Wendy Ramshaw
1939 – 2018
Wendy Ramshaw is best known for her signature ringsets on sculptural stands, a concept she originated. Her work also encompassed designs for textiles, glass, screens, gateways and sculpture
She was initially inspired by the romance and beauty of machines, space age technology and the structures and rhythms of nature. Her work was about complication and how far you can push an idea and she constantly researched and experimented, finding new materials and extending her sculptural vocabulary. Her large scale projects complement architecture and interiors, as her jewellery dresses the human body.
Ramshaw was named a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in 1973, one of the first two women to be admitted to the guild’s ranks, and in 1986 she was made a Lady Liveryman. She became a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) in 1999. In acknowledgement of her services to the arts, Wendy Ramshaw was awarded the CBE in 2003.
David Watkins
Following an early career which spanned sculpture, jazz piano and model making for science fiction movies, David Watkins turned his creative attention to studio jewellery in the early 1970s. In his own words at that time, ‘How Jewellery Might Be’ was the idea that was to drive his studio research. His very individual approach to the possibilities for jewellery as wearable art quickly placed him at the forefront of work in the genre as part of the first wave of a movement that became known as ‘The New Jewellery’ and attracted many invitations to exhibit around the world.
He was Professor of Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery at the Royal College of Art from 1984 to 2007.