Faith Tavender
is an established designer producing modern silver and gold jewellery
for men and women. A graduate of London Guildhall University, she has
been making high quality jewellery for more than 14 years. Faith has
exhibited her collections in London, Paris, Tokyo, Sydney and New
York. ..
She draws inspiration from the
jewellery of ancient Greece and the Art Deco movement, also from her
travels in Europe and North Africa, and childhood memories of
Tasmania. Each piece is handcrafted in her London studio using only
the highest quality beads and semi-precious stones.
All pieces are traditionally hallmarked
at the London Assay Office of the Goldsmiths' Company. Her jewellery
has been featured in Marie-Claire, Arena, G.Q., Eve, Zest, Red Direct,
The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent on
Sunday and Retail Jeweller
Yorkshire jeweller Robert Feather has been
designing and making wedding & engagement rings for over 25 years.
In 1982 he opened Pyramid Contemporary Craft and Design gallery
on Gillygate, which later changed ownership and became the present
Pyramid Gallery on Stonegate.
Previously a
York-based jeweller, Robert now works from a workshop / showroom at
his home 12 miles south-east of York.
He specialises in
designing and making handmade rings in gold or
platinum with diamondsor coloured stones
for an interview about the setting up and history of Pyramid Gallery,
click here
Silver 'Assymetrical'
stud earrings with opal triplet £49.50
Silver 'Assymetrical'
large
JOHN and DAWN FIELD
John
Field and his wife Dawn are based in West Yorkshire, U.K. They met
when studying for their degrees at Wolverhampton Polytechnic in the
mid-eighties. John Field graduated with a B.A. Hons. degree in
Three Dimensional Design and Dawn with a B.A. Hons. Fine Art degree.
They have collaborated and worked together for most of the time since.
As well as working on their own individual pieces they work on a
number of different ranges together.
John’s work is individually designed and one-off. Natural
colours and materials feature prominently in all these pieces.
Rich colours are supplied by using exotic woods, amber, precious and
semi-precious metals and stones. These materials are chosen from all
over the world. He enjoys using a number of different materials
on each piece to provide interest. John often uses a dental laboratory
drill to carve wooden jewellery. This is a laborious process of
attrition and it may take a number of weeks to finish one piece.
The aim is to produce intriguing designs with the jewellery often
being displayed on its own stand or concealed in its own box.
One piece, a pendant say, will open to reveal another, a ring or a
pair of earrings for example.
As a contrast to John’s one-off more abstract work, Dawn draws on her
Fine Art background and uses strong imagery in her jewellery. Over the
years the theme of mythical animals has reoccurred in Dawn’s work.
Recently for example, she has based some jewellery around the image of
Pegasus.
John and Dawn also work on a number of other jewellery ranges
together. The asymmetrical metal range for example, involves a more
fluid process of composition and addition than say John’s wooden work.
Textures in the form of stencils are rolled into silver, which then
has other shapes soldered onto it. Rather than making matching
partners, one earring will have a vibrant, rich coloured stone
attached and the other will have decoration in the form of some brass
loops
Karen Thomas is a jewellery designer and maker, originally from the
Midlands, who has been living and working in York for over fourteen years.
She graduated from the Birmingham School of Jewellery (UCE) in 1998 with a
BA(hons) degree in Jewellery and Silversmithing. She has worked in a busy
trade workshop and taught jewellery making at a local college and school,
while also producing her own designs. She now concentrates solely on
creating her beautiful, wearable ranges of jewellery, limited editions,
one off pieces and commissions. She uses traditional jewellery making
techniques; mainly working in silver, sometimes in gold. She sells her
work through galleries across Europe.
“I
love the process of creating functional, wearable pieces of jewellery, be
it constructing a mount for an unusual stone or handcrafting a master,
making a mould and running off waxes in order to generate cast units so I
can produce ranges of silver jewellery that are affordable.”
“My
designs are inspired by the world around me. Whilst studying in Birmingham
many of my pieces echoed the city’s industrial past. Now in North
Yorkshire I take inspiration from the landscape and its colours. I am
particularly drawn to the natural forms of the dramatic North East
coastline. This is clearly evident in my Silver Shell Collection which
comprises four ranges created with solid silver castings made using moulds
of actual shells. Also the chunky claw set Pebble Collection which
celebrates the natural beauty of the shapes and colours of the seashore.
In contrast, living in the beautiful, historic city of York has also had
an impact on my work, some of my designs reflecting the shapes and forms
seen in the magnificent architecture.”
Naomi was born and
educated in Sussex. She graduated in Jewellery at Middlesex
Polytechnic and then worked as an assistant technician at the Royal
College of Art. After two years as a self employed jeweller working at
Jess James, W1, she travelled in Thailand, Borneo, Indonesia, New
Zealand, Australia, India and Nepal. Since then she has worked as a
self employed jeweller, and was manager of the National Theatre Dazzle
exhibition in 2001 and 2002.
Naomi has worked in a variety of materials since she started making
jewellery at the age of 14. She has always designed as she works,
allowing the making process to inspire the final design. Most of the
pieces are made using simple hand tools and she enjoys the fact that a
lot of her jewellery can still be made in this way.
She has frequently used embossing in her work. Earlier designs
involved piercing patterns into stainless steel which was then rolled
with silver. Recent work began with picking up feathers in the park
with her young son – she found that despite their delicate appearance
they could be transformed into a solid form by embossing into silver.
She then experimented further with dried flowers, leaves and leaf
skeletons and found that an amazing amount of detail was picked up on
the silver, which she then complemented with touches of 18 carat gold.
Some designs include coloured semi-precious stones.
Other elements of her work have evolved through experimentation with
the textures that can be achieved with hammering metal. She uses a
variety of hammers to create surfaces and marks that alter the way
light is reflected. She likes the feeling that the metal appears to
have been aged by beating it with a rusty hammer – like something that
may have been dug up.
Never
to fade, never to be replicated, each hand-made individually designed
piece holds its own unique beauty. Hand-made designer jewellery is
shaped from anodised aluminium with fittings handcrafted from sterling
silver. High quality materials are used in my vibrant designer
jewellery and very wearable jewellery accessories.
Trained in fine
art painting, by hand I work colour into highly polished pieces of
jewellery. My designer jewellery is recognised as dynamic wearable
art. Aluminium is anodised to accept dyes and is hand-shaped into very
fashionable bangles, bracelets and pendants.
Focused on fine art rather than the applied arts, as a painter I use
my sense and sensibilities avoiding pattern. My design is in shaping
this creativity into subtle curves.
I
do hope that you enjoy wearing my very wearable art available in more
than 100 outlets and on line.
Julia studied
Jewellery and Silversmithing (BA Hons) at Loughborough College of Art
in the early 1980s before setting up her workshop in York where she
later became proprietor of Pyramid.
She was then lured
over the Pennines, married and set up her workshop on the Wirral.
Coastal walks with
the backdrop of the distant Welsh hills never cease to inspire and
influence Julia’s silverwork.
1984 BA(Hons) Jewellery and Silversmithing, Loughborough College of
Art and Design
1984 - 1989 Workshop in York, trading as Julia Parker Jewellery
1986 - 1989 Proprietor of Pyramid Contemporary Design gallery, York
1989 - 1993 Opened workshop on the Wirral
2003 - 2005 City and Guilds Embroidery
2007 Re-established workshop on Wirral
Outlets
Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool
Counter Culture, Chester
Northern Lights, Keswick
Primavera, Cambridge
Exhibitions
2009 The Brindley Arts Centre, Runcorn
2009 Dee Fine Arts, Heswall
2010 Staacks, West Kirby
2011 Pyramid, York
Memberships
MJMAN Merseyside Jewellers and Metal Artists Network
Sarah Packington designs
and makes striking modern acrylic and silver jewellery in her Brighton
workshop. Her current collection includes earrings, bangles, necklaces
and cufflinks
These images show Valerie's
latest collection, 'Wave' silver with gold detailing
VALERIE MEAD
Valerie Mead designs and makes elegant and
wearable contemporary jewellery in silver and gold. New pieces are
added each year to a collection of finely textured silver jewellery
which features tiny details in rose gold. This collection is available
direct from her workshop or via craft galleries and exhibitions
throughout the UK.
Individually commissioned pieces are designed and made in gold or
silver for special occasions; eg. wedding, engagement and partnership
rings, birthday and anniversary presents etc. Customers’ own ideas can
be incorporated into the design.
Inspiration for these
clean cut designs often comes from observations of architectural and
man-made items. Simplicity of line is the aim.
Valerie trained at Sheffield Polytechnic
School of Art and Design, followed by a Goldsmiths’ Company Graduate
Apprenticeship and a Residency at South Hill Park Arts Centre in
Berkshire. She works from her own studio in Oxford. Visitors are
welcome by appointment.
Educated at Taunton
School, then Somerset College of Design and Technology and West Surrey
College of Art and Design, BA Hons. 3D Glass
Currently: Tutor, Bucks College of Higher Education
Consultant for Oxfam in Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador
Masterclass Tutor at Biennale Glass Festival
Consultant for Fair Trade Organisation and Tradecraft in Bolivia
Shakspeare Glass was set up in 1988 and moved to the current premises
in Taunton in 1991.
" I make a wide range of different designs which are constantly
evolving. I deliberately design glass with a random factor, an aspect
that is beyond my control. I try and use colour so that it affects the
final shape of the piece in a natural and fluid way. In doing this I
have to work with the glass rather than completely imposing my own
constrictions.
I have many influences. Rock pools and water are constant factors in
the Tableaux pieces. The glorious rich blues and greens of the
Pembrokeshire shoreline and the silky pinks and golds of the
Mediterranean Islands inspire the Nougat range, a tiny spider's nest -
a collection of perfume bottles named Sputnik, and the textiles of
South America - the Agate and Opal ranges.
'Blue Stone' oil on canvas in Isabel's studio
£350
'Frozen in Time,' 70 x 35 cm oil on canvas, £240
'Flame ' 29 x 40 cm £95
'Full Fathom Five' oil on canvas
'Red Diamond' oil on canvas
'Red and Gold' oil on canvas
'untitled at time of press - but something
related to Water, we think' Oil on Canvas
ISABEL WAKEMAN
I have lived in York for 35
years. I came to painting rather late in life after having a family
and another career. At first I attended evening classes, but then
decided to take an HNC in Fine Art at York College which I completed
in 2004.
The course made a fundamental difference to my work. To begin with,
working with landscape, I became fascinated with texture. As I
regularly attended a life drawing group, I began to wonder how to
incorporate the figure into textured backgrounds and indeed how the
figure itself could be textured. About this time I was encouraged to
try using oils and this transformed my work.
I began to select figures from my sketch book and would reproduce
them on my canvas in acrylic paint. I paint the background in
another acrylic colour so as to have a clear image to work from. I
then paint the figure in white oil paint. When this is completely
dry I completely cover the canvas in a selection of oil paints put
on in an abstract way. Then I work back into the paint to find
echoes of the figure using a brush, roller, white spirit etc. I use
highlights and colour to partly reveal the form. Sometimes the
figure may become distorted or changed.
I have been experimenting with this technique for about six years. I
struggle to achieve a creative tension between the paint and colour
and the form. I am trying to move towards an almost abstract image
without completely losing the starting point.
I shared an exhibition with two colleagues at the Friend’s Meeting
House in York in 2004 and then held one on my own at the Blake Head
bookshop in 2005. I have just taken part in York Open Studios 2006.
I sold paintings at all these shows.
April 2007, I had a succesful solo show at the Treasurer's House in
York. I exhibited at Bowery Gallery, Headingly in 2008 and also in
the Salon at East Street Arts’ Studios. Part of the Salon work
was taken to Germany in 2009 for a similar occasion and I sold a
picture in Dortmund.'
In January
2010, Isabel exhibited for the first time at Pyramid Gallery. This
was just after the shocking news of an earthquake in Haiti which
devastated the city of Port Au prince and made 1.5million
people homeless. Isabel decided to donate proceeds from this
exhibition to Medicin Sans Frontiers and donated £185 to the appeal.
Pyramid Gallery says:
Terry met Isabel
Wakeman in about 1998 at one of Val Bestwick's life drawing classes
at York College. From his own experience of these inspiring
sessions, he says:
'Val has a way
of encouraging artists to work the painting and allow the image to
appear from a process that allows the artist to escape the
limitations of the logical mind. By looking hard at the subject and
working the charcoal or paint, the artist enters a trance-like
state. The image appears in style that is unique to the artist. It
may have a physical likeness to the model, but this is not
important. Far more interesting is the atmosphere, the form, the
texture of the media, the colour, the marks made by the artist. All
these elements define the artist's individual style. Painting
in abstract is very difficult - it requires a liberation from the
temptation to paint an accurate representation. Isabel achieves this
by overpainting the initial image, then working subsequent layers of
paint in an attempt to reveal the original paintings. With mcuh
experimentation she ends up with an image that looks as if it has
been painted perfectly naturally. She knows not to try and force the
painting to fit with the logical mind's perceptions and the result
is very exciting and invigorating.
All the
paintings shown here start as charcoal life drawings. Isabel may
spend months working each one into an oil painting. The titles come
to her as she starts to see other things happening in the image.
Sometimest he name comes only after the painting has been finished
and about to be shown.' Terry Brett Pyramid Gallery 2012
Alison Varley uses a traditional 'forging'
techniques to make individual and unique works of art in silver and
gold. We like these at Pyramid Gallery because there is no way to
reproduce these except at the hands of a time served artisan. The
process is physically demanding and requires artistic talent as well
as knowledge about the materials used.
