About Shaped Contemporary
‘Shaped’ earring designs evolve from my love and interest of colour combinations and pattern. Sometimes the colour needs nothing else so I keep the form simple and clean.
Shaped jewellery designs are focused on the beauty of combining colour with simple elegant form. The designs are bold, yet refined and are designed to complement, not to overpower, but to enhance.
The patterns I develop for jewellery pieces emerge through noticing the details in nature and using them to develop ideas.
I keep sketch books, take photos of things that catch my eye, and schedule time to explore the possibilities of the material.
Polymer clay is a wonderful material to work with; it is incredible versatile and tactile. I have chosen this material to create jewellery over any other, as it is enables me to explore and create freely. Any tone of colour can be created, it can be textured, inlayed, formed, combined and shaped. It is strong, durable and will last a long time.
All ‘Shaped’ designs retain their uniqueness as each, and every product is individually created by hand. I like knowing as a maker that I am producing unique quality handcrafted pieces.
how i started
‘shaped contemporary jewellery’ actually emerged from my love of plants and gardening, rather than jewellery and the fact that i was not able to do enough of it due the ever increasing appalling British weather conditions.
My love of gardening and in particular, planting design grew from my need to find something just for me, for calm, for getting away, for inspiration and invigoration. I have worked as a textiles teacher for 20 years, part time for the last 10 after having children. During this time I studied for and passed my RHS2 qualifications, giving me the chance to completely immerse myself in the subject. I progressed to various gardening jobs and loved every opportunity to be outside , to choose plants, create designs and just be mindful. Weather was not always on my side or restrictions on my availability, so I became stuck. I needed another creative outlet and luckily the answer came.
Id used polmer clay a during time at home with the kids during lockdown and loved it, so i just carried on! Time flew past and I became a little addicted. The benefit to this creative outlet was that i didnt need to work around anything or anyone, it didn’t require much space and i could do it easily any when, which i did and gradually ‘shaped’ was formed!