Jane Adam worked at Heal's and Liberty’s, both major design retailers in London, before enrolling at Manchester Polytechnic to study wood, metal and ceramic design. She later undertook postgraduate studies in jewellery at the Royal College of Art in London. Her work in the Collection features anodised metal. Anodising is an electro-chemical process which gives the metal a hard, transparent surface layer of aluminium oxide, but one that can absorb certain dyes and inks. The ink acts as a resist when the metal is immersed into dye to give a background colour. After sealing the work is cleaned to remove the surplus ink, leaving only the colour itself trapped into the anodised surface, and cannot chip, flake or peel off. This technique is unique to Adam, and the works here have colour applied by rubber stamps.

Glossary

  • Design

    The arrangement of elements or details in an artefact or a work of art.

  • Metal

    Metal is a medium frequently used by artists to make art works - from sculpture to printmaking. Surfaces can display an array of colours and textures, and are capable of being polished to a high gloss; metal can be melted, cast, or fused, hammered into thin sheets, or drawn into wire.