Alex O’Connor
About Alex O'Connor
Alex came to silversmithing in 2013 from a background in sculpture, so form, surface, balance and composition are inherent in her pieces.
Based in West Cornwall, this elemental location has a profound influence on her practice. The colour of the sky, the wind-blown trees, the negative spaces between rocks, shadows, sounds. It’s these sensations that she looks to express in her work. The poetry of the landscape is important – the resilience and dynamism – but also the stillness, the solace. It’s a landscape that speaks of something ancient and atavistic.
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Meet Alex
Alex uses traditional silversmithing techniques to fabricate her pieces; scoring, folding and forming on steel or wooden formers. Her creative process always involves drawing, models and test-pieces. The surfaces of her silverware are subtly tactile; a piece might be softened with abrasives or sandblasted to a silky texture that shimmers in the light.
Alex says that silver is a very responsive metal. It ‘talks’ as you work with it – you hear it becoming work-hardened as you hammer it, or feel it start to resist as you form it. Silver relaxes when you anneal it on the hearth.Alex describing having intense conversations with silver sometimes!
Information on commissions
All Goldsmiths’ Fair exhibitors welcome commissions. Don’t hesitate to contact this maker and start a conversation about commissioning a piece, unique to you. Examples of commissioning include transforming or combining old jewellery into new pieces, incorporating stones into new settings, or simply working together to create a bespoke piece in the style of this maker.
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