Carol McElroy

Hi, I’m Carol and I am lucky to live in beautiful rural Aberdeenshire, having moved from the central belt many years ago. Originally trained in jewellery design at Edinburgh College of Art I had my own business for several years manufacturing fine jewellery.

I took my love of all things sparkly from my mother and when I inherited her vast quantity of costume jewellery I wasn’t sure what on earth I would do with it all. A lot of the jewellery was no longer suitable for wearing which got me thinking about ways to re-use and upcycle. Repurposing the unusual with vintage and semi-precious materials was a process I had already adopted when making exhibition pieces for Aberdeen Art Gallery.

Making the ornaments is very enjoyable although it can be very tough on the fingers, no fancy nails for me! The fun part is selecting the cut up, filed down pieces to suit the design. It’s a bit like creating your own jigsaw puzzle and as a result each piece is a one off and I like the individual nature of the process. Most pieces can be displayed on a flat level surface, ideally in a location where they won’t easily get knocked over. Some larger pieces are heavier and have attached fittings so they can also be hung on the wall.

After retiring from mainstream work, I completed an Open University Degree studying Art History and appreciating colour! My other interest is knitting, I have serious withdrawal symptoms if my needles are not going like the clappers on an evening! I also took up lino printing 18 months ago and I’m getting a lot of pleasure out of exploring and developing this art form.

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