The Sheffield botanical jewellery maker inspired by her gardening family

It is the antiquity and heritage that attracted Josephine Gomersall to pursue the dream she harboured scouring jewellery stalls at the contemporary craft fairs she visited with her Mum and Sister.

She recalls the most memorable piece purchased was hand-engraved.

“I wore silver jewellery as a teenager, not particularly expensive pieces, but I was like a magpie, I was drawn to it,” says Josephine.

“I was envious of makers who could exhibit and sell their work. I could see everybody else doing it and aspired to do it myself. It was a dream that became a goal.”

Josephine enrolled on evening classes in jewellery making and printmaking and, eventually, ceramics.

“Apart from school it was the only time I had worked with metal and I was really interested in using hand tools and the tradition of it. The antiquity and heritage was interesting as well.”

Josephine recalls the first piece of jewellery she made was a 50th birthday gift for her Mum.

“I asked the tutor if I could make a gold band with five white gold hearts to symbolise the members of our family, and mark the decades of her life. The seed was definitely sown when I went to the evening class, I loved it,” recalls Josephine.

Jewellery and silversmithing were an outlet for her creativity and her love of the natural world encouraged in childhood during garden tours on visits to her grandparents’ home.

Recalling those visits in later life reminds Josephine of the early influences that would inspire the creative flair she inherited from her parents and grandparents who all had a hand in some sort of art or craft.

Both parents were teachers, her father, a keen allotmenteer, taught Craft, Design and Technology and her mum enjoys gardening and painting.

“My parents and grandparents on both sides are all artistic, it has been passed down the generations. My Grandpa was a painter, it was a hobby and I remember going to see him doing painting demonstrations in Horsforth Park,” recalls Josephine, who was born in Cleckheaton and grew up in Horsforth.

“My Grandparents on my Mum’s side had a garden that was divided into two with a rockery, roses and a greenhouse and a stream. When we went to visit them we would get a tour around the garden.”

Her own outlet for her creativity back then would be drawing and sketching. She also enjoyed crafts, encouraged by her Mum, and was making clothes at a young age.

It was this interest that turned her attentions to textiles after undertaking her GCSE Art.

A two year diploma in surface pattern design at what was then Jacob Kramer College of Art and Design in Leeds, was followed by a Bachelor of Arts degree in Textiles Design, specialising in printed textiles, at Loughborough University.

Subsequent careers as a Textiles and Product Designer and working in product development gave her an insight into the paperwork process from design creation to product completion.

Freelancing gave her the flexibility to fit work around her two children and introduced her to self employment.

Josephine recalls setting up her home studio and collaborating with the likes of Liberty of London was ‘uplifting.’

The commission, producing a series of original botanical pencil and watercolour paintings used to create four Liberty Art fabric designs, enabled Josephine to draw on her artistic skills and her interest in the natural world encouraged through visits to her grandparents’ garden and her Mum pressing flowers from their own garden.

Committing to become a designer maker prompted the move to Sheffield.

While studying for her Masters degree in jewellery and metalworking at Sheffield Hallam University, she was selected to join a two year Starter Studio programme for Jewellers and Silversmiths at Yorkshire Artspace – an initiative aimed at encouraging new talent.

Josephine registered with the Sheffield Assay Office, designed her makers mark, hallmarked her jewellery and silverware and began exhibiting and selling her work which also takes inspiration from a place she discovered while cycling and walking to her studies.

Intrigued at the sight of artists wandering around the gardens with portfolios and art materials, Josephine’s inquiry led her to join The Florilegium Society at Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

“I wanted to develop my drawing and painting skills and you learn a lot from the group,” says Josephine.

“I have got some big shows coming up and I want to design my jewellery pieces with my botanical illustrations because it is such a key part of my practice. I want to showcase my drawing with my silverware and jewellery.”

The shows Josephine refers to include Goldsmiths Fair, Goldsmiths’ Hall, London (week one) from September 26 to October 1; Acquire, a new jewellery show at The Crown Hotel, Harrogate, from October 12 to 15 and Elements: Festival of Jewellery, Silver & Gold, Edinburgh, from October 27 to 29.

Josephine is also showcasing her collection at Yorkshire Artspace Open Studios, Persistence Works, Studio 25, Brown Street, Sheffield, November 18 and 19.

Based at Yorkshire Artspace’s Persistence Works, Josephine appreciates being part of a supportive and creative community.

Within her studio/workshop, she translates the delicacy of the floral forms she draws and paints into precious metal.

“I work in an eclectic way. My go-to material is sterling silver and I use copper which I like to oxidise so it goes black. It is a nice contrast with the silver,” says Josephine, who is introducing gold into her collection.

“I like to make a lot of brooches – they are wearable works of art, and statement neck pieces and pendants, delicate silver necklaces.

“Ear-rings can be really innovative and creative, studs or drop ear-rings with a detachable component.”

Rings, cuff-links and cuffs are among her contemporary creations. She is currently designing some bud vases to hold her botanically-inspired designs.

Her signature motif is the translucently beautiful honesty seed pod – as for her favourite creation so far… “It is always the last piece I made because you can look at it and you have developed your skills further,” says Josephine.

Her designs are focused on common species of plants such as Meadow Grass, Eucalyptus, Cow Parsley, Cleavers – also known as Goose Grass – and Dandelion Seed head found in hedgerows and on journeys.

Sculptural pieces themed on her home grown Field Scabious Flower are among her favourites.

“Made in sterling silver, there are two tiers of petals. It was a joy but a complete challenge to make and I think, to date, that is probably my favourite sculptural piece. I grow them (Field Scabious Flowers) in my garden and it is long lasting, it flowers for a long time,” explains Josephine.

Highlighting the natural environment is something Josephine is exploring further through Ikebana, the Japanese art and philosophy of flower arrangement.

“I like the asymmetry of Ikebana and the minimalism. I like the composition of the Ikebana flower arrangements and celebrating the beauty of natural living flowers,” explains Josephine, who trained with an Ikebana expert to develop her skills.

Having taught art students at college and adults in jewellery making classes, Josephine is offering jewellery making and creative metalwork classes in her studio.

On July 1 she is teaching a ‘Botanical metalwork’ art workshop at Millennium Gallery, Sheffield.

Josephine also hopes to teach Botanical Craft workshops at Sheffield Botanical Gardens.

“The older you get, the more strings you have to your bow and the more influences you collect and you hone in all your passions.”

“It went from a dream to a goal and now I am doing it. I am proud of what I have achieved. It is meaningful to me and it is really fulfilling. I am doing something that I love every day.”

For more information about Josephine’s work, or her workshops, visit www.josephinegomersall.com or Josephine Gomersall Designs on Instagram.