John & Dawn Field

John Field and his wife Dawn are based in West Yorkshire, U.K. They met when studying for their degrees at Wolverhampton Polytechnic in the mid-eighties.

John Field graduated with a B.A. Hons. degree in Three Dimensional Design and Dawn with a B.A. Hons. Fine Art degree. They have collaborated and worked together for most of the time since. As well as working on their own individual pieces they work on a number of different ranges together. John's work is individually designed and one-off. Natural colours and materials feature prominently in all these pieces. Rich colours are supplied by using exotic woods, amber, precious and semi-precious metals and stones. These materials are chosen from all over the world. He enjoys using a number of different materials on each piece to provide interest. John often uses a dental laboratory drill to carve wooden jewellery. This is a laborious process of attrition and it may take a number of weeks to finish one piece. The aim is to produce intriguing designs with the jewellery often being displayed on its own stand or concealed in its own box. One piece, a pendant say, will open to reveal another, a ring or a pair of earrings for example.

As a contrast to John's one-off more abstract work, Dawn draws on her Fine Art background and uses strong imagery in her jewellery. Over the years the theme of mythical animals has reoccurred in Dawn's work. Recently for example, she has based some jewellery around the image of Pegasus. John and Dawn also work on a number of other jewellery ranges together. The asymmetrical metal range for example, involves a more fluid process of composition and addition than say John's wooden work. Textures in the form of stencils are rolled into silver, which then has other shapes soldered onto it. Rather than making matching partners, one earring will have a vibrant, rich coloured stone attached and the other will have decoration in the form of some brass loops.