Linda's profile... "Since being very young, I've enjoyed drawing, painting and making things. At school, I excelled at art, so it was no surprise that I went to Art College. I graduated with a fashion degree and worked as a shoe designer before retraining to be an art teacher.
For many years, I taught art and design in Lancashire and Leicestershire schools and colleges. The idea for the jewellery started almost by accident. I began ‘drawing’ with a bit of found copper wire and made a brooch! Practice, perseverance and ‘dreaming’ of wire led to the creation of ‘wacky wire’ jewellery. What really inspired me, and continues to do so, was working in colour. My wire and bead box became a painter’s palette. These adventurous experiments had a simple rule - no pattern, no jig or template - just a length of wire and my imagination. In order to enjoy the making, I realised that each piece had to be different and the work spontaneous. As in painting: composition, texture, colour contrast and harmony, are important to me. Designing new motifs, inventing new techniques and finding exciting colour combinations are my main concerns. I stitch, join, bind, weave, and layer the wires. Beads, pearls, shells, stones, glass, crystal, metal, leather and sentimental trinkets are used to make a contemporary piece. An inherent quality of wire is its extraordinary reflective surface. In the light, it glistens and ripples like surface water. I try to manipulate the wires to maximise this quality”. |
