About the artist
Naomi was born and educated in Sussex. She graduated in Jewellery at Middlesex Polytechnic and then worked as an assistant technician at the Royal College of Art. After two years as a self employed jeweller working at Jess James, W1, she travelled in Thailand, Borneo, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, India and Nepal. Since then she has worked as a self employed jeweller, and as manager of the National Theatre Dazzle exhibition.
Naomi has worked in a variety of materials since she started making jewellery at the age of 14. Most of her pieces are made using simple hand tools and she enjoys the fact that a lot of her jewellery can still be made this way.
Naomi has frequently used embossing in her work. The earlier designs involved piercing patterns into stainless steel which was then rolled with silver to produce a stylised pattern. The recent work began when picking up feathers in the park with her son - she found that despite their delicate appearance they could be transformed into a solid form by embossing into silver. She then experimented further with dried leaves,leaf skeletons, flowers and grass and found that an amazing amount of detail was picked up on the silver, which was then complemented with touches of 18 carat gold.
Other elements of Naomi's work have evolved through experimentation with the textures that can be acheived with hammering metal. She uses a variety of hammers to create surfaces and marks that alter the way light is reflected. She likes the feeling that the metal appears to have been aged by beating it with a rusty hammer- like something that may have been dug up.
In much of Naomi's work the textured surfaces are complememted by detailing in 18 carat gold and coloured semi precious stones.
Further Images
aquamarine coin necklace
Hammered silver link and aquamarine bead necklace
2 square brooches
babys breath flower and dusty miller leaf brooches
moonstone dish pendant
Moonstone double dish leaf / flower pendant with 18 carat gold setting on omega chain
Rubber leaf brooch
Round hollow rubber leaf brooch gold spine
2 rings
Blue chalcedony and green tourmaline hand pierced rings
3 rings
Tourmaline, aquamarine and blue chalcedony hand pierced rings
Amethyst leaf drop earring
Amethyst hammered top earring with 2 leaf drops
moonstone leaf brooch
Rectangle leaf brooch with moonstone set in 18 carat gold
2 dish bangles
Green tourmaline 3 dish bangle and aquamarine bead drop bangle