Janine Barnsley at London Road Gallery
My work is hand forged silver jewellery, some pieces ornamented with silver, gold and semi-precious stones and often saw pierced detail.
My style is a blend of the flowing and organic lines of natural forms married with inspiration drawn from a life-long fascination with the artifacts of ancient cultures, particularly pre-Columbian. The marks left on these artifacts by their makers enthrall me. Knowing that my work, hand made in a similar way, using similar hand tools, lets me leave similar marks and allows me to become another mark-maker in a long line of artisans through time, grounds me in my lifework.
I was born and educated in Skipton and followed a foundation course at Manchester School of Art and Design. This led to a degree course in jewellery and silversmithing at Sheffield School of Art and Design (now Hallam University) . I graduated with B.A. Hons in 3D design/jewellery.
Since then I have always made jewellery, combining this with teaching and owning and running a retail outlet for my own and other jewellers work. In the late nineties, I created a new range of much simplified designs based on my one-off pieces. I found this to be a very successful move and eventually closed the shop to concentrate solely on my own work.
As well as selling at craft fairs and art markets, I have exhibited at the British Craft Trade fair for several years, taking orders from galleries throughout the UK. Now I feel I have come full circle and would like to concentrate more on one-off pieces.