Nicky Barton Jewellery

I first became interested in jewellery at a teenager and went to evening classes. My degree is in 3D design and led to a love of working with materials. After many years of full time teaching I began evening classes in silversmithing and rediscovered those feelings. I sent myself on courses to develop my jewellery making skills further at the London and was eventually introduced to casting, this was the turning point. I kept developing my skills and eventually left my teaching job and became a full time self-employed jeweller during the summer of 2019. I am a member of MAKE Southwest.

I am a gardener and love being in nature and on a walk one day discovered some Honey Fungus ( Armillaria mellea ) under the bark of a dead tree in the forest. This is an amazing fungus, the most destructive fungal disease in UK gardens and can have a devastating effect spreading underground, attacking and killing the roots of trees and shrubs and then decaying the dead wood. However, the network of rhizomorphs that spread underground and under the bark are extremely beautiful with an incredible texture and I became excited and inspired to use the eye-catching beauty of this pathogenic fungus.

I began to cast from it and most recently I have produced a body of silver work, casting directly from the rhizomorphs of Honey Fungus, the resulting jewellery is beautiful, visually exciting and dynamic.