A native Tasmanian, Cate came to jewellery-making after a successful career in
publishing, ceramics and fine arts.
After studying Fine Art at the University of Tasmania, majoring in Ceramics, Cate
set up a studio in the late 80s making tableware and decorative pieces. This was
the genesis of her signature flower and leaf designs.
In the ensuing decades she explored many other creative pursuits including
making leadlight windows, fused and slumped glass, watercolour painting and
portraiture. Cate has developed a long-standing connection with the Salamanca
arts precinct, selling her work in several outlets over the years.
Meanwhile, Cate worked in publishing both at the University and in her own
business, working one-on-one with authors, both in editing and design.
Just to spice things up, in the 90s Cate and husband Rob sailed a yacht from
Greece to Tasmania over two years with their young family. In 2005 they set off
again as empty nesters and cruised the coast of Australia and New Guinea.
By this time Cate was mainly focusing on ceramics and glass. “Kilns and shards
of glass don’t work so well on a boat, so I had to learn to work with something a
little smaller.” But no less fiery, as soldering with an LPG torch on a rolling boat
became a skill in itself!
Largely self-taught from books on the yacht, Cate found silversmithing
techniques a natural transition from clay and glass. “I discovered that like clay
and glass, silver as another medium just required a mindset change. I had
always worked with fire and high temperatures in kilns, so I wasn’t afraid of using
fire. Texturing the metal, especially with hammers, continues to be one of my
favourite forming methods.”
Leaves and flowers have been a continued theme throughout all of Cate’s
creative life and are now incorporated as her signature design on the reverse of
stone-set pieces. “I started piercing out gum leaves on the back of pieces as a
little gift from me to the wearer, something for just them to see. Just like I used to
put a design on the bottom of my pots for the person doing the washing up.”
She began exhibiting her work in small galleries along the coast of Australia. On
a visit back to Tasmania in 2008, she embarked on a relationship with FIND Contemporary Jewellery Collective (then The Art of Silver).
Now ashore, she lives a country lifestyle in a solar passive house she and Rob
built themselves. Preferring to work with recycled silver and gold and ethically
sourced stones, she specialises in Australia’s national gemstone, the Opal.
As a person who is details oriented, jewellery making suits her meticulous
temperament. Her publishing workmates referred to it as Cate’s ‘forensic mode’.
“It also means, of course, that my fails bucket is always overflowing!”
Looking forward, Cate says she will continue making jewellery until “My eyes or
hands let me down”. Cate has developed a simple, elegant style, creating
settings that enhance, rather than overwhelm, the gemstones they frame.
