As promised, I'm starting to use the blog to feature the work of other artists as well as my own. The first interview is with a young jewellery designer from the UK, Kirsty O'Donnell. I've known Kirsty online for a while now and as well as being a very talented designer, she's also a lovely person. I've enjoyed taking the opportunity to find out more about her life, and the ideas and inspirations behind her work.
Plume - Peacock Feather Brooch © Kirsty O' Donnell 2009
Kirsty has recently opened a shop on Etsy selling her expertly-crafted and stylish jewellery, so the time seemed right to feature her on the blog and introduce her work to a larger audience. I hope you enjoy reading about Kirsty - to see more of her jewellery, please click on the links at the end of the interview.
Asymmetric Wing Necklace © Kirsty O'Donnell 2009
Hi Kirsty, can you please tell us a bit about yourself and what inspired you to start making jewellery?
I
live and work in deepest, darkest Warwickshire where I drink far too
many cups of tea, doodle over crosswords, take many a Polaroid...oh, and design & make jewellery too!
I’ve
always been quite creative and have wanted to be an artist ever since I
can remember (there was a blip in middle school when I decided I wanted
to be a chemist but I got over that!). I fully intended to do art at A-level and beyond until I spotted that my local college was running a
jewellery making and design course. I’d been making my own necklaces and bracelets for a couple of years using all sorts of different
beads and findings, but this would give me an opportunity to have a go
in metal. Which is what I ended up doing, and I loved it so much I went
on to university at the School of Jewellery in Birmingham.
How long have you been working as a jewellery designer and are you able to work on your designs full-time?
I’ve been doing it off and on since I graduated, and I’m able to work full timeish – in between household jobs!
Who are your favourite designers/artists?
Tord
Boontje, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Burne-Jones, Rob Ryan, Lalique for
his gorgeous art nouveau jewellery, Rennie Mackintosh for his stylized
visions of nature and botanical watercolours.
What are you working on at the moment?
Expanding
my range of peacock feather designs. My hairpin seems to be the thing I
get asked about most often on deviantART [a website and online community where artists and designers can show their work], so that was the starting
point - and it’s always nice to go back to old designs once in a while
and see if, or how, you can add to them.
What's your favourite thing - and least favourite thing! - about working for yourself?
Not having anybody to boss you about and generally annoy you. Least favourite thing… having to boss yourself about!
Current obsession?
Alan Rickman (no, don’t put that no matter how true it is!!!). [Sorry Kirsty!] I
have a bit of a thing for pretty notebooks/sketchbooks, even though
their prettiness makes me not want to use them. Which is crazy, but
probably why I have lots.
What's your favourite:
Book? Probably
Cold Comfort Farm, or I Capture The Castle, although I’ve recently read
Persuasion and I loved that; I didn’t want it to end! I also have a
soft spot for crime fiction.
Film? I can never just pick one, there are so many to choose from. Amelie, North By Northwest, Before Sunset, Ronin… and that’s just for starters!
Colour? Green, especially shades of emerald, olive and peridot. I’m also quite partial to pewter/slate grey.
Season? Winter
changing into spring. I love it when you start to see plants and
flowers coming back to life and you can literally smell spring in the
air.
Place? Generally out in the countryside somewhere - fresh air and fields and birdsong.
Finally, what are your plans for 2010 and where do you hope to be 10 years from now?
To
promote myself better, and to kick some life into my sadly neglected
website – it has a holding page and that’s about it at the moment.
Although this does involve me finding out how to do this as I’ve no
idea what I’m doing when it comes to technical computery type stuff!
As for 10 years down the line…I hope to still be making jewellery, with a little workshop/gallery of my own.
Peacock Feather Necklace © Kirsty O'Donnell 2009
More of Kirsty's work can be found on these sites:
And you can follow her day-to-day progress on Twitter!
www.twitter.com/sparkly_shoes
