Bryony Knox

Making people smile with silver

• Bryony spent time as artist-in-residence at Edinburgh Zoo
• Her Kenyan childhood inspires her work now
• She has made work for HRH Princess Anne and JK Rowling

Hundreds of years ago, Bryony Knox’s family were Huguenot silversmiths and it is obvious that a “little bit of inspiration has come down through the generations” to reach her. Based on a love of storytelling, movement and colour, her designs combine figurative sculpture, functionality and glamour, and each individual piece made in her Leith studio – from sophisticated vessels to decanters and boxes – is embellished using the techniques of repoussé and chasing. Spending part of her childhood in Kenya influenced her desire to use forms inspired by exotic animals and birds, while her experience as artist-in-residence at Edinburgh Zoo prompted her to produce vessels where contemporary chased silver is combined with colourful glass.

Interview

©Rachel Hein

©Rachel Hein

Why are you so fascinated by silver?

I am quite a hammerer and basher, and as a forgiving metal, silver suits my temperament. But I also love it because I want to make things that can be used, and you can drink and eat from silver. The objects I make don’t have to be just functional or sculptural, they have to cross that divide.

Why do you combine sliver and glass?

Using silver, I’ve always missed colour. For a long time I kept things quite muted but then I did my residency at Edinburgh Zoo and I got very excited by the pelicans and flamingos there, and I realised you can say more about the work by adding a little bit of colour. Glass is the perfect medium: vibrant and functional.

Your creations seem to inhabit an enchanted kingdom...

I had a brilliant book of Greek mythology that my parents used to read to me and that, combined with the fantastic creatures I’ve met travelling around the world, inspired me. Now, looking at the magical world that surrounds me, I want to play with myths and legends from Scottish folklore.

Do you like to include a sense of playfulness?

When I was making automata for my degree, I realised that if you put a handle on something, someone will come up, turn the handle, and smile as the object moves. This desire to make people smile brought me to tableware. For example, when you pour a drink from a silver bird bottle, the bird’s beak will unexpectedly open.

Bryony Knox is a master artisan: she began her career in 1993 and she started teaching in 2008

Works

©Jeremy Johns

©Shannon Tofts

©Shannon Tofts

©Shannon Tofts

©Shannon Tofts

Where

Experiences

Make a copper clock

5 Days

625 GBP per person

Make a metal creature in Edinburgh

1 Day

85 GBP per person

Metal chasing masterclass in Edinburgh

2 Days

250 GBP per person