INGA REED
JEWELLER
English born, Inga Reed grew up in Ireland and has been making jewellery since the late 1970s, firstly in Cork and more recently in Co. Kilkenny where she makes her distinctive work in her rural studio.
Her jewellery is made employing classic goldsmithing techniques and combining precious metals with precious and semi-precious stones. One of her earliest childhood memories is making necklaces from Cowrie shells found on holiday in West Cork. Today, her workshop is still filled with shells and interesting stones picked up from beaches around Ireland, but also with dried seed heads, leaves and seed pods gathered from the garden and hedgerow. These are the sources of design inspiration for her work. She is not only drawn to them for the intrinsic beauty of their colour and form, but for the intricate organic engineering that underpins their structure and for the patterns and textures they create en masse. Thus the interplay between shape, texture and relief pattern on the metals plays a central part in most of the pieces she makes.
Her inventive use of roller embossing onto gold and other precious metals has established her position as one of Ireland’s most inventive designer jewellers. Combining embossed and roller printed textures with simple, clean shapes, Reed makes jewellery that is easy to wear but also interesting to look at. She pays particular attention to sourcing and utilising precious gemstone beads to embellish her work. In 2008 she was awarded the inaugural Crafts Council of Ireland Craftsmanship Award. She is a guest lecturer at the National College of Art & Design (NCAD), Dublin, Ireland and at the Crafts Council of Ireland’s Jewellery & Goldsmithing Skills & Design course in Kilkenny, Ireland. Her work is featured in many private and public collections including the National Museum of Ireland. Recent exhibitions include Material Poetry, New York, USA, 2010. Images of Reed’s work will feature as part of a special edition of Irish stamps, issued by An Post, to mark 2011 as Year of Craft.
River House, Johnswell
Co. Kilkenny
+353 (0) 56 775 9904
+353 (0) 87 279 2437
inga@ingareed.com
www.ingareed.com
Giftwear, Kilkenny, Ireland;
Designyard Gallery, Dublin, Ireland.
Work available to commission
and through exhibitions nationally
and internationally.
Image 2: Ring. Silver and 22ct gold, bi-metal.