CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER
NEW BRITISH GRADUATES

‘Salty the Pirabbit’ brooch in anodised aluminium, copper screws,
felt, leather, cold enamel, 9ct gold earrings and fabric paint

LEONIE BATT

From very early on in my history of making Jewellery, colour has been important to me, at first with pieces of glass or beads, but it finally found a way to fully express itself when I started to work with aluminium and all the possibilities of colour and pattern the anodising process provides.

Along with the aluminium being the dominant material I use, I also like to bring in a mix of media, from wool and fabric to precious metals to add different textures, character, and to soften the metal forms.

Animals tend to creep into my work, I believe this stems from having many pets while growing up at home then moving to flats in London with "no pet" rent contracts, I miss them terribly. They were always my 'show and tell' subject at school, from being 11 explaining to a class how a cat's claws worked or doing a project on our tortoises, to bringing my gecko's crickets in for a senior school English speech. So naturally this has continued into my creative assignments, where I am able to portray them in both 2 and 3D.

These pieces were originally inspired by art deco stylized animals – focusing on the hare/rabbit - and graffiti imagery, using the bold and flowing shapes with bright colours. I create a different character with each brooch by the use of print, colour and accessories bringing to them an illustrative quality and a little bit of fun, I always love it when I have finished a piece and have a new little personality in front of me and I hope that the wearer will find a connection with them as well.

Biographical Details