I love visiting art galleries and when I went to chat to Nick Rapson about his hobby as a jewellery artist, I was thrilled to be shown some of his beautiful and thought-provoking work.
Nick moved to Barrow last year from the Isle of Wight. Making jewellery was something that started as a hobby in the 1980s while working in the pharmaceutical industry but by 2012 he had taken steps that led to City and Guilds qualifications. For at least the last 10 years he has been making colourful and unusual pieces for sale to the public through Burfields Gallery in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight and for private commissions.
Nick says his main sources of inspiration have been natural forms such as plants and the sea. An early form that he has used often is that of the leaf of the gingko tree. You can see its unusual lobed shape as the yellowing leaves fall from our Barrow gingko tree (planted as part of the Twinning celebrations) at the Three Crowns crossroads in autumn. The pendant shown here is an example of Victorian mourning jewellery. The leaf shape is made of silver and decorated with a black onyx stone and tiny gold spots on a velvet choker representing the yellow of decay. SEE PHOTO A
Although Nick is always keen to explore new and often unusual techniques (i.e. the craft side of jewellery) he is especially interested in the potential of jewellery to evoke memories and emotions. He explained, “in some cases these may only be fully understood by the individual for whom the piece was made. In others, their meaning may be more generally understood with just a few words to point the way”. Hence, Nick thinks of himself as a jewellery artist rather than solely as a craftsman.
The Ukrainian pendant clearly illustrates these ideas. SEE PHOTO B
The pendant is made of fine silver engraved in the form of an exploding star enamelled with the colours of the Ukrainian flag. The points of the star are 24 carat gold foil. The pendant is mounted in sterling silver with a necklace of frosted lapis lazuli beads. On the reverse is a sapphire, a stone traditionally thought to repel evil, mounted in a gold star. The image represents the extraordinary courage, passion and ferocity of the Ukrainian people in response to Russian fascist aggression.
Another example of a piece that expresses feelings and ideas is Nick’s Winter Hawthorn Brooch SEE PHOTO C
He says, “I came across a hawthorn bush while walking the coast path one January. Despite the frost and strong winds, it still had some autumn leaves and berries clinging on and I decided to see if I could make a brooch to celebrate its tenacity. After weeks of experiementing, this is the result. The leaves are made of gilding metal (a bit like bronze). The twigs are fused sterling silver that has been oxidised to blacken it and the berries are enamelled fine silver hollow forms. The frame of the brooch is silver and the pin stainless steel. It expresses my reaction to Covid: clinging on in lockdown.”
Another piece is a contemporary mourning pendant, Walking Under the Stars. SEE PHOTO D
It was made in memory of a young man who died far too young. He had loved to walk in the mountains and the pendant refers to this. The base is oxidised silver with bronze mountains, 9 ct gold stars and a white opal full moon set in gold. The necklace is of frosted cube haematite beads with a hallmarked silver snake clasp and chain. Nick tells me that some of his pieces are commissions so that the customer understands and appreciates the symbolism.
Although Nick still supplies his work for display and sale at the gallery in Ventnor as well as from his website, he is also pleased to be a member of ArtSpace Loughborough, a group of visual artists who work locally. Members include painters, printmakers, sculptors, photographers, mixed media, textile, digital, and jewellery artists. They have been exhibiting art throughout the East Midlands and further afield since 1997. You can find details of their exhibitions on their website https://www.artspace-lboro.co.uk/ And of course you can also see many images of Nick’s work on his own website https://www.nicholasrapson.co.uk/jewellery.php and Instagram nickrapson_ jewellery Do visit them. You will be in for a treat.
Judith Rodgers