Rod Kelly

Silversmith

©Julian Calder

Following his instincts

Rod specialises in the chasing and repoussé techniques
The wild landscape of the Shetland Islands inspires him
He won the Gold Medal 2019 from the Queen Elizabeth Trust and Royal Warrant Holders

He had always been creative, but when it came to choose what to study in his final years at school, Rod Kelly followed his parents’ advice and took economics, history and sociology instead of art. Luckily he soon realised it was a mistake, and at 19 years old he took a foundation course in art at Lancashire Polytechnic, where he started working with metal and wood, followed by a 3D design course at Birmingham School of Jewellery. A master in low relief chasing and repoussé, with commissions from royalty and prestigious institutions like the Victoria and Albert Museum and Eton College, Rod is now one of Britain’s most highly regarded silversmiths. His workshop, in the atmospheric Shetland Islands, is like an Aladdin’s cave for the young silversmiths that visit each year: full of treasures and secrets of the trade.

Interview

©Julian Calder

What’s the appeal of chasing?: I draw in very tidy, very accurate curves and that transfers very well to chasing. It’s also the way my character is; I have endless patience. Chasing as a technique is very slow, it's not immediate. A beaker, for example, would take me seven or eight days and I'm very happy with that sort of pace.
Can you describe your creative process?: I like reading, doing research, taking lots of photographs and picking out images of things that I find interesting – in stonework or woodcarving – and printing them out. I start drawing, putting things together and balancing them, photocopying them and finally building a balanced image.
How does Shetland influence your work?: It can't help but feed in because my studio overlooks the sea and the sea changes every day; the weather changes every day. The scenery, the wilderness and the freedom are a major part of living in Shetland and although I go to London often, I couldn't live anywhere else.
What do you try to convey to your students?: The practice and the skills. When young graduates come here, they are often amazed at how fast I can do things, so I try to get them to make things the way I've been shown. It’s trying to think problems through and doing things in a certain way that produces results; fast, but also very correct and meticulous.

Rod Kelly is a master artisan: he began his career in 1983 and he started teaching in 2003