4th, 11th, 18th & 25.07.25 - 11.00 - 15.00 | 5th, 12th, 19th & 26.07.25 - 11.00 - 16.00 | 6th, 13th, 20th & 27.07.25 - 11.00 - 16.00

As a child I used to make jewellery from beads and parts from my Grandmother's old watches. I loved painting and clay sculpture and when I realised that I could combine sculpture with jewellery design I was set on my path to become a silversmith. After studying Art and Design at Swansea Institute, I furthered my studies at Plymouth college of Art in metalwork and 3D Design. After qualifying in 1992, I worked for a jewellery manufacturer in Surrey. Uninspired by mass production and having little creative input there I came home to set up a small workshop of my own at home in Swansea, South Wales.

How I make my creations
I have a few different methods of working. I use recycled wire and sheet silver to form the shapes and lines of my designs. Wire can be filed to a point or bent with Pliers to create curls and swirls. Sheet metal can also be textured using special hammers to create the effect of well trodden sand at the beach. It has been a wonderful journey learning how a hard material like metal can be manipulated to create such beautiful organic shapes.
After 30 years of practice using a jeweller's hacksaw, I am confident enough to saw an outline with as much precision as if I was drawing it like with a pencil. The pa-pa mermaids, dolphins, seals and puffins I make initially and wax or clay and then cast them in recycled silver. I love the contrast and variety of what I do. One day I will recycling by smelting metal in a crucible or I could be hammering, bending, drawing or drilling metal . The following day I could be manipulating clay or wax in a very calming and spiritual way visualising the creature or form as it materialises in front of me.

How my surroundings influence me
The beauty of the Welsh coastline has been an endless source of creativity for me. I spend all my free time walking, surfing, snorkelling or swimming at local reefs and beaches with my family and friends. Wales has an amazing variety of wildlife. On the Gower Peninsula alone we often see seals and dolphins in the summer months, huge spider crabs and mermaid’s purses, peregrine falcons and even the occasional otter. The shapes and forms of rocks create beautiful patterns in the limestone cliffs and the ancient oak-lined coastal paths fringed with castles and caves are often the source for my new collection of designs and oil paintings. .

Pa-pa Jewellery Gallery Parkmill, Gower.
In 2013 was lucky enough to acquire a small space in the Old stone hay barn just outside Gower Heritage Centre next to Three Cliffs Bay. It is a small and friendly gallery. As well as my jewellery we sell driftwood sculptures, ceramics, shell art and local Gower inspired paintings and our range of Gower coast landscape chairs and benches. You will be warmly welcomed to browse and chat and share stories of your love of Gower. I hope my creativity evokes found memories of South Wales for you.