Sally Shepherd (she/her)
Winner
Richard H Arroll Memorial Prize
My graduate collection responds to sensitive aesthetic qualities found in everyday experiences of nature. Influenced by both rural and urban landscapes, my work focuses on light, reflection, shadow and gentle movement.
The collection is named after the River Skirfare in North Yorkshire, referencing the surroundings that initially inspired my final-year research and the place where I grew up. Spending extended amounts of time in familiar landscapes over lockdown was the starting point for this body of work. I used drawing, photography and collage as a way to record and focus in on details in my surroundings, altering perception of place and familiarity, before translating these practices into metal; creating objects of longevity.
Portofolio on request.
skirfare – collection
Natural light, and its qualities of reflection, diffusion and refraction, are a significant consideration throughout this collection of work. Characteristics of the play of light on elements of transparency, pattern and surface texture allow for specific sensory experiences in both the wearer and viewer. In this sense, the jewellery presented here is intended to invoke a feeling of calm, thoughtfulness and an aspect of nostalgia, reflecting human perceptions of nature and the environment. Metals, such as fine copper and brass mesh, help to produce an impression of transparency, flexibility and delicacy. Hammering of different intensities affects the distribution and alteration of light on these metals, flooding small areas with brightness while others remain in the shadows, just as daylight affects the landscape in endless patterns that appear over variegated grounds.
skirfare – necklace
materials: silver, copper (oxidised). length: 980mm (unfastened), diameter: 18mm.
skirfare – brooches
Layering hammer-textured woven mesh with photo-etched metal sheet, these brooches reflect light through the semitransparent mesh, changing appearance as light catches them at different angles.
Brooch 1 – materials: brass, silver, steel brooch pin. height: 56mm, width: 38mm, depth: 8mm
Brooch 2 – materials: silver, copper (oxidised), steel brooch pin. height: 62mm, width: 36mm, depth: 14mm
skirfare – earrings
Materials: silver, brass. height: 80mm, diameter: 22mm.
skirfare – drawings
A short digital book of selected drawings and samples. More process images and sketchbook pages can be found on my website sallyshepherd.com
skirfare – design proposals
Studying a very practical discipline at a time where workshop access has been severely limited has meant that the amount of work I have been able to physically make has also been limited. I am now approaching my graduate collection as an ongoing body of work which I am excited to develop into new outcomes and collections.
Below is a selection of design proposals, hand drawn and/or digitally created.