Carole Leonard | Jeweller

Carole trained as a silversmith and her approach to jewellery shows the influence of this discipline. Her ideas develop from the process of making and the properties and potential of the materials she uses. Perspex, silver, steel and gold allow her to use colour and pattern within a simple outline shape, contrasting the tactile qualities of warm and cold, rough and smooth. She is particularly interested in the effect of body chemistry and daily circumstance on different surfaces and how, when each piece of jewellery matures, the wearer becomes part of the making process.

Carole joined the Alloy Jewellery Group when she moved to Herefordshire from Newcastle three years ago, and has much appreciated the professional support and friendship fellow members have given.

Recent Arts council funding gave her the opportunity to reassess her work and research the use of steel in contemporary jewellery. This has led her to explore blacksmithing and given her the confidence to take her work to a new level.