Beth, how did you get into jewellery making?
When I was living in New Zealand I did a one day sand-casting course. I’d already been thinking about working with my hands more to create physical pieces of art so this was the starting point. I was totally fascinated by the process of casting and still to this day I utilise lost wax casting in my work.
Did you have another career prior to founding LEVEE jewellery?
I studied digital music and sound art over 15 years ago so that was my original artistic endeavour. I still make music and sing, and music very much inspires my work with jewellery.
What does an average day look like if you’re spending it making?
It depends if I’m designing or working at my bench with metal. My work spans from sketching, designing on the computer using CAD, filing, soldering, experimenting making moulds and wax injection or 3D printing. I very much combine digital and traditional techniques in my work.
How do you choose a subject/new piece to work on? Do you have a bank of ideas/sketches/reference material?
I keep a little notebook on me most of the time. Often, while I’m walking, I’ll start to imagine designs for jewellery and then I’ll start with a sketch and go from there. I am a big fan of mood-boards so I keep developing those as reference material which I pin up on the walls of my workspace.
I’ve been working on some commissions lately so that is an iterative process which usually starts with the client’s idea and I will develop it back and forth until they are happy.
What other things take up your working hours? E.g. admin, marketing, etc. Do you enjoy any of the more mundane aspects of art life?
I really don’t enjoy the admin and marketing side of being a small jewellery business! If I had my way I would only focus on the making part but I suppose it’s a skillset that’s good to develop!
What sort of art, and which artists, inspire or influence you?
My collection ‘Multiplane’ is inspired by an animator from the 1920s called Lotte Reiniger. She pioneered the use of the multiplane camera in her stop-motion animation with 2D cut out shadow puppets. The depth that the multiplane camera creates is what inspired me to create top-down layers in much of my jewellery. I’m also a big fan of minimalist architecture and abstract artists such as Agnes Martin.
What other things inspire your work?
I love films, especially Norwegian life-y ones. I also love cooking and being outdoors, especially the beach.
How has your style developed over the years, and why?
I would say my style has simplified over the years. I’m quite influenced by Scandinavian design after living in Finland.
What sort of response do you hope your work provokes in people?
I hope people feel inquisitive when they see my jewellery. I always aim to design my pieces with a ‘more than meets the eye’ approach. The wearer / viewer should want to investigate the layers of metal from different angles and light to reveal the different highlights and shadows.
Have there been moments/interactions with people that you’ve felt have validated your decision to pursue a career in art/making?
I’ve been part of the Goldsmiths’ Centre Spotlighting program over the past year. Being accepted onto that programme as well as being exhibited at the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London has certainly helped validate my confidence as a designer/maker.
If you could go back and meet your younger artistic self, would you have any advice for them?
Have more conviction in your ideas - with art there really is no right or wrong, better or worse. I think it totally depends on the individual experiencing it as we all have different life experiences, we all interact with the world in a unique way.