ARTISTS TALKING

These profiles look at jewellery.

Includes Michael Carberry for whom a jewellery career followed being a jockey and Angela O'Kelly who studied design and applied arts jewellery to MA level at Edinburgh and whose work now melds jewellery and textiles.

Michael Carberry

Jewellery is my second career as I was originally a national hunt jockey. Some friends had started studying sculpture and after seeing some of my drawings, encouraged me to apply for a foundation course in art and design.

After graduating from the Royal College of Art I approached a variety of galleries with a view to exhibiting work. I did this through the usual process of sending slides, covering letter, CV and artist's statement followed up with telephone calls or visits.

As a result, have shown work in a range of retail spaces and galleries including the Crafts Council, Electrum, Ruthin Craft Centre, Oriel Mostyn, Eton Applied Arts and Contemporary Applied Arts in London. I am now concentrating on working more internationally and have had exhibitions at Gallerie Ra (Amsterdam), Galerie Treykorn (Berlin) and Studio Marijke (Padua). I have been keen to develop these contacts because the galleries have a genuine interest in my work, and I see a long-term future working with them.

Through selling in galleries, I have been contacted for a variety of private commissions. I have attended Chelsea Craft Fair London for the last four years and this has generated both sales and useful contacts.

In 1998 I got a setting up grant from the Crafts Council, who have been very supportive. While studying for my masters degree I also received funding from the Hollywood Trust (an organisation based in south west Scotland).

I moved into Cockpit Studios in London shortly after graduating and shared a workshop with two other jewellers - both of whom I am still in contact and collaborate with on various projects. Our latest idea - to organise an exhibition of applied and fine arts in London - is still in its infancy.

Developing new work has become one of the main stumbling blocks as time becomes precious. However, I have revisited ideas from my college days. I am very much process-led, and many designs are created by materials research, where I explore ideas freely.

I have run adult jewellery making courses, and teach art and design part-time to 7-14 year olds. I am taking a part-time art and design PGCE course specifically aimed at practising artists at the Institute of Education in London.

In the past, I have taken jewellery degree students on work placements. This has kept me in touch with educational issues. I organise talks about my work and contemporary crafts issues. I am a strong supporter of ACJ (Association of Contemporary Jewellery), and attend many private views - not just of jewellery but art shows in general - for contacts and inspiration.

Michael Carberry did the BA (Hons) jewellery, silversmithing and allied crafts, London Metropolitan University, London 1993 and has the MA goldsmithing, silversmithing, metalwork and jewellery, Royal College of Art, London,1996.

Angela O'Kelly

Since graduating I have maintained and made professional contacts and networks through exhibitions and shows such as the annual London Chelsea Craft Fair in London.

Through selling exhibitions, I get direct contact with customers and make many contacts within the trade. Every year I produce a new postcards and publicity to send out to a regularly updated mailing list of customers, galleries and others in the industry.

In my own creative practice, taking time out to develop new work can sometimes be difficult. I have to work faster and be more focused than at college. I constantly think of new ideas and develop them through drawing and experimentation with new materials.

My research everything from nature, museums and exhibitions to trends, colours, fabrics and shopping. I spend time analysing my products, from quality control of materials and finish, to the aesthetics of the finished piece.

I take any opportunity to generate different types of work. There is always an element of chance, luck, and word-of-mouth involved. In 2001 Dumfries and Galloway asked me to create a piece of work for the Princess Su Su project. Medway Council commissioned work for the High Tech Low Tech project, where I created artworks out of left over exhibition catalogues.

Exposure in exhibitions and shows helps promote a variety of job offers. As my work crosses boundaries between jewellery, sculpture and textiles I lecture in jewellery and textile departments, including at Edinburgh College of Art, National College of Art and Design and Ballyfermot College of Further Education in Dublin.

I have produced jewellery for catwalk shows and for photo shoots when working with fashion designers, designed scarves for a textile company and designing mass-produced lower end jewellery products.

My work has also been collected by the Crafts Council, American Craft Museum, Royal Museum of Scotland, Cleveland Crafts Centre and Bowes Museum.

I completed a business course with the Crafts Council of Ireland and Dublin City Enterprise Board that developed my administration and marketing skills.

I seek constantly to further my development as an artist through gaining new skills on specific short courses and by attending seminars, conferences, summer schools and evening classes.

I keep in contact with what's happening through talks, openings, courses, and by getting to know people locally working in design/crafts. I subscribe to Crafts, American Crafts, Metalsmith, and join associations such as the ACJ (Association of Contemporary Jewellery). Local artists' and designers' networks are a good way of keeping in touch.

Angela O'Kelly did a BA (Hons) Design and applied arts - jewellery, Edinburgh College of Art, 1997 and a Postgraduate Diploma, Design and applied arts - jewellery, Edinburgh College of Art, 1998.

The writers

Libby Anson is an independent professional, creative and personal development consultant, who also works as a freelance lecturer and writer.

Abigail Branagan is a freelance consultant and marketing director of the Applied Arts Agency - a retail and gallery space in Clerkenwell, London. Originally trained in fine art, she has been working in the creative sector for eight years and has undertaken projects for a range of organisations, including Mazorca Projects, London.

Mark Gubb is an artist based in Nottingham working in a range of disciplines from painting to installation to video. His installation and film commission for Grizedale Arts references classic British horror and its cross pollination with American culture. A lecturer at the University of Derby, South East Derbyshire College and a regular contributor to a-n's publications, he is also co-director of artist-led initiative Loadstar.

Wendy Mason is a designer-maker in Yorkshire who also works as an arts consultant and trainer.

Graham Parker is an artist, critic, curator and lecturer involved in artist-led initiatives in Manchester. His work has been commissioned by Henry Moore Institute and Tate Gallery, Liverpool (Artranspennine), Manchester City Art Gallery, Compton Verney, Foundation for Art and Creative Technology and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. He has shown extensively in the UK and internationally. He is Visual Arts Officer at Salford University and co-course leader of Tate Liverpool's University Network MA course module and artistic director (with Dave Beech) of floating ip project space Manchester.

Emma Safe is an artist and writer on the visual arts based in Birmingham.