2012
Stephen Bottomley: Retrospective - The Scottish Gallery

My jewellery is rooted equally in the past as the present. I am inspired by historical contexts, origins and the traditions of the goldsmiths’ craft and how their creative possibilities can be extended by modern technology.
Form, pattern, colour, surface, proportion and rhythm are all important elements in the vocabulary of my jewellery in both precious and non-precious materials. Recent work has evolved from a captivation with vitreous enamel, a long lasting and intoxicating material with a rich historical tradition but one open to contemporary interpretations through modern applications. I have become entranced by enamel’s ability to transform surfaces through soft saturating colour and the hard brilliance of glass. It possesses the power to animate inert pattern and shape with light, warmth and reflected movement.

Biography
Stephen Bottomley trained at the Royal College of Art (1999-2001) having previously studied at West Surrey College of Art and Design and the University of Brighton, which included a key period within Rhode Island School of Designs’ metal programme (USA 1998).

His first studio was established in Brighton with a Prince’s Trust Grant in 1990, he began dividing his time between teaching and making in 1992 when he began lecturing at Hastings College of Art, followed by the University of Brighton and the Surrey Institute of Design. He relocated to Sheffield as course leader of Metalwork and Jewellery at Sheffield Hallam University 2004-08 simultaneously serving as vice-chair then fourth chairman for the Association for Contemporary Jewellery (ACJ 2004-7). In 2008 he moved to Scotland as Head of Jewellery and Silversmithing at Edinburgh College of Art.

Jewellery is represented by the Crafts Council and Scottish gallery and held in collections by the British Museum, Royal College of Art and South East Arts and Crafts.

Stephen E Bottomley, 1967, Norwich, England.

Education:
Oct 1999- July 2001 MPhil RCA Royal College of Art, London.
Sept 1996 - Sept 1998 MA Design University of Brighton.
Feb 1998- May 1998 Exchange to Rhode Island School of Design, U.S.A.
Sept 1986 - July 1989 B.A (Hons.) 3D (Metals) West Surrey College of Art 

Collections & Awards:
December 2002 Crafts Council’s Photostore Selected Makers
June 2001 British Museum, London, Medal Collection | British Council Travel Award for Goethe-Institute Kansai Kyoto IT conference.
October 2000 South East Arts Major Award for an artist.
March 1999 South East Arts Craft Collection at Hove Museum.
1998 Molina Fine Arts Collection, Arizona, USA. 

Exhibitions:
2012 Stephen Bottomley: Retrospective, The Scottish gallery, Edinburgh 
2010 Outer Circles Inner Circles, Hidden Space, Seoul
2008 Tech-tile, Hove Museum and Art Gallery
2008 Full Circle, Gallery Studio Fusion, Oxo Tower Wharf
Dec 07–March 08 Tech-tile, Museo Fortuny, Venice, Italy
2004 Lesley Craze Gallery, London
2001 The White Gallery, Brighton
2000 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh | Reliefs, Gallery V&V, Vienna, Austria
Feb 2000 & Oct 1999 Applied Technology, two person show, two venues: Hove Museum + Foyer Gallery, Surrey Institute of Art 

Group exhibition:
2012 Premio Fondazione Cominelli, Italy | heat exchange, Schemer Art Center and Museum, Arizona, USA | Unsung Heroes, Royal Infirm |ry Edinburgh Hospital | Made in Scotland, The Fleming Collection, London | Die Renaissance des Emaillierens, Galerie Handwerk, Munich
2011 Surface and Substance, Electrum Gallery, London | A Couple of Mugs, Studio Fusion gallery, OXO Tower, London | KCDA jewellery exhibition, Seoul, Korea
2010 Silver schools, three international schools Barcelona, Trier and Edinburgh at Legnica, Poland
2009 Spoons, Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh | Gioielleria contemporanea Italiana, Padova, Italy
2008 11th Hanyang Metal Art Association, Seoul, Korea | Treasury of Digital Form, Galerie Handwerk, Munich, Germany | Fired-Up, Group enamel jewellery, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 
2008- 2010 Playing with Fire, touring exhibition;
The Devon Guild of Craftsmen (20 Sept – 8 Nov 08), Shire Hall Gallery, Stafford (15 Nov 08 – 4 Jan 09), 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe (28 Feb – 9 May 09), Rhyl Arts Centre (6 June – 18 July 09), Bilston Craft Gallery, Wolverhampton (5 Sept – 31 Oct 09), Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum (14 Nov 09 – 10 Jan 2010)
2007- 2009 Enamel experience, touring exhibition; Museum der Arbeit, Hamburg: Velvet da Vinci, San Francisco: National Ornamental Metal Museum, Memphis: Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh: University of East Carolina: Kent State University, Ohio.
2006 Heirlooms, ACJ exhibition St Bartoph’s Church, London | ‘Am Ball’, Der Goldene Schnitt, Karlsruhe, Germany
2005 The Watkins Era, Contemporary Applied Arts, London
2004 Jewellery Unlimited, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery
2002 Computers and Working Creatively in Three Dimensions – Axis
2001 L'immagine del Gioiello, Alternatives gallery, Rome, Italy | Begium / British New Contemporaries, Villa De Bondt, Belgium.
1999 Schmuck ‘99, International jewellery showcase, Munich. 

Workshops & Conferences:
2011Three Jewellers talk, Danish Cultural Institute, Edinburgh
2008 Creative Journeys- Jerwood Foundation / Crafts Council symposium at Edinburgh College of Art | New 3D Technologies in the Arts and Crafts: Speaker: University of West England, Bristol | Creative Journeys- Jerwood Foundation and Crafts Council symposium invited speaker | Tech-tile Exhibition Talk: Stephen Bottomley and Margot Coatts: Saturday 4th Oct 2008, Hove Museum and Art Gallery | Tech-tile, Masters University of Brighton lecture: Thursday 2nd Oct 2008, Grand parade, Brighton.
2007 Tech-Tile, CREATE Conference, Managing Colour in Digital Processes & the Arts, Uni of W. England
2006 Associated Lives, Meanings and Shared Directions, Paper:Blue skies and singing rings AHRC ICT Research Methods Network Seminar, Nat. Museum of Science & Industry, DANA Centre, London. Invited speaker
2005 Making workshop at Ars Ornata Europeana, Lisbon, Workshop leader
2004/5 Conference paper, ‘Something Old –Something New the marriage of digital craft’ S. Bottomley & D. Goodwin, Challenging Craft Conference, Grey’s School of Art repeated at Autonomatic, Falmouth Coll. of Art research centre
2004 ‘Makers’ Talks 3: processes of making’ Viables Crafts centre Basingstoke. Invited speaker
2001 Conf paper ‘A Tool of our Time’, Goethe-Institute Kyoto, Japan "Technology and IT for a City of Culture". Invited speaker
1999 Rook workshop, Rietveld Acadamie & Van Berlag Museum, Amsterdam 

Employment:
from Jan 2008 Head of Department of Jewellery & Silversmithing, Edinburgh College of Art
March 2004 – Jan 08 Course leader, BA (Hons) Metalwork & Jewellery Sheffield Hallam University
Oct 2003 – Feb 04 Professional Practice Tutor at the University of Brighton
June 03 – March 04 Course leader BA Hons. Art & Design, Uni. of Brighton at Hastings College
Feb 02- March 04 Course leader, Professional Development Certificate, Hastings College
March 2000–March 04 Visiting Lecturer Surrey Institute, BA Hons. 3D- Metals
Sept.-Dec 2001 Eastman/Kodak Interface Project, University of Brighton Co-ordinator.
1998 Guest lecturer at Rhode Island School of Design 

Membership of Professional Organisations:
2009 Innovation in Enamel, discussion forum member
2007 ETC Research group, University of West of England
2005-07 Association for Contemporary Jewellery, Chairman
2003-05 Association for Contemporary Jewellery, Executive member
2002 Crafts Council Photo-store register of selected makers

2010 reworthit! (ed) Stephen Bottomley, blurb.com, 2010 ISBN 978-1-904443-39-1
2007 Turrel, J (ed) Jewellers the Directory, A&C Black, ISBN 978 0 7136 8409 4 | Bottomley, S, Tech-tile, Sheffield: Sheffield Hallam University and Musei Civi Veneziani, ISBN 978 1 84387 252 8
2001 ‘Digit to the digital’ Digital Creativity, Swets & Zetlinger, Vol 12. Authored paper