We are so lucky here at Studio 61 Gallery every month we get to meet some absolutely stunning artists and designers joining Ciara in the window during February is Joanne Tinley Jewellery perfect for valentines! Find out more about her below!
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Joanne Tinley and I’m a jewellery designer. I also teach jewellery design at my local college, and privately in my studio. I work mainly in sterling silver, fine silver and 24k gold.
Why do you do what you do?
I absolutely love the fact that I am using skills that have been around for hundreds of years, and passionate about passing these skills on. I love the link between the history of the techniques and tools that I use and the contemporary twist I aim to give them in my designs
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How do you work?
I try to be very organised in the way I work. I clear my desk at the end of each day and lay out the project that I want to start the next day with so that when I get into the studio I don’t dither. I find that I’m most productive if I make a good start to the day. However, I find it very easy to get off track and get engrossed in a new idea that I just have to work on!
What work do you most enjoying doing?
I love hammering. I find it very relaxing, almost therapeutic, and I really enjoy building up textures and patterns on silver with my growing collection of hammers and punches. But then I also enjoy stone setting and Keum Boo (an ancient Korean technique that permanently fuses 24k gold to silver)!
What jobs have you done other than being an artist?
I used to be a secondary school teacher. I taught Geography, ICT and Business Studies – nothing at all to do with arts and crafts! I still use my teaching skills, though, but teaching jewellery design is so much more fun than teaching GCSEs!
What memorable responses have you had to your work?
I made a client cry – but for a good reason, honest! She asked me to recycle some gold from old broken pieces of jewellery to make pendants for her daughters, and had a few tears when I showed her the finished pieces.
What inspires you?
Everything! I get my inspiration from everything around me, from a pattern on a piece of fabric to the trees in the park on the way to take my sons to school. The finished piece may end up looking nothing like the original inspiration though by the time I've tweaked and changed the design to get it to work perfectly.
Is the artistic life lonely? What do you do to counteract it?
I did find the artistic life rather lonely as I used to work in a studio in my back garden, and so unless I was teaching I spent the day alone with just my tools, the radio and the cats for company. However, last summer I moved into a fantastic studio in the old Royal Mail Sorting Office in Eastleigh, about 15 minutes away from home. There are 16 of us in the studios, and it is a wonderfully supportive creative place to work!
Favorite or most inspirational place?
I have two favorite places around the world. First has to be Barcelona – the colours and the amazing architecture is wonderfully inspiring! Even the paving stones are beautiful. The second is the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand, this time for its natural beauty – so relaxing and inspiring in a completely different way than Barcelona. I love the Hot Water Beach – dig a hole in the sand and it fills with water from a hot spring, your very own spa on the beach!
What’s the best piece of advice you've been given?
“Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again” (Richard Branson)
