Imma Gibert

Imma began studying the craft of jewellery in the mid-70s and for years taught at Barcelona's jewellery exchange school. Her studio is filled with tools, machines and small objects, each with a story. She has been taught by a number of jewellers and craftspeople and quite often they have passed on tools.

“Sketching and drawing help me concentrate. I mostly work with silver and copper, and also gold. Sometimes I use other materials but it depends on how I create the emotional link between the object and the person who will wear it. There is a link: intimate, discreet and void of opulence.”

She is particularly drawn to engraving and tries, wherever possible, to merge the two techniques into a single artistic language. Some of her gems are special to her because they allow her to bring together two different specialties, such as engraving and goldsmithing. Others she likes because they bring her closer to the pictorial world. Between 2004 and 2007, she took par in the R + D + I: MEC Project and FEDER, dealing with non-toxic and recyclable materials in the production and presentation of artworks, under Rosa Vives, professor of painting and printmaking at the fine arts department of Barcelona university. The team studied redeveloping the use of copper as the core metal in the production of jewellery. The recycling process, aimed at opening a new artistic dimension and extending the life of copper was a great success.

1 Jeweller's hammer: more than 70 years old. It belonged to the jeweller Dani Huguet, who taught me a lot and passed it on when he retired.

2 Hydraulic press: one of my favourites. It allows me to create volume, and at the beginning I used it to make watch casings.

3 Work in progress.

4 “Fish” brooch in silver and copper: It is etched with acid.

4b “Fish” brooch.

5 Two rings, silver and copper: made with fusion technique that uses cuttlefish bone. It is an ancient technique used during Roman times.

6 Silver bracelet: modelled out of wax and made in silver using a micro-fusion technique. The oval-shaped bracelet is made out of a single piece.

7-8 Silver and copper bracelet and brooch: made of gold, silver and bone.

9 Silver and lapis lazuli brooch: naturalistic style reproduces a cherry tree leaf in the shape of a seed.

10 Brooch: it has a natural style and is embossed by hand with a graffiti pencil to bring out the detail.

Website: www.immagibert.com