NEXUS: Meetings at the Edge

NEXUS MEETINGS AT THE EDGE

An exhibition curated by Dr Elizabeth Goring and produced by Fife Contemporary and Ruthin Craft Centre 31 March to 10 June 2018: Kirkcaldy Galleries War Memorial Gardens, Abbotshall Road, Kirkcaldy, Fife KY1 1YG 29 September to 18 November 2018: Ruthin Craft Centre Park Road, Ruthin, Denbighshire LL15 1BB

ISBN 978-1-907346-08-8 Front cover image: Lynne MacLachlan, ‘Entangle Tiles’, 2017

INTRODUCTION Nexus: a connection or a series of connections linking two or more things

Nexus: Meetings at the Edge looks at some of the many ways in which 21st century artists and makers are changing preconceptions about their art forms.

Jewellery, silversmithing, textiles and ceramics all have long histories and deep-rooted traditions behind them. Today their familiar, often restricting, boundaries are being expanded by makers taking leaps of imagination and devising fresh approaches to the way they work.

The artists and makers in Nexus are linked by great technical skill, a capacity for free-thinking and confidence in their ideas. However, each has found their own way of extending the boundaries of their art form. Some have adapted characteristics of one field, such as textiles, to another, such as jewellery. Some make innovative work with traditional materials and techniques, while others use new materials and methods. Some pieces were directly influenced by music; others were inspired by the effects of light or movement on their appearance. Several makers explore the uncharted places where different art forms meet and overlap. Nexus is a celebration of the unexpected.

Dr Elizabeth Goring, 2018

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PARTICIPATING ARTISTS Jane Adam Michael Brennand-Wood Susan Cross Jonathan Cleaver (with David Poston) Rajesh Gogna Janet Haigh Kate Haywood Zoë Hillyard Genevieve Howard Andrew Lamb Ruth Leslie Wanshu Li Anna Lorenz Lynne MacLachlan Catherine Martin Valeria Nascimento David Poston (with Jonathan Cleaver) Jacky Puzey Romilly Saumarez Smith Adi Toch

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Installation photographs of ‘Nexus’ by Michael Wolchover

JANE ADAM Jane Adam is a pioneer in the use of aluminium for jewellery. Her work exploits its lightness and durability as well as its ability to take on a vast range of colours using anodising.

In this technique, aluminium is suspended in a solution of sulphuric acid and water through which an electric current is passed. The metal’s surface combines with oxygen in the solution, creating an aluminium oxide layer. The acid partially dissolves this layer, leaving microscopic pores which can absorb permanent dyes.

Recently, Jane has been working with a new way of colouring and texturing anodised aluminium.

Designs created on a computer are printed digitally on the metal. Pieces are cut from different parts of the dyed sheets and compressed in a rolling mill; paper is used to add texture. The anodic layer fractures, revealing traces of the underlying silvery metal and producing a shimmering effect.

Anodised aluminium cannot be soldered so Jane assembles her work using rivets and by stitching with wire. Necklace elements are connected by silver or stainless steel wires, allowing them movement. She has adapted this technique to grow her jewellery into light, colourful mobiles: jewellery for rooms.

Opposite top: Jane Adam, Large Blue Leaf necklace; 2016-17 Dyed, anodised aluminium & stainless steel Photography Joel Degen Opposite bottom: Jane Adam, Pod pendant; 2016 Dyed aluminium, freshwater pearls Photography Joel Degen 8

MICHAEL BRENNAND-WOOD Michael Brennand-Wood works within the area of textiles, although his artistic practice defies categorisation. He has been at the forefront of contemporary art textiles for over four decades. His work constantly changes, driven by a deep understanding of his artform, past and present, and a lifelong exploration of line, structure, pattern and colour. His pieces often involve unexpected materials.

Michael learnt to knit and sew from his grandmother, an industrial weaver. He chose to study embroidery, seeing it as the area of textiles offering the most potential for free expression. In the 1970s, he was the only man on his course. He has always been a pioneer.

The Thoughtforms series illustrates how he continuously draws out connections, metaphorical and physical. Each piece evolves dynamically in the making. Driven by the desire to give physical form to an idea, he revels in the interplay between the planned and the unexpected.

Michael’s work makes you look. Each piece is a journey of exploration, for maker as much as viewer, its title only a starting point. From a distance, it may look purely decorative, but a close look reveals far deeper levels of meaning and detail.

Opposite bottom: Michael Brennand-Wood, Thoughtform - Rhythm is a Dancer; Wall piece, 2018 Paper collage, thread, fabric, wire, plywood, text and acrylic on aluminium ground Photography Peter Mennim Opposite top: Michael Brennand-Wood, Thoughtform Blackwork; Wall piece, 2017; Printed fabric, acrylic, thread, cord on wood panel Photography Peter Mennim 10

JONATHAN CLEAVER Jonathan Cleaver is a master weaver. He is currently a PhD student researching the archives of one of the world’s leading carpet manufacturers in the 19th and 20th centuries. He formerly worked at Dovecot Tapestry Studios in Edinburgh making tapestries and rugs in collaboration with many artists as well as to his own designs. Both aspects of his work are inspired by the important place of woven textiles in people’s lives.

Jonathan began his collaboration with the jeweller and designer David Poston in 2010 while he was at Dovecot. Their partnership brought together his traditional weaving skills and David’s expertise in high-tech metalworking techniques. This combination allows Jonathan to explore woven colour and texture within a wider range of three-dimensional forms than previously possible, and at a more intimate scale.

The two artists recently collaborated on a private commission for Cleft, an important brooch shown publicly here for the first time. Jonathan describes Cleft as ‘an exploded-view diagram of a weave structure known as ‘half passing’ or ‘pick-and-pick,’ in which differently coloured wefts are alternated to make stripes in the direction of the warp’.

Opposite top: Jonathan Cleaver, Striped Stripe Check Blue Photography Jade Starmore Opposite bottom: Jonathan Cleaver/David Poston, Cleft brooch, 2013 Viscose, stainless steel A Dovecot Tapestry Studio collaboration Lent by Dr Helen Bennett 12

SUSAN CROSS Textiles have always influenced Susan Cross’s work. Her precious metal jewellery has often included thread and paper cord, while the textures of fabrics, and forms like ric-rac (a zigzag braid or trim), have been important sources of inspiration.

She has carried out extensive research on blackwork embroidery, a distinctive, visually-dramatic type of 16th- and 17th-century needlework where designs were worked in black silk on finely-woven white linen. Noticing that the black threads had sometimes completely disappeared, she discovered that the dye was fixed with iron. Over time, this had caused corrosion. This destroyed the silk, leaving only the traces of the holes made by the embroiderer’s needle in the fine linen: ‘ghost’ designs, poignantly evoking the embroidery’s history.

Susan’s observations have inspired a series of enamelled neckpieces and brooches where she worked the metal from the back, creating shadowy graphic designs that recalled the holes made by the needle. Layers of the carefully-applied enamel were removed, sometimes right back to the original metal, to echo the effects of process and time. The result is a seamless merging of metalworking, embroidery and drawing skills.

Opposite top: Susan Cross, Scatter brooch, 2015 Enamel, steel, oxidised silver Photography Michael Wolchover Opposite bottom: Susan Cross, Wild Rose Neckpiece, 2015 Enamel, steel, oxidised silver Photography Michael Wolchover 14

RAJESH GOGNA Rajesh Gogna is a silversmith who approaches his medium unconventionally and with insight. His aim is to present silver from fresh perspectives and to give it contemporary relevance in people’s everyday lives. He has done extensive research on the ways in which silver has traditionally been used and displayed. This has led him to question its most basic concepts and forms.

With the ‘From the Table Top to the Wall’ series, he challenges the places where silver objects conventionally ‘live’ – in or on furniture – and demonstrates how the expected may evolve naturally into the unexpected. He describes this new work as ‘abstract jewellery for buildings’. By designing his objects to adorn walls, he simply extends the boundaries of possible places to display silver in the home or in public spaces. And why not?

Opposite: Rajesh Gogna, Architect #4 & #6, 2014 & 2018 Powder-coated sterling silver (#4), powder-coated brass (#6) Photography Nigel Essex 16

JANET HAIGH Janet Haigh is an independent designer-maker specialising in meticulous hand stitching. She has recently focused on using various traditional textile techniques with materials more characteristic of other crafts. In her own words, she ‘stitches stuff by hand: fabric, paper, metal, vitreous enamel, vellum, porcelain.’ Until recently, she combined her artistic practice with being a Senior Lecturer in Textiles and the Senior Research Fellow in Cross-discipline Techniques at the University of the West of England.

Janet has most notably focused on firing vitreous enamel onto copper, initially using textile designs to pattern it. This led her to experiment with making enamel look and behave like fabric by drilling and stitching it together so it could move, drape and fold. Her new piece for Nexus, which is inspired by the patterns in patchwork quilts, re-visits this area of her experimentation. An exploration of colour, it is the largest, most ambitious work of this kind she has yet made.

She cut, drilled, filed and enamelled more than 200 copper shapes by hand, then stencilled them using vintage drawn thread work fabrics. These were finally threaded together with wire to create a metal patchworked fabric.

Opposite left: Janet Haigh Patchwork Enamel, wall hanging, 2017/18 Copper, vitreous enamel, coated steel wire Photography Janet Haigh Opposite right: Black Work, wall hanging, 2011 Copper, vitreous enamel, polyester-coated steel wire Photography Janet Haigh 18

KATE HAYWOOD Kate Haywood trained in ceramics at undergraduate and postgraduate level but her first degree was in jewellery design. The eye and hand of a jeweller can be seen in her objects, which often seem to meld the possibilities of both disciplines.

Her work explores the role objects play in the forming and triggering of memories, and how we understand them in the light of our personal experiences. She makes pieces that may look functional at first sight, but this functionality is never fully carried through. Both familiar and unfamiliar, their ambiguity is designed to encourage viewers to interpret them in their own way.

Kate is intrigued by the ways in which objects change their meaning or appearance over time, and how people re-purpose them. Her work is usually made in series, and often references ritual and ceremony. A recent group was inspired by the collections of the Yorkshire Museum and the National Museum of Denmark. Another was based on a residency at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland, where her collaboration with James Maskrey, a master glass artist using hot glass, enabled her to further expand her range of materials.

Opposite top: Kate Haywood, Calla, 2016 Porcelain and gold leather Opposite bottom: Kate Haywood, Bine, 2016 Porcelain and cotton Both made during a residency in Guldagergaard, The International Ceramics Research Centre, Denmark; photography Ole Akhøj 20

ZOË HILLYARD Zoë Hillyard trained as an embroiderer and has created embroidered textiles and embellished knitwear for the fashion industry. She is passionately interested in remote communities and the role of textiles in their lives, and this has become an important influence on her work. She spent a year in Mongolia with VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas), which gave her new insights into the relationships between people and their possessions.

Zoë developed Ceramic Patchwork in 2010, a distinctive and unusual process that marries pottery with textiles. It could be seen as a contemporary artistic reflection of an ancient and widespread cultural tradition where objects were so highly valued as personal, functional or precious items that they were repaired rather than discarded.

She carefully wraps fragments of broken pots in printed fabrics and these are then held in position by hand-stitching. The ceramic vessels therefore depend on textile techniques for their physical integrity. The mending process is deliberately left visible inside the vessels. The visual ambiguity is amplified when the vessels are handled, as the hardness of the ceramic is transformed by the unexpected feel of textile.

Overleaf, left: Zoë Hillyard, Moon Shadow Vase, 2018 Ceramic, textiles, thread Photography Zoë Hillyard Overleaf, right: Zoë Hillyard, Bird’s Eye Vase, 2016 Ceramic, textiles, thread Photography Zoë Hillyard 22

GENEVIEVE HOWARD Genevieve Howard, a recent jewellery graduate, comes from a musical family, and grew up singing, playing and writing music. Inspired by the possibility of seeing it in new ways, she developed the idea of jewellery that translates music into tactile, wearable form, in an innovative fusion of two very different artforms.

Genevieve’s jewellery is made using a combination of technology and traditional hand skills. She uses computer-aided design (CAD) to draw outlines created from the structure of musical scores. The resulting shapes, which are counterpoints to their notational representations, are then laser-cut from Japanese linen paper. Finally, she layers hundreds of these thin slices together by hand, assembling them into sculptural neckpieces and bracelets.

Genevieve’s choice of source music has ranged widely, from Scottish traditional tunes to classical and contemporary operatic works. As the form of each suite of jewellery is directly dictated by the structure of the musical score from which it was drawn, the result is a unique and wearable visualisation of that particular work.

Opposite top: Genevieve Howard, Sonic Waves necklace and bracelet, 2017 Japanese linen paper, fine silver, elastic cord Created from the music of the opera ‘The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs’ composed by Mason Bates Photography Hannah Levy Opposite bottom: Genevieve Howard, Ambient Tones bracelet, 2017 Japanese linen paper, elastic cord Created from the music of the opera ‘The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs’ composed by Mason Bates Photography Hannah Levy 24

ANDREW LAMB Andrew Lamb is a master of illusion in jewellery who delights in finding innovative ways to trick the eye. He has spent nearly two decades exploring and refining his surprising visual effects. His inspiration comes from the surfaces, weaves and designs of textiles, the patterns and movement seen in nature, and Op Art. His jewellery is constructed from fine wires made from different alloys and colours of gold, as well as platinum and silver, frequently oxidised. These are layered, overlapped and twisted, creating texture and suggesting movement. Subtlety of effect is achieved through the intelligent use of burnish, shadow, graduation and juxtaposition. He now uses laser welding alongside traditional hand-working techniques.

Andrew’s technical mastery of wire and meticulous attention to detail produce remarkable illusions of colour change and movement. In his ‘Changing Colour’ series, the arrangement of silver, white gold and yellow gold wires makes surfaces appear to change from gold to silver as the wearer or viewer moves. He has recently created interlaced colour-changing patterns using thousands of wire ‘pixels’ made from different gold alloys. As the jewellery moves, the surfaces reflect the light and appear to ripple.

Opposite top: Andrew Lamb, Lenticular ring, 2017 18ct yellow and white gold Photography Graham Clark Opposite bottom: Andrew Lamb, Patchwork brooch, 2013 18ct yellow, red and white gold, platinum, silver and 24ct gold Photography Graham Clark 26

RUTH LESLIE Ruth Leslie is a recent graduate whose jewellery is inspired by textiles – not only the textures and irregularities that occur in fabrics but also, unusually, the forms of the machinery used to create them. These are reflected in the evocative names of her pieces: Heddle and Heald (different words for a part of a loom), Delta, Leclerc and Jack (all types of loom), Treadle (a foot-operated lever for a sewing machine) and Inkle (a type of weaving).

The tactile twisted wires that characterise her work also reflect its textile-inspired origins. She cuts and meticulously twists hundreds of sections of fine wire, 0.5 mm in diameter, using an oldfashioned hand drill: an immensely time-consuming and labour-intensive process. The wires are then wrapped around frames to create three-dimensional structures.

Ruth often uses heat-treated titanium in combination with gold and silver to create subtle colour in her jewellery. Titanium is a technically challenging material. It is harder to cut, file and drill than other metals, and it cannot be soldered. Joins are usually made using mechanical methods like riveting. However, it is much lighter in weight than silver and heat-treating it produces beautiful and stable colours.

Opposite top: Ruth Leslie, Cluster neckpiece, 2017 Sterling silver, titanium Photography Ruth Leslie Opposite bottom: Ruth Leslie, Jack Type brooch, 2015 18ct gold, titanium Photography Ruth Leslie 28

WANSHU LI Wanshu Li’s ‘Go with the Glow’ pendants, brooches, bangles and rings are largely inspired by the brilliant colours and sensuous movements of sea creatures like the jellyfish and sea anemones now familiar to us from television programmes such as Blue Planet II. Her exotic jewels are designed to appeal to the hand and ear as well as the eye. The beads mounted on their moving nylon wires are irresistibly tempting to touch, and all the pieces create subtle sounds as they move with the body.

Wanshu’s fascination with dance culture, laser light shows and stage performances have encouraged her to add a further visual dimension to her work. She experiments with ultravioletreactive nylon and fluorescent paint which combine to produce a remarkable intensity of colour when the jewellery is lit with UV light. Glittering sequins add bright eye-catching flashes to the effect.

Exotic even in daylight, these extraordinary playful jewels come startlingly alive in the dark.

Opposite top: Wanshu Li, Go with the Glow ring, 2016 Acrylic, sterling silver, fluorescent plastic, glass beads, nylon wire Photography Shannon Tofts Opposite bottom: Wanshu Li, Go with the Glow bangle, 2016 Acrylic, fluorescent plastic, glass beads, nylon wire Photography Shannon Tofts 30

ANNA LORENZ Anna Lorenz originally trained to be a telecoms engineer before studying to be a silversmith and jeweller. She now works across the fields of sculpture, silverwork and jewellery. It can be hard to define where any piece sits within her practice – her work often blurs the boundaries between all three. She uses precious metals as well as steel and paper, the deliberately restrained palette allowing the viewer to engage directly with the form.

She finds inspiration in many areas, from art to architecture. Her focus is always on geometric forms, particularly the square. The grids and compositions resulting from her cutting of the materials develop intuitively. She is intrigued by the subsequent tension between the empty space and the solid, absence and presence.

Anna sees her practice as meditative, an evolving process of exploration and learning leading to the creation of a physical object. All her work is designed to be spare and minimal, intended to offer the viewer quiet time to connect with it. Her simple titles are a gentle guide to her thinking.

‘Zerissen’, for example, means ‘torn apart’.

Opposite top: Anna Lorenz, Healed (detail), 2015 Oxidised silver, gold solder, wood frame Photography Phil Lea Opposite bottom: Anna Lorenz, Zerissen, 2012 Oxidised copper Photography Graham Hughes 32

LYNNE MacLACHLAN Lynne MacLachlan originally trained and worked as an aerospace engineer before re-training as a jeweller. Her former career path seems to have influenced her innovative approach to the design and execution of her large-scale sculptural jewellery pieces.

She experiments freely with digital tools. Stretching the boundaries of ready-made software and 3D printing, she achieves complex openwork forms that could not be created by any other method. She then hand-finishes them using techniques such as dyeing, polishing and fabrication.

The layers of intricate internal patterns in these vibrantly colourful three-dimensional forms create shimmering optical illusions as they are moved and turned. These effects have inspired Lynne to experiment with incorporating them in performance, adding a further dimension to their impact when static.

A new development has been the design of an ingenious modular tile system in which basic units can be combined in numerous different configurations. Like the jewellery pieces, these also create illusions of light, shadow and movement, but here they result from the viewer changing position rather than the wearer.

Opposite left: Lynne MacLachlan, Double Cone Arm Piece (yellow-red), 2017/18 Hand-dyed 3D printed nylon Opposite right: Lynne MacLachlan, Spiral Arm Piece (blue gradient), 2017/18 Hand-dyed 3D printed nylon Photography: Susan Castillo Model: Rebecca Murphy Make-up: Yvonne Lynch Jewellery pieces supported by an Inches Carr Trust Craft Bursary 34

CATHERINE MARTIN Catherine Martin began her artistic career as a professional musician and music remains central to her life. In the 1980s, she spent four years in Japan mastering the demanding art of kumihimo, the traditional technique of hand-braiding silk to create intricately-patterned cords. These are used for securing the obi (the stiff sash worn with the kimono), lacing samurai armour, in noh theatre, and in many other aspects of Japanese life and culture. Catherine was the first non-Japanese student to o o School. graduate from training on all four kumihimo looms at Japan’s prestigious D¯my¯ Back in Britain, she experimented with adapting this slow, meticulous technique to fine precious metal wires. Her innovative work gained her an MPhil from the Royal College of Art. Fine precious metal kumihimo is unforgiving: any mistakes made during braiding create irreversible kinks in the wire.

Catherine has continued to develop her unique practice over the decades, exploring different precious metals, variations in colour and pattern, and devising new forms. The process is meditative and rhythmic. She works intensively within a tranquil environment suffused with music. This plays into the rhythm of the piece and subtly influences its final form.

Opposite top: Catherine Martin, Earrings (6-element cluster), 2015 Platinum on 24ct gold Photography Richard Valencia Opposite bottomt: Catherine Martin, Pendant (ribbon with moonstone), 2017 18ct gold, moonstone, silk Photography Richard Valencia 36

VALERIA NASCIMENTO Valeria Nascimento grew up in a country house in Brazil surrounded by grounds filled with mango and guava trees. She took a degree in architecture but started to make ceramics shortly after qualifying. This rapidly became a passion as it allowed her to express her creativity more directly in an infinitely workable material. She soon abandoned architecture altogether.

Valeria was a pioneer of ceramic wall installation, to which she brings an architect’s understanding of physical space, as well as a sensitivity to detail and a love of natural forms. Her site-specific installations range from the domestic to the monumental and are extremely labour-intensive. Each is made from individual hand-formed and fired porcelain elements, sometimes hundreds in number.

She painstakingly plans, assembles and arranges them in groups of repeated sequences which come together in complex organic patterns that feel serene and entirely natural.

Her delicate flowers, petals and leaves, usually in white or black, create a richly textured adornment for walls. A recent one-off project for Jaggedart Gallery, in collaboration with the jeweller Emily Kidson and the wood artist Luke Hope, saw her translate her work to adorning the body.

Opposite top: Valeria Nascimento, Botanica wall installation, 2017 Porcelain Photography Christopher Pillitz Opposite bottom: Valeria Nascimento, Bluebell Black necklace, 2018 Porcelain with black pigment, leather, oxidised silver Photography Christopher Pillitz 38

DAVID POSTON David Poston has pursued many careers, often simultaneously. A pioneering artist jeweller with an engineering doctorate on rural manufacturing in Africa, his roles have included international development specialist, prop-maker and inventor of medical technology. His work is driven by problem-solving and a powerful sense of curiosity.

David has used numerous new materials and techniques in his jewellery. His innovations have included laser welding gold and recycled steel on wood, and forging titanium, an extremely challenging metal. In the 1970s, he was one of the first artist jewellers to use textiles, an interest revived in 2010 by an introduction to Edinburgh’s Dovecot Tapestry Studios. His subsequent collaboration with Dovecot weaver Jonathan Cleaver gave him new opportunities to introduce colour and texture to his metalwork.

David created several 3D structures of laser-welded stainless steel for Jonathan to respond to in his own way. The final outcome for each piece therefore came as an interesting surprise to him. This unique collaboration, a genuinely equal partnership, has produced objects that are more than 3D tapestries or pieces of jewellery. They are also models intended to be scaled-up as large sculptures.

Opposite top: David Poston, Slave Manacle – Diamonds Gold and Slavery are Forever, 1975 Forged mild steel with silver inlay Photography David Poston Opposite bottom: Jonathan Cleaver/David Poston, Red Rectangles, 2011 Perlé cotton, stainless steel wire A Dovecot Tapestry Studio collaboration Lent by Dovecot Tapestry Studio The first collaborative piece made by Jonathan Cleaver and David Poston 40

JACKY PUZEY Jacky Puzey trained in fine art and later in textiles and pattern-cutting. Her digital embroidery and tailoring skills were developed during her PhD research on textile, dress and fashion in a postcolonial making culture. She now specialises in digital embroidery for interiors and fashion, combining traditional embroidery skills with technology. Everything is drawn by hand before being translated into digital form.

Her work is inspired by multi-cultural communities and how their identity is expressed through their textiles and fashions. The Nigerian Riot Girl is a strong, glamorous activist with an opulent outfit embellished with oil spills, Adire and Hausa motifs, and creatures that resist, like the hyena and crocodile. The Shade Landowner suit, developed with the poet/lawyer Baljinder Bhopal, is a coat for urban land negotiations expressed in tweed and pinstripe underpinned with silk sari pleats.

Jacky’s richly-embroidered screens, chairs and wallpapers, with their distinctive imagery, set parakeets, hares and foxes into their new urban landscapes. With Annie Lywood, she has made embroidered interfaces for electronic devices that respond to touch, sound and light, and a jacket that will light a woman on her way home.

Opposite left: Jacky Puzey, 3 Dandy Parakeets, wall screen, 2018 (original design 2016) Printed duchesse satin, viscose, rayon and polyester embroidery threads, heat transfer printed embroidery threads, feathers Photography Jo Hounsome Opposite right: Jacky Puzey, Nigerian Riot Girl, couture outfit/wearable art, 2015 Cotton organdie, metallic, viscose rayon, polyester and Luna embroidery threads, appliqué, feathers, fur porcupine quills, 3D embroidery foam Photography John Barwood, model Patricia Ekall, make-up artist Jenny Davis, stylist Sue Fyfe-Williams 42

ROMILLY SAUMAREZ SMITH Romilly Saumarez Smith is captivated by the stories contained within objects. Miniature survivals from the past become the physical starting points for her exquisite jewellery, small objects and boxes. She buys bronze metal detecting finds from eBay – such as buckles, rings, strap ends and thimbles – and gives them new life. She transforms these ancient and medieval fragments, meticulously re-worked with precious metals and stones, into objects of evocative beauty conjured up from a mysterious land- or seascape of her imagination.

Romilly was a highly-regarded bookbinder for many years. She discovered an unexpected love of working with metal when she began using it as fixings on her bindings. This inspired her to make jewellery and she eventually changed disciplines. Her work was interrupted for several years by an illness that has gradually paralysed her, until she found an innovative solution. A small group of skilful jewellers – Lucy Gledhill, Laura Ngyou and Anna Wales – now acts as Romilly’s hands, or ‘translators’, to create her work. One describes this process as ‘not working for Romilly, I’m working in place of her.’

Opposite top: Romilly Saumarez Smith, Three Thimbles, 2018 2 medieval and 1 post-medieval bronze thimbles; sea urchin spines, coral from a vintage necklace, lava bead Photography Lucinda Douglas-Menzies Opposite bottom: Romilly Saumarez Smith, Petrified Wood Box, 2017/18 Silver, petrified wood, medieval bronze shield mounts, diamonds, green gold Photograohy Lucinda Douglas-Menzies 44

ADI TOCH Adi Toch is a metalsmith who encourages people to look differently at the objects around them. For her, vessels are more than containers. They are also channels of communication. Working in series, she gives them sensory qualities to surprise the eye, ear, hand and even voice.

Her vessels, often double-walled, are raised by hand from flat sheets of precious or base metal.

Their surfaces are blackened by oxidation, made vivid with chemical patination, gold-plated for a warm glow or textured with hand tools.

Some pieces tease by rocking. Others quiver, apparently spontaneously; in fact, the ‘Vessels on Stilts’ respond to vibrations from the floor as people walk past. A project with sound specialists enabled the vessels to move when people spoke to them. The ‘Whispering Bowls’ contain sand, stones or steel balls which can be seen, felt and heard, but not emptied. As the bowl is moved, its contents shift, creating seductive sound and changing patterns.

Her new work plays with visual effects. Her experiments with patination have produced brilliant, lustrous surface colours, while their interiors reveal an illusory liquid centre.

Opposite top: Adi Toch, Tall Vessel on Stilts, 2017 Britannia silver, stainless steel Photography Nicola Tree Opposite bottom: Adi Toch, Vivid Whispering Vessel, 2017 Patina on silver-plated gilding metal, moonstones Photography Michael Wolchover 46

Installation photograph of ‘Nexus’ by Michael Wolchover 48

ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS & ARTIST STATEMENTS

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JANE ADAM Born: London, 1954 Studio: Teddington, London Trained: Manchester Polytechnic (BA Hons, Three-Dimensional Design), 1981; Royal College of Art (MA, Metalwork and Jewellery), 1985

Work included in the collections of (selected): Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums; Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, USA; Cooper Hewitt, New York; Crafts Council, London; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; The Goldsmiths’ Company, London; MIMA, Middlesbrough; National Museums Scotland; National Museums Northern Ireland; Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead; V&A Prizes/Awards: Association for Contemporary Jewellery Origin Award 2010 Website: http://www.janeadam.com/home Work available at: Numerous stockists in the UK, Europe, USA, Asia and Australia See http://www.janeadam.com/stockists

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‘For over thirty years, I have involved myself in innovation and experimentation with anodised aluminium, a metal which offers unique possibilities for colouration and mark making. It was important to me to create pieces where the value lay in what I was adding as a maker or artist, rather than in the inherent value of the materials from which they were made.

I have developed a repertoire of original processes of dyeing, printing, crazing and texturing, and my work has spearheaded a new movement in anodised aluminium jewellery in this country and abroad.

However, recent technological developments offer new ways of working, and my work is now digitally printed. I find I can work just as I like to, making ragged textural marks and layering and blending colours, but now I can repeat, adjust and develop them as never before.

At the same time, I am experimenting with pieces at a larger scale, and am intrigued by the qualities of mobiles. These relate to my jewellery: light, movement and lack of weight, a sense of wholeness from an assemblage of smaller parts, and the changing relationship of one form to another, and to the person.’

Photography Alun Callender, courtesy of Cockpit Arts 51

MICHAEL BRENNAND-WOOD Born: Bury, 1952 Studio: Wrestlingworth, Bedfordshire Trained: Bolton College of Art (Foundation Course), 1972; Manchester Polytechnic (BA Textiles) 1972-1975; Birmingham Polytechnic (MA Textiles) 1975-1977

Work included in the collections of (selected): Canberra Institute of Arts, Australia; Crafts Council, London; Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; Hove Museum and Art Gallery; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Nottingham Castle Museum; Powerhouse Museum, Sydney; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; Racine Art Museum, Wisconsin, USA; Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead; 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan; V & A; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Prizes/Awards: Medallist, Exempla Handwerk & Design, Munich, Germany, 1980; Creative Concept Award, International Textile Competition, Kyoto, Japan, 1987; Winner, Fine Art Award, International Textile Competition, Kyoto, Japan, 1989; 1st Prize, 3rd International Betonac Prize, Belgium, 1992; Fine Art Award, Phaff Embroidery, 2007; Art in Architecture Prize, Saltire Society, 2007 Current Teaching: Independent educator Website: http://www.brennand-wood.com Work available at: • Galerie Ra, Amsterdam (http://www.galerie-ra.nl/en/) • The Bluecoat, Liverpool (http:/www.thebluecoat.org.uk) 52

‘Michael Brennand-Wood, visual artist, curator, lecturer, arts consultant, is internationally regarded as one of the most innovative and inspiring artists working within textiles. He has occupied a central position in the research, origination and advocacy of contemporary art textiles. A defining characteristic of his work has been a sustained commitment to the conceptual synthesis of contemporary and historical sources, in particular the exploration of three-dimensional line, structure and pattern. He has persistently worked within contested areas of textile practice, embroidery, pattern, lace and floral imagery. Sites, which offer unbroken traditions, cross cultural interventions and a freedom to work outside the mainstream. He believes that the most innovative contemporary textiles emanate from an assured understanding of both textile technique and history.

Technically he has invented many new and imaginative ways of integrating textiles with other media.

The process works ‘Thoughtforms’ are a new series that focuses on a call and response between an idea and its visual outcome. The initial premise, recipe, dictates the image; the artist’s role is to facilitate where the work wants to go. In effect, it becomes whatever it wants to be. Philosophically it’s a puzzle and emblematic of a continuing desire to embrace and explore the unknown.’

Photography David Burrows 53

SUSAN CROSS Born: Ledbury, Herefordshire,1964 Studio: Edinburgh Trained: Herefordshire College of Art and Design (Diploma in General Art and Design), 1982; Middlesex Polytechnic (BA Hons, Jewellery), 1986

Work included in the collections of: Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery; Crafts Council, London; The Goldsmiths’ Company, London; The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, Switzerland; National Museums Scotland; V & A Prizes/awards: Platinum Awards (professional designer section), 1987 and 1988; Inches Carr Trust Bursary, 2001; Jerwood Applied Arts Prize: Jewellery, 2007 Current Teaching: Edinburgh College of Art Website: http://www.susancrossjewellery.com/ Work available at: • The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh (https://scottish-gallery.co.uk/) • Studio Fusion, London (https://studiofusiongallery.co.uk/)

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‘As a jeweller I aim to explore the sensuality of the body through the tactility of materials.

Susan Cross’s practice is fuelled by visual observations noted in her daily life, her love of travel and interest in cultures and their artefacts. Line, texture, layering, density, semi-transparency are all drawn to her eye, as are the juxtaposition of one form and surface to another and the spaces in between.

Fundamental to her practice is drawing, whether this is explored in a two–dimensional way or extended and developed through collage and models. Ideas are distilled over time both from drawing, material exploration and a constant reflective process. Materials are handled intuitively; this can also dictate method and form.

Gold and silver provide a basis from which to realise her ideas. These combined with textile threads offer contrast, spontaneity, colour and a greater freedom of expression. Silver is often oxidised black likening it to a drawn graphite or inky line.

Susan’s latest work explores enamelling, extending and deepening the focus and relationship between her drawing and making. Extensive research of Elizabethan blackwork embroidery dating from the 16th & early 17th centuries has inspired this new collection of enamelled jewellery.’

Photography Michael Wolchover 55

JONATHAN CLEAVER Born:Dorchester, 1976 Studio: Glasgow Trained: University of Wales, Lampeter (BA Hons, English Literature), 1997; City College, Brighton and Hove (BTEC Foundation Art and Design), 2002; Edinburgh College of Art (BA Hons, Tapestry), 2005; University of Glasgow (MLitt, Dress and Textile Histories), 2015; Dovecot Tapestry Studio (Master Weaver), 2015; University of Glasgow (PhD, The design of machine-made carpets and technical innovation in the Stoddard Templeton archives) ongoing from 2016

Work included in the collections of: National Museums Scotland (with Dovecot/David Poston)

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‘In my work as a Master Tapestry Weaver and my research into the cultural contexts of textile production I explore the relationships between the physical stuff of weaving and what it means to people.

The Cleft brooch is, in a technical sense, an exploded-view diagram of a weave structure known as ‘half passing’ or ‘pick-and-pick,’ in which differently coloured wefts are alternated to make stripes in the direction of the warp. In a metaphorical way, it also prompts me to think about an interaction between people, or my engagement with the material world through touch, attention and technique.

Weaving a tapestry involves maintaining and changing a historical tradition through reiteration.

Innovations can be made by using novel materials or technologies, such as laser-welded stainless steel, but what the technique means is also changed by its constantly renewed social and cultural surroundings.

The pieces made in collaboration with Dovecot and David Poston allowed us to extend our techniques through an exchange of ideas about colour, form and construction. I could explore the manipulation of colour at an intimate scale and with greater structural possibilities. One thread is placed next to another; their relationship is physical, optical and affective.’

Photography Jonathan Cleaver 57

RAJESH GOGNA Born: Birmingham, 1976 Studio: Leicestershire Trained: University of Central England (City & Guilds, Jewellery Design), 1994; University of Central England (HND, 3D Metalwork and Jewellery Design), 1996; Sheffield Hallam University (BA Hons, 3D Metalwork and Design), 1998; School of Jewellery, University of Central England, Birmingham (MA, 3D Metalwork, Jewellery and Related Products), 2000; Staffordshire University (PGCHPE, Higher Professional Education), 2009

Work included in the collections of: Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery; Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford; National Museum Wales Prizes: First Prize, British Jewellers Association, 1995; Prize for Design Innovation, British Jewellers Association, 1996; First Prize, Pewter Live and Goldsmiths Award, 1997; New Designers, The Goldsmiths’ Company Silversmithing Award, 1998; New Designers, Association of British Designer Silversmiths Award, 2000 Current Teaching: Design Crafts, De Montfort University, Leicestershire Website: http://www.rajeshgogna.co.uk/ Work available at: • Contemporary Applied Arts, London (http://www.caa.org.uk/) 58

‘I have a keen research interest in how silver ‘lives’ within modern everyday life. Through analyzing historical collections of traditional silver, it is evident that the context of silverware has been utilitarian and functional, mainly tabletop pieces with the style often being opulent and ostentatious.

For ‘From the Table to the Wall’, the range of contemporary objects I have designed and made explores the relationship between form, function and preciousness. I propose abstract jewellery for buildings to adorn the interior walls, allowing freedom to explore new ways of thinking. The vessels explore the unexpected boundaries of the expected use of silver within the home. and begin to re-define a broader context for precious metal to once again be celebrated within the home or public space. They are moving away from a traditional tabletop setting with a view to developing a new contemporary perspective.

For this collection I have taken inspiration from architecture, specifically the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. The forms echo the bold curves and lines of the dramatic yet quiet status of the building.

Some of the pieces have been powder coated to conceal and protect the materials from everyday wear, to symbolise oxidisation and preciousness.’

Photography Richard Mellor 59

JANET HAIGH Born: The Wirral, Cheshire, 1948 Studio: Portishead, North Somerset Trained: Liverpool College of Art (Dip A D), 1970; Goldsmiths College, London (Art Teacher’s Certificate), 1971

Prizes/Awards: Arts Council England, Research and Development grant, 2004-5; Royal Society of Arts, Travel Scholarship to Japan, 1981; National Garden Embroidery Prize (National Trust), 2001 Website: https://janethaigh.wordpress.com/ Work available at: • Artist’s studio

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‘I am a freelance designer-maker, applied artist, lecturer, crafts-woman, whatever you want to call me - I stitch stuff by hand: fabric, paper, metal, vitreous enamel, vellum, porcelain. Hand embroidery, whether in silk, linen, leather, wool or wire, takes time, and time is necessary to reflect upon and develop ideas about meaning through my materials.

Invited to contribute to Nexus, I thought to re-visit ideas developed in my earlier stitched enamel work. After years of working on panels of sheet copper I realised what I was missing - it needed to bend, drape or fold - to behave as a textile.

Using traditional patchwork and embroidery techniques, I cut small squares and strips of copper, drill hundreds of holes and stitch them together. I create metal fabrics that when stencilled in enamel through lace and drawn thread work and stitched in wire look ephemeral but can live outside and will not fade.

Changing the scale but retaining the fluidity is the challenge of this new work. And colour: colour on metal; metal seen through colour. Colour as a means of unifying a patchwork of different shapes and patterns. Colour to make the eye jump and flow over the simple repeating patchwork pattern seeing new configurations and connections.’

Photography Stephen Jacobson 61

KATE HAYWOOD Born: London,1979 Studio: Cardiff Trained: Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design (BA Hons, Jewellery Design), 2001; Camberwell College of Arts (BA Hons, Ceramics), 2007; Cardiff School of Arts (MA, Ceramics), 2014

Work included in the collections of: ICMEA (International Ceramics Magazine Editors Association), Fuping Pottery Art Village, China; International Ceramics Museum, Faenza, Italy; KOCEF (Korea Ceramic Foundation) Collection, Korea; Manchester Art Gallery; The Ceramics Museum, Vallauris, France; University of the Arts London Prizes/Awards: Gold Medal in memory of Eleuterio Ignazi, 56th Premio Faenza, International Competition of Contemporary Ceramic Art), 2009; Fenton Arts Trust Award, 2013; Axis MAstar Award, 2014; Future Lights International Ceramics Competition Winner, 2015 Website: http://www.katehaywood.co.uk/ Work available at: • Commissions available via website

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‘Often referencing aspects of ritual, ceremony and adornment, Kate Haywood’s work explores our relationship with objects and how they can allow us to form and trigger memories.

Material and process is combined to create a non-verbal dialogue. Visual clues are generated from specific combinations of colour, form and scale. Individual components evoke readings which are multi-layered and material qualities are intensified when viewed in relation to a range of contrasting physical traits.

Works are contradictory in nature, playful yet sombre, tactile but austere, familiar and unfamiliar.

Function is always suggested but never fully resolved. These ambiguities permit an open reading and allow Haywood to explore ways in which poetic structures can function visually.’

Photography Ole Akhøj during Kate’s Guldagergaard Residency, 2016 63

ZOË HILLYARD Born: London, 1970 Studio: Birmingham Trained: Middlesex Polytechnic (Certificate in Art Foundation Studies), 1990; Nottingham Trent University (BA Hons, Textile Design), 1993; Birmingham City University (Postgraduate Certificate of Professional Studies, Education), 1999; University of Reading (MSc, Applied Development Studies), 2008

Work included in the collections of: Plymouth Museum and Art Gallery Prizes/Awards: Plymouth Museum & Art Gallery Purchase Award, 2012; Antique of the Future Award, BBC Homes & Antique Award, 2012; The Pollie Weiss Colour Prize, Society of Designer Craftsmen, 2013; Distinction Award, Society of Designer Craftsmen, 2013; Craft & Design Selected Maker: Gold Award, Textiles and Needlecraft Category, 2014 Current Teaching: Birmingham City University Website: http://www.zoehillyard.com/home Work available at: • Contemporary Applied Arts, London (http://www.caa.org.uk/)

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‘Using the tradition of hand-stitched patchwork as a mending process, my work uses textiles to revive discarded ceramics, creating a new tactile aesthetic for familiar forms. The original surface decoration is replaced by printed textile design as individual fragments are covered with fabric and re-assembled solely by stitch.

I am inspired by the resourcefulness of communities that live with challenging conditions - remoteness, harsh climate, risk of natural disaster - and the way that craft and craftsmanship often play an important role in livelihood activities and cultural expression. My interest grew out of the experience of being a VSO volunteer in Mongolia, spending time with remote nomadic families.

Exploring concepts of fragility, resilience, resourcefulness and regeneration, my work has a flawed beauty that celebrates imperfection and seeks to question our relationship with materials and possessions. Pieces can simply be the result of an interesting combination of unconnected salvaged items. Equally they can be the re-working of imagery, ceramic or textile possessions, which have sentimental value.

I enjoy the ambiguity the work contains - created using textile craftsmanship but understood as a ceramic form. The work sits somewhere between solid and broken, balancing the tensions between materials, pattern, colour and form.’

Photography Warren Malkin 65

GENEVIEVE HOWARD Born: Dublin, 1992 Studio: Dublin Trained: National College of Art and Design, Dublin (BA Hons, Metals and Jewellery), 2015

Work included in the collections of: CODA Museum, Netherlands; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Prizes/Awards: Institute of Designers in Ireland Craft and Design Award, 2015; Galerie Marzee Graduate Prize, 2015; Highly Commended, Mari Funaki Award for Contemporary Jewellery, 2016 Website: https://www.genevievehowarddesign.com/ Work available at: • The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh (https://scottish-gallery.co.uk/) • Studio Fusion, London (https://studiofusiongallery.co.uk/) • Galerie Marzee, Nijmegen, Netherlands (http://www.marzee.nl/galerie/start/) • Calligrane, Paris (https://www.calligrane.fr/) • Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, USA (https://www.patina-gallery.com/) • Gallery Funaki, Melbourne, Australia (https://galleryfunaki.com.au/) 66

‘My current work challenges the idea of transforming music into visual and three-dimensional forms.

Being a musician myself, I have played and listened to music from a young age. The possibility of translating a piece of music that is personal into a tactile and wearable medium excites me.

My initial collection was inspired by pieces of music that I have played as a musician, which have enriched and given meaning to my life. I create my own form of graphic notation from the traditional musical scores of these pieces. I then stack the graphic shapes like staves and roll them up like scrolls of music to create statement wearable pieces.

I plan to develop my work in such a way that it can be used in different settings, either as an individual artist or as a collaborator with other musicians, composers and artists. Having started on this path, I can see an enormous potential to realise other possibilities. I plan to continue exploring and developing my ideas through the medium of jewellery, music and sculpture.’

Photography Conor Horgan 67

ANDREW LAMB Born: Edinburgh, 1978 Studio: Glasgow Trained: Edinburgh College of Art (BA Hons, Jewellery and Silversmithing), 2000; Royal College of Art (MA, Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery), 2004

Work included in the collections of: Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums; Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery; City of Edinburgh Museums; Crafts Council, London; The Goldsmiths’ Company, London; The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, Switzerland; National Museums Scotland; Royal Mint Medal Collection, Llantrisant, Wales; V & A Prizes/Awards: Goldsmiths’ Craftsmanship and Design Awards 2014: Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers Award Gold Prize, Bentley & Skinner Jewellery Award Gold Prize; The Arts Foundation Fellowship Award for Jewellery 2010 Current Teaching: Glasgow University Website: https://www.andrewlamb.co.uk/ Work available at: • Contemporary Applied Arts, London: www.caa.org.uk • The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh: www.scottish-gallery.co.uk • Flow Gallery, London: http://www.flowgallery.co.uk/

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‘I am fascinated by the surface of textiles, microscopic patterns in nature, Op Art and visual illusions.

I aim to echo the perfection found in natural forms but tempered by the shifting patterns of how we see and perceive the world.

The latest themes in my work include the creating of interlaced changing colour images and patterning, assembled using thousands of wire ‘pixels’. Within these pieces I am pursuing the use of mixed alloys of gold. As my jewellery tilts and moves the surfaces ripple and reflect, drawing in the viewer and creating a moment of surprise.

The pieces are a development of many years refining my skills and the use of traditional wire working methods alongside the use of laser welding technology. By manipulating wire at a microscopic level I create mesmerising optical effects that shift and change as pieces move with the wearer.’

Photography Graham Clark 69

RUTH LESLIE Born: Edinburgh, 1993 Studio: Edinburgh Trained: Glasgow School of Art (BA Hons, Silversmithing and Jewellery), 2015; Edinburgh College of Art (Artist in Residence), 2015-6

Prizes/Awards: Grand First Prize, British Art Medal Society (BAMS) Student Medal Project, 2012 Website: http://www.ruthleslie.co.uk/ Work available at: • The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh (https://scottish-gallery.co.uk/) • Clifton Rocks, Bristol (https://www.cliftonrocks.co.uk/)

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‘Working in a variety of metals including silver, gold and titanium, Ruth creates sculptural jewellery that is inspired by the irregularities within fabrics as well as the structural forms within textile machinery. With both these aspects in mind, Ruth creates subtle colours through heat-treating titanium to contrast against geometric, three-dimensional forms created with fine, twisted wire. This combination of colour and workmanship results in unique and stimulating pieces, which are surprisingly light and playful to wear.’

Photography Neil McBeth 71

WANSHU LI Born: Harbin, China,1990 Studio: Edinburgh Trained: College of Art and Design, Beijing University of Technology (BA, Jewellery and Silversmithing), 2013; Edinburgh College of Art (MFA, Jewellery and Silversmithing), 2016; Edinburgh College of Art (Artist in Residence), 2016-17

Prizes/Awards: Winner, JOYA Award, Barcelona Art Jewellery Fair, 2017 Website: https://www.liwanshu.co/ Work available at: • Online, from her website https://www.liwanshu.co/ • Dazzle (http://www.lovedazzle.com/ to purchase online,

or see http://www.dazzle-exhibitions.co.uk/ for details of Dazzle’s programme of selling

exhibitions

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‘My jewellery is focused on exploring multisensory experiences. I make tactile, wearable pieces which involve different sensory experiences such as vision, sound and touch. The inspiration for the jewellery series “Go with the Glow” stems from capturing moving moments in the natural world. I was deeply attracted by free-swimming marine animals such as the jellyfish, which is soft, light, and glows with amazing colours. This series includes brooches, bangles and rings that have an almost maritime appearance. I was also fascinated by dancing, rave parties and laser light shows.

I developed my work by experimenting with acrylic, moving beads, ultraviolet reactive nylon wire, ultraviolet light and fluorescent paints, resulting in lightweight tactile, colourful and playful pieces.

Under ultraviolet light the nylon wires create an amazing fluorescent effect and provide pleasurable visual enjoyment for both wearers and viewers. In addition, the pieces create subtle sounds, which freely follow the movements of the body.’

Photography Joya Barcelona 73

ANNA LORENZ Born: Döswitz, Germany, 1967 Studio: Birmingham Trained: Fernmeldeamt, Weiden, Germany (Telecom apprenticeship), 1987; Werkstatt für Schmuck, Joseph Rieger, Regensburg, Germany (Goldsmith apprenticeship), 1999; School of Jewellery, University of Central England, Birmingham (BA Hons, Jewellery Design and Silversmithing), 2003; University of Central England, Birmingham (Postgraduate Certificate for teaching in higher education), 2006; School of Art, Birmingham City University (Master in Fine Art), 2013

Work included in the collections of: The Goldsmiths’ Company, London; Grassi Museum, Leipzig; Jewellery Quarter Museum, Birmingham; St George’s Hospital, London; St Philip’s Cathedral, Birmingham Prizes/Awards: The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) scholarship, 2012 Current Teaching: Part-time lecturer, BA Jewellery and Object course, School of Jewellery, Birmingham City University Website: http://www.annalorenz.com/ Work available at: • Contemporary Applied Arts (http://www.caa.org.uk/) • Directly from the artist

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‘I aim to create objects and sculptures of a quiet and contemplative nature and hope that the viewer finds a moment to enjoy and connect with this aspect of the work.

I work across the disciplines of jewellery, silversmithing and sculpture with a similar minimalist aesthetic, although the materials vary from steel to precious metals and paper.

Inspiration comes from a variety of sources such as life itself, art and meaningful contemporary architecture, as well as a curiosity about the deeper meaning of life and, within this, the importance of creative engagement.

I work with geometric forms, mainly the square, and physically cut the material to reveal space and open up forms.

The square itself speaks of precision and balance yet the resulting grids and compositions develop intuitively through active, physical engagement with the material; and this tension between the void and materiality is a key consideration in my inquiry.

My work is contextually inspired by Joseph Beuys’ comprehensive idea of art and his vision of ‘art as the science of freedom’.

The belief that human beings have an inherent creative potential places full responsibility with the individual but holds the key to personal transformation.’

Photography Phil Lea 75

LYNNE MACLACHLAN Born: Paisley, 1980 Studio: Glasgow Trained: University of Glasgow, (BEng (Hons), Aerospace engineering), 2002; Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art (BDes Hons, Jewellery and Metalwork), 2008; Royal College of Art (MA, Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Jewellery & Metalwork), 2010; Open University (PhD, ‘Making rules, making tools: can shape grammar support creative making’), from 2018

Work included in the collections of: V&A Prizes/Awards: Dewar Arts Award, 2008; Scottish Education Trust Visual Arts Award, 2008; Eckersley Book Prize and School of Design Award for dissertation, and Thomas Dalgety Dunn Prize, University of Dundee, 2008; Gil Packard Postgraduate Bursary, The Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council, 2010; Gold Awards, Technological Innovation and Gallery Jewellery, The Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council, 2013; Inches Carr Trust Award, 2017 Website: https://lynnemaclachlan.co.uk/ Work available at: • Online on Lynne’s website https://lynnemaclachlan.co.uk/ • Dazzle (http://www.lovedazzle.com/ to purchase online, or for details of Dazzle’s

programme of selling exhibitions, see http://www.dazzle-exhibitions.co.uk/ • Dundee Contemporary Arts (http://www.dca.org.uk/) • Gill Wing, London (http://www.gillwingjewellery.co.uk/) • Studio Fusion Gallery, London (https://studiofusiongallery.co.uk/) • Four Sweden, Göteborg (http://www.goteborg.com/en/four/) • Remai Modern, Saskatoon, Canada (https://remaimodern.org/) 76

‘Lynne MacLachlan’s work plays with light, space and colour, intending to create visual delight for wearer and viewer. Sculptural forms are rendered in vibrant colours and create ephemeral, shimmering optical illusions by layering complex three-dimensional patterns.

Lynne takes an experimental approach with digital tools, exploring and pushing the capabilities of these, using bespoke software tools and 3D printing to materialise the resulting complex forms.

These are combed with meticulous hand finishing techniques, such as dyeing, polishing and construction, elevating the pieces further.’

Photography Ellie-Morag, courtesy of Craft Scotland 77

CATHERINE MARTIN Born: London, 1949 Studio: London Trained: Guildhall School of Music, London (AGSM, violin and singing), 1972; Domyo School of Kumihimo, Japan (Diploma, kumihimo), 1983; Royal College of Art, London (M Phil, kumihimo in metal),1994

Work included in the collections of: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA; Cleveland Museum of Art, USA; Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery; The Goldsmiths’ Company, London; Ipswich Museum; Museum of Arts and Design, New York; National Museums Scotland; V & A Prizes/Awards: Silver Prize for Braids, Kumihimo Exhibition, Tokyo, 1983; Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Research Fellowship to Japan, 1986; First Prize, Platinum Award, Ayrton Metals, 1991; Darwin Scholarship, Royal College of Art, 1993; First Prize, Design, Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council Awards 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001 Association of Contemporary Jewellery Award 2008 Website: http://www.tygerglyn.com/staff-member/catherine-martin/ Work available at: • Contemporary Applied Arts (http://www.caa.org.uk/) • The Scottish Gallery (https://scottish-gallery.co.uk/)

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‘The pieces of jewellery I have chosen to show for Nexus give a sense of the journey I have made from a long training and professional career in classical music followed by four years of studying textiles in Japan. Back in England, the discovery through experimentation that the techniques I had learnt could be adapted for use with fine metal wire led to a new direction: that of making structures and subsequently, jewellery.

However, technique is only ever a means to an end and it is the end that is paramount and often elusive. It is fuelled by sounds that are always flowing through my head: the Bach cello suites, the preludes and fugues, late Beethoven string quartets, fragments from Messiaen and Arvo Pärt: minimal single lines that overlap and have influenced my thinking from an early age but there is no attempt to illustrate or interpret these sounds. What I make is just an internal response to what I hear.’

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VALERIA NASCIMENTO Born: Goiania-Goias, Brazil, 1962 Studio: London Trained: Universidade Catolica de Goias (BA Hons, Architecture), 1985

Website: http://www.valerianascimento.com/ Represented by: • Woolff Gallery, London (http://www.woolffgallery.co.uk/) • Galerie Scène Ouverte, Paris (https://www.galerie-sceneouverte.com/) • Sage Culture Gallery, Los Angeles (http://www.sageculture.com/) • To see more: Valeria Nascimento’s wall installations can be seen in many commercial

spaces.

For further information on locations, see: http://www.valerianascimento.com/biography/ (Commissions)

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‘Growing up in Brazil, surrounded by exuberant nature, inspired me to embark on an artistic career.

A degree in architecture helped me to cement a certain visual language, an eye for detail and an understanding of physical space.

Parallel to this, I began making ceramics in 1986 in Rio de Janeiro. However, porcelain soon became a passion and I ended up giving up architecture in order to fully dedicate myself to this discipline.

My inspiration is drawn mostly from the natural world, and porcelain has the smoothness and the malleability that I need to create new shapes, manipulating it to appear in some cases defiantly weightless. My work is about repetitive sequencing with separate elements to form a cohesive sculptural group. I am principally interested in large-scale wall installation projects.’

Photography Lucas Ferreira 81

DAVID POSTON Born: Moscow, Russia, 1948 Studio: Bungay, Suffolk Trained: Hornsey College of Art (Diploma, Jewellery Design), 1970; University of Warwick (PhD, Engineering), 1991

Work included in the collections of (selected): Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery; Crafts Council, London; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; The Goldsmiths’ Company, London; Leeds City Museum; Lincoln Cathedral; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; National Museums Scotland; Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead; V & A Website: http://www.davidposton.net/Welcome.html Work available at: • The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh: https://scottish-gallery.co.uk/ • Ruthin Craft Centre: http://ruthincraftcentre.org.uk/ • Contemporary Applied Arts, London: http://www.caa.org.uk/

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‘David Poston is an inter-disciplinary problem-solver and a 3D designer-maker.

As a jeweller since 1968 David’s consistent departure point has been the tactile relationship between a wearer and their object. He has never been motivated by the visual and psychological relationship between a jewel and the people watching it being worn. This unorthodox focus liberated him from the conventional constraints of jewellery and encouraged him to explore materials according to their objective fitness-for-purpose, stimulating his development as a designer excited by the definition and solution of problems in whatever context the opportunity to do so may arise.

David’s work has benefited from his many adventures and the people encountered during a diverse and eclectic career working in design and sustainable development and on an unusual variety of other things. The physicality and directness of much of his jewellery is a consequence of his early childhood in Cyprus which, much later, were reinforced by his extensive working experience in rural Africa. Following twenty-five years of professional preoccupation with Africa his return to making jewellery has generated much more relaxed, flamboyant and playful work that recognises his inner engineer.

The change, experimentation and risk essential to the creative journey continue to stimulate him.’

Photography Fran Poston 83

JACKY PUZEY Born: Bishops Stortford, Herts, 1971 Studio: Bristol Trained: Sheffield Hallam University (BA, Fine Art), 1993; Bath Spa University (PG Dip,Visual Culture), 2000; Bath Spa University (MA, Visual Culture), 2004; Bath Spa University (PhD, Fashion, Textiles and Visual Culture), 2014

Prizes/Awards: Winner, open category, Hand and Lock Prize for Embroidery, 2015; Winner, Wearables Section, Excellence in Fibers (Fiber Art Now magazine), 2016/2017 Website: https://jackypuzey.com/ Work available at: • Eporta (https://www.eporta.com/) • Whittaker and Wells, Bristol (http://www.whittakerwells.com/) • Commissions and direct sales available via artist’s website

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‘Jacky Puzey specializes in designing and producing digital embroidery for interiors and fashion.

Combining traditional embroidery skills with digital technology Jacky uses fur, feathers, tweed and organza together with drawing, laser cutting and digital embroidery to explore her distinctive imagery and style.

From feral lace to embellished creatures, from feathered interior screens to shimmering metallic bomber jackets, Jacky’s embroidery creates a baroque pleasure, forming new fabrics, textures and stories.

Her current interiors collection features a series of interior screens, embroidered velvet Cocktail chairs and embroidered wallpapers. Migrating creatures, from escaped parakeets to foxes and hares, are shown within their new urban landscapes to create a beautiful meditation on ‘wild’ cities and diverse urban cultures. Parakeets mingle with the local starlings, as the embroideries create complex contemporary embellished narratives of urban migration and landscape.

Alongside her range of products for interiors, Jacky undertakes bespoke commissions for private clients and interior designers, as well as collaborations and commissions with fashion designers and other clients. Recent work has included developing embroidered interfaces for wearable technology; a commission to produce a series of embroidered banners for Kingston All Saints Church; and embroidery for a menswear couture collection for a Taiwanese-based fashion company.’

Photography Jo Hounsome 85

ROMILLY SAUMAREZ SMITH Born: London, 1954 Studio: London Trained: Camberwell School of Art and Crafts (book binding and paper conservation), 1978

Work included in the collections of: The British Library; New York Public Library; V & A; Yale Center for British Art Prizes/Awards: Finalist, The Woman’s Hour Craft Prize, 2017 Website: http://www.romillysaumarezsmith.com/ Work available at: • Online, via the website; diffusion range online at http://savageandchong.com/ • The New Craftsmen (https://www.thenewcraftsmen.com/)

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‘I spent the first 25 years of my making life as a bookbinder and started to make jewellery in 1998 after using metal on the books in the form of fixings and bosses. Metal became a fascination, so different to leather and paper.

In 2011 I bought my first metal detecting finds from eBay, initially as stocking presents.

They arrived tightly packed in bubble wrap and each one was an inspiration leading to a new direction in my work. I wanted to put the pieces back into a landscape and latterly under the sea where my deep imagination lies. The three boxes and the sea thimble piece come from those depths.

I can no longer use my hands and work through my “translators”, Lucie Gledhill, Laura Ngyou and Anna Wales – all of them very skilled and who also produce their own exceptional collections very different to my own work.

I have had solo exhibitions at the Yale Centre for British Art, Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts and Ruthin Craft Centre. I was shortlisted for the Woman’s Hour Crafts Prize in 2017.’

Photography Lucinda Douglas-Menzies 87

ADI TOCH Born: Jerusalem, Israel, 1979 Studio: London Trained: Bezalel Art Academy, Jerusalem (BA Hons, Metalwork), 2004; The Cass, London Metropolitan University (MA), 2009

Work included in the collections of: Crafts Council, London; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; The Goldsmiths’ Company, London; The Jewish Museum, New York; National Museums Scotland; National Museums Wales; Turnov Museum, Czech Republic; V & A Prizes/Awards: Gold Award, The Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council UK, 2013; shortlisted for the Loewe Craft Prize, 2017; winner of a 2017 Wallpaper* Design Award Current Teaching: The Cass, London Metropolitan University; Bezalel Art Academy, Jerusalem Website: http://aditoch.com/ Work available at: • Contemporary Applied Arts, London (http://www.caa.org.uk) • The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh (www.scottish-gallery.co.uk) • Taste Contemporary Craft, Geneva (www.tastecontemporarycraft.com) 88

‘Vessels and containers are an innate method of communication for me. They convey a story of gathering, holding, storing – not only do they surround us in our daily lives, they shape our perception of the division between inside and out, the notion of moving from one framed space into another.

The practice of making vessels enables me to work both with metal and space as materials, thereby redefining these borders. Beginning with a flat sheet, I form and fabricate the metal into hollow forms using hammers and tools. Through texturing, mark making, colouring and patination I create a unique visual language of metal. I explore the morphological qualities of vessels and the process of embedding objects from the domestic landscape with spirit. My work communicates through its sensory qualities and invites the observer to pick it up or look closely before revealing its story.’

Photography Phil Lea 89

ACKNOWLEDGLEMENTS Fife Contemporary and Ruthin Craft Centre would like to thank: All the artists Dr Elizabeth Goring Dovecot Studios Dr Helen Bennett The Harley Gallery and Susan Sherrit ON Fife staff at Kirkcaldy Galleries Gregory Parsons Lisa Rostron at Lawn Creative ArtWorks Michael Wolchover Fife Contemporary staff and installation team Ruthin Craft Centre exhibition and administration team

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Installation photograph of ‘Nexus’ by Michael Wolchover 91