Alexandra Abraham

Alexandra Abraham is a fine artist, however in 2008 she realised that the techniques she had developed for her paintings could also be used to create jewellery. Inspired by the origins of her materials and excited by the physical process of turning the lost and the forgotten into something glamorous and wearable, she believes that almost every material or object can be beautiful; it is simply a matter of how they are perceived. Pieces of domestic china and glass and old clay pipe stems found on the Thames Foreshore and in the forgotten rubbish dumps of Hampstead Heath, London become significant in her work. The sense of history and knowledge that people have handled her materials many years ago is extremely important to her and she likes to imagine that something of their spirit is invested in her jewellery. As well as using old china and glass, Alexandra also incorporates vintage buttons, sea glass, coins, shells, old jewellery and vividly coloured smalti, traditional mosaic glass which has been made by hand in Venice on the same site and in the same way for centuries.