Low Relief Construction

A whole series of my work has been inspired by a drawing of my father’s from 30 years ago. His original was based on visually extracting shapes from a classic Tumbling Blocks schema used in drawing, painting, patchwork and many other formats.

This is his drawing on paper in ink and two thicknesses of line.

I have made a number of drawn versions of my own.

A sketched and cut version in heavy water-colour paper.
A sketched drawing in white crayon on water-coloured paper.
After many other versions in drawing, painting and cutting I have now embarked on a low relief version in painted plywood. The pieces were cut out usung a tiny reciprocating jig-saw that my mother owned from the mid ’80s.

Here are some of the stages I have passed through. Hopefully tomorrow it will be finished.

Drawn out with pencil and set square, then cut out with the jigsaw
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The complete design incised into the backboard
Laying out the pieces and deciding how far away from the surface they should sit.
Some of the pieces with spacers glued to the back
Painted and ready for assembly

Striped Polygons

A painting by my mother dating from the early 70s, it is 1.4m square and hangs on my living room wall. The pattern is based on a complex series of rotations and mirroring at more than one level as well as another set of rules governing the colour changes. I’ve spent many hours trying to decipher the rules and have made progress but there is still some areas of mystery.

My parents experienced first hand the theories behind abstract art in the 70’s whilst attending the unique Barry Summer School in South Wales set up by Lesley Moore, educator and painter. Geoffrey Steele, Kenneth and Mary Martin and many others shared their ideas and theories in a series of workshops. 

It is a great privilege to have this painting on my wall, maybe I am biased but I think it would stand its ground in the Tate Modern.

  

Jewellery

For the last year or so I have been directing my creativity towards painting, sculpture and creative writing.  Designing and making jewellery  has been my main occupation for some 10 years now but the time has come to follow other paths. The jewellery shown here will be the last pieces I make barring commissions, so if you like bold, geometric, sculptural jewellery, take a look at my collections and visit my online shop.

All Photographs by Matthew Booth unless stated otherwise.

Geodesic Dome Pendant
Geodesic Dome Pendant – photo by Sally Wakelin

The geodesic Dome pendant can be worn rolled into a partial sphere or spread out flat like a cobweb as seen below.

The matching earrings which can be re-arranged in the same way.

Geodesic Dome Pendant
Geodesic Dome Pendant and Earrings
compression_bangles_ring
Compression Bangles and Gold-plated Ring
Angled_Compression_Bangle
Angled Compression Bangle
Angled Compression Bangle and Rings
Angled Compression Bangle and Rings
Trace Pendant , Earrings and Spinning Ring
Trace Pendant, Earrings and Spinning Ring