Jewellery and glass at Snape Maltings

 

As the Suffolk Craft Society prepares for its first exhibition of the year, visitors to Gallery 21 and the Dovecote at Snape Maltings can look forward to a vibrant display of jewellery and glass among many other disciplines. Set against the beautiful landscape of the River Alde, the exhibition celebrates the creativity and craftsmanship of makers whose work draws inspiration from nature, heritage and contemporary ideas. 

Susi Hines creates contemporary jewellery using complex traditional constructions. By smelting her own gold alloys, she achieves subtle shifts in colour, effectively “painting” with metal to build intricate structures that articulate and move. Etched and patinated surfaces are combined with silver, different golds, unusual diamonds and other gemstones. Inspired by ideas of transformation in nature, her pieces often incorporate movement and repeated motifs, creating a sense of rhythm and metamorphosis. Her signature Mutabilis Ring Collection features ingenious opening rings—registered designs that allow the centre ring to be changed or worn separately. 

 

Also exhibiting is Diane Levitt, a jeweller whose work is deeply inspired by the natural landscape of Constable Country. The shapes, lines and textures of the countryside frequently spark the beginnings of her designs. Sustainability plays a key role in her practice, with recycled and ethically sourced materials used wherever possible. Colour is central to her work, achieved through enamels, stones and glass. Diane often gathers natural treasures such as sun-bleached coral during seaside walks, incorporating them into unique pieces that carry their own stories. Diane will also be demonstrating how she creates her Mitsuro wax jewellery during the Places weekend from 11th-12th April. 

 

Helen Smith, a Suffolk-based jeweller with more than 30 years’ experience, combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design. Trained at the Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, she specialises in Mokume Gane, an ancient Japanese metalworking technique. By fusing 30 layers of contrasting metals and carefully manipulating the block through drilling, punching and forging, she reveals complex organic patterns within the metal. These are eventually milled into sheets and transformed into elegant jewellery, often accented with 18ct gold and gemstones. Alongside her practice, Helen also shares her knowledge through workshops teaching traditional jewellery-making skills. 

Glass artist Cathy Constable draws inspiration from the distinctive light, colours and textures of the East Anglian landscape. Using fused glass, she captures the ethereal qualities of salt marshes, estuaries and tidal channels. Her work reflects the layered horizontality of the local coastline, fields, marshland, sea and sky built up through multiple firings of glass layers. The reflective and refractive qualities of glass allow her to evoke the patterns of water and land, while materials such as enamels, powders and frit add depth and complexity. Working on the edge of abstraction, Cathy sometimes includes subtle references to place, such as sailing boats, coastal birds like sandpipers or avocets, and plants typical of the marshland. 

 

Clare Gaylard sculpts with rods of Murano glass in an intense flame, creating distinctive sculptures, vessels and wearable pieces. Each element of her work is formed entirely in the flame, including the intricate detailing and inclusions that give her pieces their individuality. Inspired by people, places, artefacts and stories, Clare’s glass celebrates colour, pattern and light while drawing attention to the beauty found in small details. She graduated from Loughborough College of Art and Design with a BA (Hons) in Silversmithing and Jewellery. 

 

Glass artist Hassina Khan specialises in kiln-formed glass, using fusing and slumping techniques alongside traditional glass painting to create objects that enrich homes and spaces. Her work is informed by her English and Pakistani heritage, exploring ideas of identity and cultural hybridity. Many pieces begin with short fragments of text that she writes about themes important to her. These are transliterated into a fusion of English and Urdu—English words written using characters from Nastaliq script and then abstracted through changes in scale, rotation and arrangement until they form a visual composition that speaks conceptually rather than literally. Hassina will also be demonstrating some of the techniques shes uses during the Palces weekend from 11th - 12th April. 

 

Together these jewellers and glass makers bring a remarkable diversity of techniques and ideas to the exhibition, from intricate metalwork and contemporary jewellery to luminous kiln-formed and flame-worked glass. Their work adds another rich dimension to the Suffolk Craft Society’s opening exhibition of the year set within the inspiring surroundings of Snape Maltings, do join us if you can.