Cathy Timbrell

Although I began life as a biological scientist I have always made jewellery. My pieces are inspired by patterns and objects found around us; a building, a cobbled street, a broken structure. I also enjoy using other artists to guide my work such as sculpture, photography and paintings. These inspirational sources help me to create very varied collections which often have an art deco or Japanese feel. I have used a variety of techniques over the years but have come to enjoy using vitreous enamel on both silver and copper. Most of the silver work is a mixture of champleve and cloisonné using the wet packing technique. But I use sifted enamel and liquid enamels on copper. I love the vibrant colours that can be achieved as well as the enamel and copper interactions. Incorporating precious and semi-precious stones for colour also adds to eye-catching and vibrant results. My most recent work is enamelling copper and in particular, high fired vitreous enamel on copper bowls and large pieces of jewellery, where the designs are built up through a number of firings in a kiln.

I am an experimenter!