This is my first time participating in Artweeks although I have enjoyed being a visitor for many years. Currently I still work full time as a Speech & Language Therapist for a local charity, supporting adults with learning disability and autism. So making jewellery is a creative and therapeutic way to spend time when I am not at work.

I have been making jewellery for several years now and have, in the past attended courses in silversmithing and fused glass . Currently I am experimenting with fabrics and beads that are mostly recycled. I love to take apart old jewellery that is no longer worn or partly broken and give it a new lease of life. Both my mother and grandmother were seamstresses and in many of my pieces I have used buttons and materials from their cupboards . I enjoy the various colours and textures of the fabrics and the fact they can become a chunky piece of jewellery but are still light to wear.

I rarely use clasps in my jewellery because having arthritis myself, I find clasps very fiddly to do up.

Michelle