Sunday, October 23, 2016

Lindsay MacDonald, Artist Goldsmith

The Ottawa Jewellery Collective is very please to announce a fresh new face to our membership! In our latest interview, Lindsay MacDonald, told us about her inspiring practice as artist goldsmith and entrepreneur of ALM Contemporary Jewellery. Thank you Lindsay!





Why did you choose jewellery? 
I never thought I would study jewellery in school. I started out in sculpture. I then learned that NSCAD University (Halifax) had a very strong jewellery program, I enrolled hoping to gain confidence in technique and design. 

Where did you learn your craft? 
After NSCAD University I pursued metals for three years as a resident at the Harbourfront Centre for the Arts (Toronto) and then obtained an MFA in Designed Objects from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

List three words that describe you as an artist
Restless, curious, contradictory

What inspires your work? 
I love nautical history, visual data, new-age mysticism (from a skeptics perspective)

If you could invite a few people (living or dead) to your studio for a day, who would you ask and why? 
Teal Swan (mystic/oracle), Stacy Schiff (Author of The Witches, and Cleopatra,) Gram Parsons (musician). I wouldn’t know what to say to them, and if they would get along. Teal Swan is a spiritual leader. I’m skeptical of her powers, but fascinated by how somebody becomes a “spiritual leader” Gram Parsons died in 1973 when he was 27. He’s my favourite. He called his musical style, “Cosmic American Music”, so he would probably get along pretty well with Teal. Stacy Schiff is just a brilliant author, so she could make sense of the crazy scene.

In terms of jewelers, I would love to meet Svenja John, I am a huge fan of her work, and also the late Lily Yung, she was so ahead of her time.

What is your most precious tool? 
Parallel pliers, calipers, I love my saw frames because I did so much piercing during my time at Harbourfront that my hand print has worn off the paint of the wooden handles.


Why is the Ottawa Jewellery Collective important to you? 
The OJC welcomed me when I was new to Ottawa. I had no professional connections here in terms of jewelers, so I was eager to meet the group. I’m happy that there are many different types of makers represented. I think that’s very important.

What part of Ottawa and surrounding areas do you call home? 
I actually live on Lindsay Street.

As a Canadian Designer, has Canadian culture or environment influenced your work? 
I would say yes, very much so. I’ve moved around quite a bit with my partner who is in the Canadian military. I’m from Nova Scotia, so that is imprinted on me, but I consider myself lucky to have also gotten to live in the prairies and in Ontario. Although we’ve had influential jewelers here for decades, the field is so small and the country is so vast, I think that a National concept of “jewellery” is still undefined. It still feels like everyone is making their own rules. Canadian jewelers are industrious and adaptive, good examples being Gillian Batcher’s Jewel Envy in Toronto, Caitlyn Purcell’s Periwinkle Café/Bn’B/studio in Cape Breton, and Megan J. Hazel in Regina who just made a body of work from the copper dome of the Saskatchewan Legislative building. It might be a cliché (in the context of our National identity) to say that I’m inspired by that sort of pioneer spirit, but it’s true.


Where can we find your work?
L.A. Pai Gallery (Ottawa), The Yvette Moore Gallery (Moose Jaw), Craft Ontario (Toronto)










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