Hiraeth - a longing for home

Hiraeth, an untranslatable Welsh word loaded with meaning that encompasses the emotions that tie us to Home. It may be thousands of miles away or or a memory from our childhood but there are places now lost to us that keep us in their thrall.

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Ann Bruford
Returning to Learning

I have made the leap back into academia by enrolling on a Arts Masters course. It’s not that I was swimming around wondering where I was going with my business but rather that my own personal art practice would benefit from critical review and fresh experimentation. The key aim of this two year period of study is to research materials and processes in order to create my own coloured and textured components to enliven and expand the range of designs I create.

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Ann Bruford
Colouring Up

Verdigris is a blue/green copper-based pigment that can form on the surface of copper, brass and bronze. Usually a fragile bloom created by a chemical reaction, the colour can be preserved under a skin of wax, with the patina pooling in the cavities created by the tools when I indulge in my fixation with whacking metal. Once coloured, the design has to be mounted as you would a delicate stone so rub-over settings, pegs, claws or (shudder) adhesive are required.

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Ann Bruford
Hunkering down in the garden shed

What a season it’s been. Just when we were all gearing up for a new year of shows and exhibitions Fate decided to rip up the schedules, leaving us isolated in our homes. The lucky ones, and I am one of them, still have access to their workshops though perhaps not always access to our usual sources of materials and equipment.

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Ann Bruford
Inspiration at RAMM, Exeter

A lot of people ask me how I find my inspiration and how I interpret it into the individually designed pieces of jewellery that I produce. RAMM Museum in Exeter is a favourite place to gather ideas.

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Ann Bruford
Flotsam & Jetsam

A lot of people ask me how I find my inspiration and how I interpret it into the individually designed pieces of jewellery that I produce.

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Rosie Ames