GRADUATES AT LUSTRE 2009

A selection of the finest young makers from East Midlands Universities 

Each year the organisers of Lustre select some of the top emerging talent to showcase their craft at the event.

Lustre provides graduates from the region with the chance to exhibit and sell their work for the first time. This fantastic opportunity allows the ambitious new starters to explore the market and get face-to-face feedback from the audience, an exciting and nerve-racking time - but one which will hopefully prove invaluable as they set out on their journey as makers. 



Photo: Neil Hoyle

96 Cirencester Road
Charlton Kings, Cheltenham
Gloustershire, GL53 8DG
0798 0653485
anna_bagnall@hotmail.co.uk
www.annabagnall.com 

Anna is inspired by her travels to Thailand and has created a jewellery collection which uses unique ‘found’ coral pieces. Silver and set stones have been incorporated into the coral transforming it into wearable jewellery. Wax is moulded and carved into coral like forms and cast in silver. Hand worked porcelain has sometimes been added to provide an alternative to the coral. The porcelain and coral pieces are then placed on tapered forms, etched sheet and pressed domes which elegantly frame them.

 

HELEN BROWN

43 Rosamonds Ride
Littleover, Derby
0752 8225820
helen.brown93@ntlworld.com 
www.helenbrownceramics.co.uk

Helen is a ceramic artist specialising in figurative sculpture who practices a variety of techniques including hand-building, modelling and moulded work. Her figures are used as a vehicle to represent ideas of form as well as a metaphor to express different aspects of the human condition. The work is multi-layered in its approach with influences ranging from ancient Cycladic sculpture through to the work of more recent 20th Century Sculptors. Helen is currently exploring the effects of proportion and scale within her work and how this can alter the overall perception of her pieces.

 

PHIL BROWN

1 Fiskerton Way Oakwood,
Derby DE21 2HQ
0797 6802963
phil_293@msm.com

Phil Brown’s work is mostly motivated by storage and space saving solutions. He often uses co-dependence as a means to create interesting pieces that involve the user’s interaction with the object.

 

REBECCA CHALKLEY

39 Fox Street Annesley Woodhouse
Kirkby-in-Ashfield
Nottinghamshire NG17 9HX
0783 5936797
r.chalkleyjewellery@hotmail.com

Rebecca often considers her work more as ‘mini sculptures’ rather than jewellery. She has an obsession with scale and detail, which results in her creating small and intricate pieces. She has developed her own way of manipulating wax, the lost wax casting process is the main technique used in her designs. She is fascinated by the Victorian era, their social etiquette and love for romanticism is reflected in her work, as well as the natural world, particularly decaying objects and plants.

 

SAMANTHA DONALDSON 

311 Roman Wall, Westbridge Wharf
6 Bath Lane, Leicester LE3 5BD
0771 9971002
samantha.j.donaldson@gmail.com

Samantha Donaldson was initially inspired by the internal structures of naturally occurring geodes and the way in which the hidden, mysterious and often surprising stratified layers of colour are revealed. Using classic glass blowing techniques, Samantha has overlaid transparent and opaque colours, experimenting with different combinations which create a harmony together. Function is not a consideration and Samantha’s aim is to draw the viewer through the polished facets, layered colours and detail into the interior, where they become absorbed in the internal movement of the piece.

 

SERRA MALTA

6 Stoutsfield Close Yarnton,
Oxford OX5 1NX
0759 5356599
malta_99@hotmail.com 

Serra is particularly fascinated by discords and attitudes to consumables in our throwaway culture and likes to compare past and present values with expectations in relation to the useful life of objects. Cast silver and wax fragments that were once domestic discarded objects take on a new lease of life. The imperfections and fragility evoke a sense of preciousness and the multiples of repetition create order of circular tracery-like shapes. Serra likes to challenge conventional notions of value and our perceptions about materials and jewellery.

 

CHARLOTTE DEY 

0753 5717417
ivynixon@hotmail.co.uk 

Charlotte is fascinated by the notion of narrative jewellery; inanimate objects become personified and communicate concepts to both the wearer and the observer. With this in mind Charlotte has created a collection of jewellery inspired by the character Emma Bovary in Gustave Flaubert’s novel ‘Madam Bovary’. It is important to Charlotte that her work is interactive and adaptable; in order to encourage people to keep and treasure their possessions. Therefore, her jewellery has the potential to be customised according to the needs of the wearer.

 

MARY JOHNSON

69 Wheeldon Avenue,
Derby DE22 1HP
01332 331481
maryjohnsonceramics@live.co.uk
www.maryjohnsonceramics.co.uk

Mary makes slip decorated, red earthenware pots using traditional techniques, designed to be used in the home. The images on her pots are based on her complicated relationship with nature. Recently this has focused on the insects and rubbish found in the gardens and allotments around her home. She wants to stand up for the earwigs and woodlice and rusting wheelbarrows as she believes that they are integral and equal partners in this landscape and without them life would be infinitely dull and sterile.

 

MARTHA MITCHELL 

59 Westbourne Street,
Hove East Susse BN3 5PF
0759 5628608
marthamitchell@live.co.uk 

Slip casting and mould making play a major role in Martha’s work as she loves the neat, clean finish which the process allows. Martha produces works which are predominantly white in colour and are intended to be displayed in sets as repeats and multiples. She draws inspiration from food packaging in shops and in the home. The option of functionality is at the choice of the owner. Using familiar objects in her work, Martha allows the owner to choose the functionality of the recognisable shapes.

 

ESTHER PATTERSON 

0789 4423250
ester@curiousaandcuriousa.co.uk
www.curiousaandcuriousa.co.uk 

Esther Patterson likes the element of surprise. With her new interior range of upholstered vintage chairs, bone china ceiling lamps, sandblasted hand blown glass shades and her new identity ‘Curiousa & Curiousa’, she stands out from the crowd with her unusual style. Childhood memories, Englishness, beauty within and perceived ugliness are all synonymous with her work. She wants to investigate ideas that are unconventional in their approach and challenge our ordinary perceptions of how things should be.

 

RYAN WOODCOCK

53 Morley Street, Derby DE22 3DG
0787 1641386
ryanjohnartist@hotmail.com
www.ryanjohnartist.com

Ryan is fascinated with the tactile nature of objects. His current work has evolved from a body of sculpture that aimed to capture the aesthetic essence arising from the sense of touch and the tactility of functional items. Alongside his larger sculptural pieces Ryan is now producing functional kitchenware with the same unique and contemporary style. His pieces, which are made to be used and enjoyed, are handcrafted in fine, hard woods, including cherry and maple.

 

ALICE YOUNG 

13 Oxford Street, Coalville
Leicestershire LE67 3GS
0777 2854222
alice.d.young@hotmail.com

Alice Young’s work is uncomplicated yet stimulating and she only includes what is necessary. As a result, she makes practical, imaginative and interesting pieces of furniture, which are simple and easy to produce using industrial materials and processes.