Apollo, Moorcroft design by Sian
One of the earliest members as AMCAW began to take shape was Sian Hamilton, owner of Sapphire Blue Web Design. Not only was she a natural for creating the AMCAW website, but she’s also an artist passionate about metal clay.
Sian has a BA in 3D Design, specializing in silver and ceramics, and has been in the design industry for over 25 years. After obtaining her degree in 1991, Sian chose to major in metalwork, with a focus on jewelry and a minor in ceramics as she’s always loved both materials. One of the highlights of her early career was being a prominent designer at W. Moorcroft PLC for 8 years, and her pieces are still widely found online and in private collections of many Moorcroft fans under her designer name Sian Leeper.
Sian Hamilton Calla Lily
Then, in 1998, she discovered this crazy new material that looked and felt like clay, but is actually metal. Soon metal clay became a favorite medium, and Sian has been working with it off and on for over 20 years. One of the eight books she has authored in the craft sector focuses on metal clay.
Sian was the Editor of Making Jewellery, a monthly magazine in the UK designed for those making and selling jewelry, from 2010 until it closed last year. She continues to write for GMC Publications Ltd. in addition to owning Sapphire Blue Web Design.
The Chair of AMCAW’s Website and Technology committee and AMCAW’s webmaster, Sian has logged hundreds of volunteer hours to design and launch the website. “I love the excitement of seeing AMCAW develop and grow week by week,” Sian says. “There’s always something to update!” She adds that she is always looking for volunteers with web experience who would like to help.
Sian Hamilton, Riveted pendant
Besides her website work, Sian is also on the Curating Excellence committee, as she wants to be involved in the creation of opportunities for artists to showcase their work and take challenges.
Sian’s favorite metal clay tool? She loves to use scratch foam to create her own unique textures, but also admits that her favorite tool is often the one she’s purchased most recently! She is currently obsessed with Wanaree Tanner’s new Die Tool sets, loving how she can get lots of small embellishments out of a small amount of clay and make an infinite range of designs. Her favorite technique over the last few years is one that Lis-el Crowley demonstrated in a CoolTools video for making bezel set stones. She says it brought on a ‘light bulb’ moment and has revolutionized her stone setting in metal clay.
The most surprising thing about Sian is that she is also an archer, channeling her inner Robin Hood. She finds it balances her working life that involves sitting at a computer all day long.
Find Sian online at hamiltonjewellery.com and sapphireblueweb.design
