About

Photograph of Sarah by our friend Alban at St Ives Community TV.

Art

I trained as a designer, but have returned to my love of painting, which has been with me all my life.

I work mainly in acrylic which suits my impulse to get ideas down quickly, though many of my paintings are built up in many layers over months.

My particular focus on landscape as a subject began in childhood. Holidays spent walking in the Highlands of Scotland and Snowdonia, climbing hills and exploring wild places have always been my chief source of inspiration.

Moving to Cornwall in 2001 provided a new, rich seam of inspiration. The extraordinary palette of colours, and a new appreciation of the great forces at work in nature; tides, weather, geology, all shaped my approach to my subject.

My process varies according to the subject, and the atmosphere I wish to convey. Emotions and memories of a place will guide the way I load and apply the paint, but there is also a sense of something deeper; the natural world engenders a feeling of comforting insignificance when viewed through the perspective of geological time and this expression of time and space is a prominent factor in all my work.

Everything from capturing a fleeting moment of light or movement to translating a sense of greater, slower forces has become an ongoing quest, worthy of a lifetime of study.

Photograph of Sarah, above, by our friend Alban at St Ives Community TV.

Jewellery

The deep satisfaction I gain from painting can be easily translated into my jewellery pieces. There are many parallels between the two disciplines – composition, colour, texture, inspiration taken from my surroundings, the balancing of elements.

I came to jewellery making many years after my formal design training finished. Moving to St Ives in 2001, I worked for a local bead store, and after learning the basics I found that I could apply my training to take this fascinating craft in many directions.

I have taught many people how to create their own pieces, and have written and published patterns using the more complex bead-weaving techniques.

I source a wide variety of beads for my jewellery; semi-precious stones, wood, ceramic and glass, as well as making my own using polymer clay. I take great trouble to ensure that beads are strung in a way that makes them not only beautiful, but easy to wear, and I always offer a huge choice of colours, lengths and styles.

Most of my work is a one-off, and it is my aim to make my customers feel that they own a unique and special piece of jewellery that will be enjoyed for many years.

I am always happy to discuss creating a bespoke piece, and I carry out repairs and re-designs of old or broken jewellery, including traditional pearl stringing.