raised silverware as well as jewellery, usually working with silver and gold and on occasion, wood and precious metal combinations. Most of Cave’s designs involve contrasting metal detailing like the designs below, from gold plating to granulation. The high polished finish on some of Cave’s vessels create beautiful reflections of the contents of each piece. This finish is particularly effective when paired with subtle detailing and I think the placement of the single gold plated ring on Cave’s piece for ‘Silver of the Stars’ on the right reinforces its striking outcome.

 Hailed as one of the UK’s most prestigious silversmiths, Michael Lloyd, draws inspiration from his surroundings to create the majority of his work. His pieces are usually made from chased silver and gold and the illustrations on the surface of his vessels are a beautiful portrayal of the natural world. His designs offer a sense of escapism and provide a gateway to nature. I love Lloyd’s use of nature, its influence on his work is evident with the organic flowing lines chased on his vessels.

Cornelia Parker is a British artist who is well known for her impressive installation art. Despite destroying objects to create her work, Parker is more fascinated by the idea of objects’ worth being redetermined and revalued so they might find a new purpose as an artwork. Her work ‘Thirty Pieces of Silver’ (pictured below) shows an innovative use of metal to present a striking installation. The eerie suspension of each piece adds to the dramatic work and gives a sense of impending judgement to each object awaiting its new purpose.