The Lindisfarne Collection is inspired by Holy Island in Northumberland - a favourite coastal escape.
Mornings begin with a short stroll to the beach and some quiet time looking out over the bay. Listening to curlews warble their throaty song. To the call of the seals hauled out on the sand banks. The sun climbs higher. The tide recedes. Day visitors start to arrive. As the island population gently swells, the atmosphere subtly shifts. Still quiet, but different.
Head to the north side of the island though and you’ll be rewarded by peace and quiet, and an entirely different landscape. Glorious sandy beaches backed by billowing windswept dunes. Or walk along the western side to where the road leading from the causeway turns inland, and the line of poles which mark the pilgrim route finally reaches the shore. Watch the sea gently rise and enfold the road, disconnecting you again from the mainland. As the tide closes and the last cars snake away into the distance, the island gently relaxes its shoulders. The calm returns.
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I’m always more conscious here that the origin of sea glass is man-made waste. Its presence on the beach feels somehow more incongruous, a reminder of our imposition on the natural world. However it got there though, the sea works a benevolent transformation. Surfaces once shiny are rendered textured and tactile. Angular edges rounded and smoothed. Age old broken bottles recast as nuggets of glowing amber.
The collection also includes pieces featuring St Cuthbert’s beads. Known locally as Cuddy’s beads, they’re tiny fossilised segments of crinoid stems - a marine echinoderm which lived in the shallow waters around Holy Island millions of years ago. The small bead-like fossils wash onto the beach and, in medieval Northumberland, were strung together as necklaces or rosaries and became associated with Saint Cuthbert. For both practical and environmental reasons, I don’t use the actual fossils, but by having them cast in sterling silver I can produce exact replicas of the originals, and create a range of pieces which are a perfect addition to the collection and its connection with this special place.
