Tag: headingley artists

Silver and Sparkle

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Diana Lambert has been a stalwart of Design@HEART for many years and we’re thrilled she’ll be joining us again next month, on 9th November.

4 ROUND LINK EARRINGS(1)

I set up Silver and Sparkle in 2006. I work from my small studio in West Yorkshire, designing and making my own range of jewellery and other objects primarily, but not exclusively, in silver.

Whilst I am primarily self-taught, I undertook an initial course at the Yorkshire Craft Centre and each year I attend a week-long in-depth Silversmithing Courses at West Dean College in Sussex to refresh and hone my skills.

I particularly specialise in making hand-forged geometric-shaped links for pendants, necklaces, earrings and bracelets.

To compliment the silver I also use semi precious stones, freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals.

I do find it difficult to pin down where the inspiration for my designs comes from, but the many hours spent walking in the Yorkshire Dales and our local woodlands have a significant influence on my work.

I have exhibited several times at the annual British Craft Trade Fair and a number of exhibitions within Yorkshire. I currently sell my work at various Country Shows and Art, Craft & Design events, as well as through a number of galleries throughout the UK.

 

Firing up the kiln

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If you have visited Design@HEART before you may well have seen Lindsay Thomas’s work.  Lindsay is a potter, producing eyecatching home decorations using the ancient method of Raku, and incorporating her other love of textiles into her new work.  Here she is talking about her work and methods:

I have been making pots since 1995. I started by attending an evening class and enjoyed it so much I carried on. I was fortunate enough to use an inheritance from my father with which I bought a kiln.

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I was also able to attend two courses that influenced my work and inspired me to try to sell my work. The first course was a weekend in the wilds of Wales with Annie Horner where I learnt to build and fire a Raku kiln and I use this process in my work still.  The second was a week’s course with Peter Beard, an amazing potter who taught me to refine my work and encouraged me to go out and try and sell my work.

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As I loved the Raku process I used this and made work influenced by ancient standing stones and ancient rock art from Ilkley moor. My first selling event was Potfest in the Pens 2000, a show which I have attended every year since. I work from my little studio in my cellar and Raku firing my work in my homemade kiln outside in the garage with my husband being my extra pair of hands.

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Over the years my work has gone through various influences, the main one being natural forms and pebbles found in the beach. The beach theme expanded to beach huts and camper vans and I now include found object found in the beach such as driftwood.

Raku

The Raku process is an ancient Japanese process used to make tea bowls. The work is made, bisque fired, glazed, and then fired again in my Raku Kiln. The Raku kiln is fired to 960degrees then the pots are taken out when red hot and placed in sawdust. This causes a reduction in heat and makes the glaze crackle and any unglazed part turns black.  The pots are then placed in water and cleaned up.

My other love is textiles and my new work is earthenware decorated with oxides and transparent glaze. I use hand dyed yarn by Jean Wildish at Wild Wood Wool to sew rock art designs into the pots.

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