Please help these amazingly talented jewellers. Some are close friends so even a £1.00 donation would get them that wee bit closer to exhibiting at IJL http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vanillaink/showcase-our-unique-jewellery-studio-at-national-t

Scarlett Erskine

Audrey Reid

Victoria Kelsey

Robin Bell

Joanne MacFadyen

Filipa Oliveira

Leanne Evans

Ruth Morrison

Sally Fenton

Hey guys :) Sat watching penguin spy cam tonight. Amazing. Anyway I get bored easily and incredibly emotional anything animal related, it breaks my heart watching them...so I wanted to introduce you to the lovely and incredibly talented Elizabeth Humble. 

First met Lizzie whilst doing our degree along side each other. We spent many a late night on the run up to the degree show together. She's an amazing gall and she kept my spirits up :) so promoting her work is at least the one thing that I can do.

Lizzie launched her award winning debut collection “The Fragile Landscape” in 2010, closely followed by  “The Fragments Collection” in 2011.

Originally from Argyll in the west coast of Scotland, she went on to study an honours degree in Jewellery and Metal Design, at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art. Soon after graduating, she won the prestigious Goldsmiths’ Company award for Jewellery, at the New Designers exhibition in London, and the New Designers ‘One Year On’ award in 2011.

From her own mouth, her “inspiration comes from the beautifully rugged and dramatic landscape of the west coast of Scotland. I like to create work that explores the land in an abstract and challenging way, unearthing details, and exploring natural rock formations hidden beneath the surface of the land.

I have developed a unique technique layering silver wires together to create intricate structures in precious metals. I transform these structures into beautifully unique pieces of jewellery, airing an edgy and sophisticated tone.”

I really love her work because not only is it beautiful but because every piece is so unique and skillfully made. Lizzie laboriously constructs these incredibly pieces of jewellery by painstakingly soldering and layering wire together to create the most amazing, wearable pieces of art. 

                Here are a selection of my favourite pieces from a mixture of her collections.

You can browse your way to happiness http://www.elizabethhumble.com/index.html

follow her on twitter http://twitter.com/ElizabethHumble

and read her blog post at http://elizabethahumble.blogspot.co.uk/

Well hello world. I hope wherever you are and whatever your doing that today is a good day. I decided as of today, as of right now that I'm going to use my blogg as a way of documenting anything and everything that inspires me. I used to be old an school type and sketchbooks allowed me to document everything in my own privacy but lets face it. I'm finding it difficult to be creative these days so I'm going to use any tool and this electronic one will do for now :)

So today I fell in love. HARD, fast, fall on your face and lost completely for words. LOVE.

I stumbled across fashion designer Nicholas Oakwell, as I spied his new collection SS13

on show at Claridge's in London, January the 17th 2013. 

HOKUSAI DRESS (THE GREAT WAVE) - DEGRADE WOVEN SILK WITH AN OCEAN OF OSTRICH FEATHERS

The first dress that caught my eye was the above Hokasai dress. The combination of the top structured gown flowing into the luscious ostrich feathers, simply sent my heart fluttering! Firstly because I have a thing for feathers but secondly because many people try to make feather gowns but lets face it, it always ends up being the idea behind the dress that gives it any, real standing ground. Whereas this dress for me is sheer perfection. From the colour combinations to the jux position of fabric and the use of the unusual to create structure, flow, life and movement. It really is a masterpiece of a gown and a mesmerizing couture dress. 

SAGE HECKLE FEATHER STRAPLESS GOWN WORN WITH A NARROW HEXAGON BELT

Secondly was the sage heckle feathers gown. I loved the classic clean cut lines that you can envision 

underneath the laboriously hand sewn feathers. It creams love me, worship me. What I loved mostly about this gown was the amount of work that would have went into it. Apparently he enlisted the help of the finest artisans and artists around the British Isles to create both. WOW.

SILVER CREPE FRINGED COLUMN GOWN

NUDE SILK TULLE GOWN WITH JASMINE EMBROIDERY AND BEADING 

SILVER AND GREY HEXAGON PANELLED TUXEDO TROUSER SUIT - SILK AND COTTON SUIT IN MERCURY AND IVORY PANELLING

MIDNIGHT BLUE SATIN PEPLUM TROUSER SUIT

You should check out the rest of his work and be inspired!!!!!!

https://pinterest.com/nicholasoakwell/

http://www.nicholasoakwellcouture.com/

https://twitter.com/NicholasOakwell

http://www.youtube.com/user/NicholasOakwell

Rhiannon Macgillivray

Hey so today I thought id introduce you to my fantastic best bud Rhiannon Macgillvray.

 ladies cuff, sterling silver

Rhiannon has an intensive knowledge of traditional jewellery and silversmithing techniques.  We both studied along side each other at Duncan of Jordanstone and I learned mainly through her eagerness too learn as many hands on (hard/no bish bosh/hardcore/inyourface/) making techniques. 

Mainly Rhiannon hand pierces, raises and plays with light, through surface manipulation in various surface textures. In her own words " I have been influenced by both flowing shapes and geometric patterns that I've found in modern and ancient architecture during my travels. I see beauty in the uncomplicated and take joy in transforming silver" 

Shes no one trick pony and her talents are endless!!! 

Check out her work at http://silver-rhi.com/

 brooch, sterling silver

earrings, sterling silver 

 ladies cuff, sterling silver and oak

Sterling silver fruit bowl

I'm still alive :)

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...mainly because I got locked out of my account and couldn't remember the password :P Alas it just came to me.

Anyway I hope wherever you are and whatever your doing that your fabulous :)

p.s heres the new me. Its been two years and a few stone lighter hehe

Like my mother said to me this morning..."you put so much of yourself into your work, every piece shows another side of you. Don't be afraid to be yourself"

And with those wise words I began to really think about not just this piece but the last year & everything I've made it through...As gay as it sounds (although totally true), mother dearest was right.

Ever since I can remember my art has been a place were I can go and be my true self. A place were I was safe, alone and were no one judged me. I guess thats why its so personal to me because every criticism made about the piece is like a direct criticism to me.

I've struggled allot this year whilst studying at Bishopsland. Although whilst its an amazing place to nurture making skills and teaches valuable life skills and business/ entrepreneurial skills. For someone like me, a somewhat strange cat and free soul, its slightly soul destroying because they just don't get who I am and what my art is all about...unexplainable, somewhat like myself...but I guess thats what makes it different.

Anyway this is my latest piece. Keeping true to myself, as always. No matter how hard it gets :)

Hello,

So I've had a busy  BUT exciting last week with finally getting my design sorted for British Silver Week, ordering the silver (£726 oh my...), doing a 2 day master class with Jaqueline Mina, designing, designing, designing...piercing to my hearts content :) and winning a private competition hosted for the Bishopsland gang to win £350 for gold, judged by Jacqueline Mina.

Here are some of my fellows hard at work :), to the left Ela Banach and to the right James Hughes.

Below is the design (in card), for my silver bowl that I'm going to be starting as soon as my saw blades and new drill bits arrive from cooksons :) CANNOT ACTUALLY WAIT!!!!

Better go and have a munch before I'm off to help at Adam Jacobs, a small exhibition that the rest of the gang will be exhibiting in and myself doing a demonstration of my piercing technique.