Wayne Meeten
In harmony with silver
- Wayne began his career in the Brighton Lanes
- He is a fluent Japanese speaker and studied with Japanese masters
- The philosophy of tai chi has influenced his work
Bringing silver to life is a hard task. Conventional designs rely on the metal's cold brilliance, but in expert hands it can be transformed into something suffused with feeling and energy. Wayne Meeten is one of the rare artisans who achieves this. After training at The Cass in London, he was invited to the prestigious Goldsmiths Fair where his entire collection sold and his career took off. Fascinated by Japanese techniques and tai chi, he did a PhD in Tokyo where he trained in the mokume gane and shibori advanced metalworking techniques. Wayne owes much of his success to leading Japanese experts. He was the first and last westerner to be invited to study under the late Professor Hirotoshi Itoh, now accorded the status of National Treasure.
Interview
- Why did you choose to become an artisan?
- I left school at 16 and spent seven years in The Lanes of Brighton as an apprentice jeweller. It hurt me so much to see beautiful pieces considered beyond repair and scrapped, so I decided to join the trade in order to bring pieces like these back to how they should be and keep them dear.
- Why do you think it’s important to support craftsmanship?
- When you are buying a piece from an artist or artisan, you are buying hundreds of hours of failure and challenge, hundreds of moments of pure joy, a piece of their heart, a part of their life. You’re also buying them more time to do something they are passionate about!
- How has tai chi influenced your work?
- Tai chi has been at the centre of my life and work, my design philosophy and my making, for 20 years. Every hammer mark, each motion of sanding, filing and soldering, is carefully considered and in harmony with the centre of my being. This allows the metal to sing an audible expression of its energy.
- What advice would you have for a young silversmith?
- The greatest advice my teacher, Professor Tamagawa, gave me was to never take short cuts. Root values give you the stability to grow and explore. If you want to learn about silversmithing, step into your garden. With this outlook, even a cold, hard metal can blossom and flower.
Wayne Meeten is a master artisan: he began his career in 1977 and he started teaching in 2001
Works
Where
Wayne Meeten
