The Story of Lacquer and Silver

The Story of Silver

Growing up in England where silver-smithing has a long history and has reached a high level of artistry and with a mother who was a great fan of silverware, has deeply affected how I relate to silver.

Maki-e literally means “sprinkled picture“ using silver and gold powders of varying coarseness to build up a design, but for me, I wanted to use silver as a colour not as a picture. I didn’t want to make a poor replica of what the silversmiths in England were so highly accomplished at, I wanted to make something that they couldn’t whilst still honouring my roots. I have always been a fan of medieval Europe and loved tales of princesses in towers and King Arthur, the round table and silver chalices. With urushi I found that I could make textures in silver that I had never seen before. I could use lace, linen and washi to make interesting designs without the heaviness of metal and I could tint the silver by using coloured urushi to give an ancient feel somehow reminiscent of King Arthur’s court. I continued to experiment with this technique on various works incorporating shell inlays and collage patterns.