13th NOV 2008 - 30th JAN 2009

NEW BRITISH GRADUATES

Yorkshire Post, Friday Novemeber 14th 2008

YORKSHIRE POST
Nov 14th, 2008

Jewel of an exhibition...
An exhibition of intriguing collections from Britain's new jewellery talent is on show at Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery at Salts Mill in Saltaire.

Gallery assistant Ruth Pullan is pictured wearing with some of the Ceramic Tooth Fairy series - jewellery by Claire Johnston which uses her daughter's milk teeth as models for the pieces.

The Curiouser and Curiouser exhibition, which runs until January 30, also includes an army of ants escaping with precious jewels.

Ms Libbert said: "I visited the New Designers Exhibition in London to seek out exciting new talents to include in the gallery's Christmas show.

"I was really drawn to the work of several jewellers who were playing with scale, playing with perceptions or even enabling wearers to play games with their jewellery."
Picture: Gary Longbottom

THE LEEDS GUIDE
Nov 12th-27th, 2008

Lewis Christmas Carol
The Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery at Salts Mill is a challenging proposition, designing alternative jewellery with a poignant artistic impression. Their 'Curiouser and Curiouser' exhibition, which runs until the end of January, will display jewellery from eight talented graduates each with his or her own specialised subject. Expect to see trails of ants and baby teeth on necklaces, and "mad bunny" brooches. There is a slight Alice in Wonderland theme to coincide with the fact that everything on display is not as it seems. For more information call 01274 599 790.

Design Arts no:8 The Magazine for Applied Arts & Antiques

DESIGN ARTS
November/December 08

PRACTISING TO DECEIVE

At Kath Libbert's Jewellery Gallery at Salts Mill, there's a New British Graduate Show which again has a Carrollian connection. Called 'Curiouser and Curiouser', its theme is that nothing is what it seems and that seeing is deceiving, a useful concept to take on board at any age, but the sooner the better. Having seen the work of one of the exhibitors, Frances Wadsworth-Jones, at her Royal College diploma show, we were hooked from the start. Not so much by her ants (useful creatures though they be) but by her inclination, so refreshing in these times, to take the difficult road wheneasier ones beckon so enticingly. Frances admitted to an interest in granulation, a technique mastered by the Etruscans but since forgotten, and taxing in the extreme. The true jeweller (see article on page 8) like the best artists has to be truly obsessed. Anyone who could make 6000 tiny silver ants by hand and wind them into a chain is seriously up there with the angels. Ants, aside, it's the granulated brooches aping splattering from birds on high that are her greatest achievements to date.

If tiny globules of gold attached in a semi-miraculous manner leave you cold, look at the extraordinary work of Claire Johnston, who brings a new meaning to the old joke of 'Tooth Hurty'. The ceramic tooth fairy series are porcelain, silver and gold, "and the big modelled necklace is strung on human hair".

YORKSHIRE LIFE
December, 2008

Curiouser and Curiouser

If your taste in jewellery tends towards the quirky, then try your hand at Curiouser and Curiouser, Kath Libbert Jewellery's latest exhibition of helter skelter or oversized baby teeth necklaces, bejeweled bird pooh and surreal timepieces. (The gallery is at Salt's Mill so you could also include a browse in their wonderful bookshop.)

Until January 30th, Kath Libbert Jewellery www.saltsmill.org.uk www.kathlibbertjewellery.co.uk

CRAFTSMAN MAGAZINE
January/February, 2009

Kath Libbert Jewellery
Until 30 January
'Curiouser and Curiouser'
New British Graduates.

Playful, surreal and, occasionally, unsettling, nothing is what it seems in this new exhibition at Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery; there's a distinct 'Alice in Wonderland' feel to much of the new work on show from eight talented graduates, recently featured in London's New Designers show.

Explaining her choice of work for the exhibition, Kath Libbert comments: "l visited the New Designers Exhibition in London to seek out exciting, promising, new talents and I was really drawn to the work of several jewellers who were either playing with scale, playing with perceptions, or even enabling wearers to play games with their jewellery. Each of the collections is intriguing in its own right and, as I became 'curiouser and curiouser', the theme for the exhibition emerged!"
Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery, Salts Mill, Saltaire, West Yorkshire
T: 01274 599790 www.kathlibbertjewellery.co.uk

RETAIL JEWELLER
November 2008

Curiouser and Curiouser
AN EXHIBITION OF INTRIGUING COLLECTIONS FROM THE UK'S BEST NEW JEWELLERY TALENT

NOVEMBER 13–JANUARY 30 2009
KATH LIBBERT JEWELLERY GALLERY, SALTS MILL, SALTAIRE, WEST YORKSHIRE

Playful, surreal and occasionally unsettling, quirky new collections from six British graduates on show at Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery include oversized castings of baby teeth turned into rings and necklaces, an army of ants escaping with precious jewels (by Frances Wadsworth Jones, pictured) and bejewelled bird poo.
Salts Mill is open weekdays from 10am to 5.30pm and weekends 10am to 6pm.
01274 599790
info@kathlibbertjewellery.co.uk
kathlibbertjewellery.co.uk

FINDINGS - The Association for Contemporary Jewellery's quarterly newsletter, March 2009.

Curiouser and Curiouser
Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery,
14 November 2008 - 30 January 2009 Sally Pawson found it a valuable debut experience.

The Gallery is set in an old mill and has a surreal, otherworldly feel. Its entrance is a gate shaped like a house and beside it is a giant armchair. This creates a mood perfectly suited for enjoying the diverse range of jewellery on offer in the gallery. This time Kath has put together a mixture of very expressive work, found a common theme and displayed it with Sir John Tenniel's illustrations to 'AIice' , making it accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.

The opportunity to take part in the 'Curiouser and Curiouser' exhibition arose after Kath saw my work at New Designers in July 2008. A month later I received an invitation to take part in her 'Wonderland' themed exhibition. I was delighted, but I felt some anxiety as to how well my work would be received and whether it was ready. I was required to send images of the work for promotional purposes. This sounds straightforward enough but I found it difficult to photograph the work in a way that showed it at its best. Most of my pieces are interactive and Kath and I both felt the photographs did not do them justice. In the future I hope to use film and animation to bring the pieces to life. Pricing the work for the exhibition was also difficult. I had produced most of the work while still at university and did not have production or pricing methods in place. I have since spent time researching these, calculating material costs and time spent and hope to launch a range of work in Spring 2009.

I was pleased that I decided to make the trip from Somerset to Saltaire for the preview of the exhibition. Seeing my work in the gallery, displayed alongside other new jewellers, as well as established and successful ones, gave me increased confidence. The exhibition has been an excellent starting point for my career as a contemporary jeweller. It has allowed me to enter the stage between graduate and professional. The stage when you are still finding your feet needs the help and support that Kath has been able to offer.

My advice to any jewellers just starting a business is to network as much as possible, as this will help you realise you are not on your own. Listen to your intuition and ask questions, as people are nearly always happy to help. Don't be afraid to do things and don't worry if you don't get them right first time round. The most important thing is confidence, in yourself and in your work. Try your best, you never know, it might just be good enough.

Cover: Sally Pawson Necklace, 'Helter Skelter', 2008. Etched acrylic, printed aluminium, silver with ball-bearings. Modelled by Laura Fusher, photo by Sally Pawson.

Inset: Frances Wadsworth-Jones. 'Thieves' ring with ants, 2008. Gold, oxidised silver. Shown in 'Curiouser and Curiouser'

Curiouser and Curiouser

Alternative Wedding Show 2009 featuring 'The Big Ring Thing’

Now & Then