The scientist of metalwork
- Karen only uses recycled or fair-mined materials
- She is inspired by scientific equipment built to explore outer space
- Rod Kelly and Clive Burr were among the masters who taught her
Karen Westland has been working in three dimensions for as long as she can remember. At school she would make sculptural objects out of paper clips, shells, beads and anything she could get her hands on, but it was only when she attended a summer class at the Glasgow School of Art that she became curious about metal. Hammer work is important in what she does, “whether to hand raise vessels or to gently tap a wooden block onto metal to smooth out an area of misbehaving silver sheet”. Also important is the ability to design with pencil and on the computer. But what Karen is really passionate about is the sustainability of her work, making objects using recycled metals, offcuts from local suppliers and ethically sourced gemstones.
Interview
- What drew you towards the creative world?
- My mum did interior design and she is now a painter and my dad is a printmaker, so growing up with a creative background made me naturally curious about colours and materials. Metals resonated with me in their ability to be malleable and strong at the same time.
- What did you learn from Rod Kelly and Clive Burr?
- From Rod Kelly it was general silversmithing skills. From Clive Burr, it was approaching silversmithing from an engineering point of view rather than an artistic one and taking time to use all the measuring tools to make sure that everything is incredibly precise and accurate.
- Is that why mathematical and scientific equipment are important to you?
- Metalwork has a wonderful balance between engineering, science and creativity and you have to remain mindful of this as you work the material. The precision involved in scientific equipment is mindblowing and the work I am producing is trying to encapsulate those elements of precision and detail.
- Did you always want to work in a sustainable, ethical way?
- I did consider moving into something like silver conservation where I wasn’t contributing towards some of the issues within the jewellery and metal industry, but then I thought it was more effective to offer clients an alternative, something that supports miners and is more environmentally friendly.
Karen Westland are expert artisans: they began their career in 2015 and they started teaching in 2020
Where
Karen Westland
