Bethany Walker, De Montfort University
As the boundaries between different aspects of contemporary applied arts are being increasing blurred, we look at the graduates at New Designers who work across ceramic, wood, metal, glass and a variety of natural and synthetic media.
De Montfort University’s Bethany Walker has looked at the material qualities in the urban environment and the contrast of naturally worn and weathered textures against the industrial, man-made and graphic identity of the street. Drawn, painted and printed marks are dipped in concrete and then given texture by the addition of knitted elements, shredded cotton tape and even knitted red/white stripe road-barrier ribbons.
Melisa Dora, University of Brighton
Melisa Dora from the University of Brighton is inspired by the skyline of Istanbul for a series of ceramic pieces that have a strong 70s art school feel. The low tables with ceramic top and splayed wood legs took our eye.
Eliza Simpson, Swansea Metropolitan University
Swansea Metropolitan’s Eliza Simpson creates hand-built earthenware vessels in subtle greens-white tones. Eliza also has a range of jewellery and buttons that are created by first staining the clay and then using a stenciling technique for patterns inspired by the sea, seaweed and natural forms.
Rosalind Roberts, Coventry University
Coventry University’s Rosalind Roberts projects revolves around sustainable design. The light shades of her standard lamps are made with old discarded books found locally, while the frame is steamed willow and the base in beech wood; much of the wood Rosalind uses has been harvested herself from local trees.
Amy Warner, Middlesex University
Amy Warner from Middlesex University has created a series of lights that operate from a Victorian-inspired pulley system. Copper-coated steel wire forms the frames for the LED strip lights inside. The lights can be easily manipulated up and down by the rope pulley or can rest on the ground.
John Lambe from NCAD Dublin has taken the humble ladle as his inspiration and used it to express his personal aesthetics. The juxtaposition of wood and metal is central to the collection. As the metal has been treated with a variety of patinations, the ladles become non-functional, allowing John the freedom to create handles of a precarious delicacy.
Katy Rose, UCA Rochester
Her childhood on the Isle of Wight has inspired UCA Rochester’s Katy Rose for a series of prints that reference the festival, horse-racing, theatre and seaside funfairs and much more. Katy has used these allover designs for items such as deckchairs and wind-breaks. Each element in the designs refers back to a part of Katy’s childhood and starts life as a pen and ink drawing that is then turned into digital designs.
Catherine Fuga-Carr from Manchester School of Art uses recycled insulation material (which itself has been recycled) to create a yarn which is then crocheted into flat circles, that are then transformed into glass vessels that retain the natural pale green shade of the recycled material.
Image credits: New Designers photography by Natasha Chauhan
New Designers
Bethany Walker: bs-walker@hotmail.com
Amy Warner: amycwarner@hotmail.com
Melissa Dora
Eliza Simpson: ejsimpson@live.com
Katy Rose: katy-thorogood@hotmail.com
Catherine Fuga-Carr: catherine@catherinecarrglass.co.uk
John Lambe: john.f.lambe@gmail.com
Rosalind Roberts: ros.roberts@frankton.org
