Nicci Bethell

I have been creating jewellery for about 18 years and always wanted to look further. However with a busy family live there simply hasn’t been time enough available to me to explore the possibilities of doing a foundation course in art. I was trained by two jewellers but mainly by my lovely teacher Barabara Christie who inspired me for life. She was Dutch like me. Her jewellery was inspired by architecture and unusual stones. She was never traditional which I admired hugely and a true artist in the way she sets stones into her designs. I come from a family of designers. My mother and sister were both fashion designers and my mother’s side also had poets, painters and dress makers. My work is inspired first of all by Picasso because of his shapes and colours. My second inspiration is horses and the world of polo. My husband has been a professional all his life (still is) and beside the beauty of the horse, my influences also come from meeting people from all over the world. The Argentinian style and the jewellery worn by them is what I have always been attracted to and has become a great influence. Both my children are creative in totally different areas. One has her father’s passion and our son is a performer moving forward into the world of Contemporary Audio Engineering in the broadest sense of the word.I strongly feel very passioned about all kinds of art and for me personally, I love that it has been my saviour through difficult times in life and continues to inspire me, my curiosity and further gives me the opportunity to learn.