Christine MacKellar is a British Jeweler living and working in Brooklyn. MacKellar calls her work “urban organic.” Her inspiration is nature, cross pollinated with an urban sensibility.

Early experiments with bits of scrap metal while in high school evolved into enrolling in a silversmithing class. Collecting skills and experimenting with the lovely plasticity of precious metals became a lifelong passion. There is a sense of humility and continuity intrinsic to practicing skills that have been in use for thousands of years.  With a way to direct fire, a few hand tools and imagination amazing things have been created across the centuries.

A favorite technique utilizes the distinctive color values of precious metal alloys. “I fuse gold to silver in precise designs using the silver as the canvas, and 24k, 22k and18t gold in their subtle shadings of yellow green, and rose.” Once the patterned metal has been created she textures the surface using hammers, engraving tools and the rolling mill before building the piece.