Natural Icon Fine Art & Jewellery

I have always had an irresistible urge to slip pretty stones into my pockets. I find them on riverbanks, pebbly beaches, sidewalks and alleyways. I don’t need them, I know I have buckets and dishes of them at home, but I want them!  What is it about the allure of the natural world? Gold, silver, amber, jet, bone, seashell, coral, rock and pearl are all precious matter that the natural world has magically designed with no help from human beings or their thoughts, ideas or concepts. I’m always hunting and collecting, for the things that are for me iconic; the perfect skipping stone, the ultimate leaf to press with all the rest, a chunk of quartz with a strange lump of something else stuck in it, a funky chunk of amber or a pearl that looks like who knows what? These are the inspiration and ingredients for the jewellery I make and frequently the subject matter for my paintings.