Claire Smyth
“I explore and collect things at my favourite childhood places, my granny’s cottage and my family’s boatyard. I am drawn to the texture, colour and form of the fragments I find in these places and integrate these treasures with precious metal to create wearable jewellery. My work has a contemporary, minimalist feel as I experiment with composition to creat a complementary juxtaposition of colour, line, texture and space. I am inspired by the stories these fragments hold and the unknown history which surrounds them. Where have these boats travelled to? What memories do these treasures possess? What have they seen? I want to produce a nostalgic response and spark the viewer’s curiosity and imagination, triggering their own personal memories through my own.”