Galaxies of Inspiration and Whorls of Ideas
In late 2021, I had no idea how exponentially my life in and out of the studio would soon change when professional development instructor Jessica Abel said to Rauni Higson and me in a Zoom call, “How do you two not know each other?” It was a fair question. When Rauni and I recognized the shared themes in each other’s artwork and realized how many of the same people we both knew, we couldn’t believe our paths had not already crossed.
The volume and expanse of voice messages and texts that have intertwined our work ever since, like the ongoing letters between like-minded artists of eras past, would take any research historian or archivist years to unravel. We have been part, either virtually or in person, of every project we’ve each created for nearly four years. As I wrote in the acknowledgements for my monograph Radiant Echoes’, “Once we connected, an entire ocean has not stemmed the flow of conversation.”
When I asked Rauni to write one of the essays for Radiant Echoes I couldn’t have guessed on which aspects of my work she would focus, but when she interviewed me for the project, I realized, that while she focused on a limited number of key artworks, her intention was to focus on on the breadth of my body of work, highlighting my extreme changing of scale, uniquely combining techniques, and my passing on the skills to others. Not easy to do in less than 1000 words.
Victoria Lansford’s striking use of filigree to create complex sculptural forms evokes ethereal forces of nature, cosmic storms, and manifestations of the invisible threads holding together the universe…Victoria’s approach feels entirely unique and contemporary.
FROM THE ESSAY FROM SPIRAL GALAXIES TO WHORLS OF WIRE: A CONVERSATION WITH VICTORIA LANSFORD
BY RAUNI HIGSON
Sterling, fine silver, 22k gold, .25 carat rose cut diamond
1.625 x 1.625 x 0.625 in
Private collection
Victoria’s work is striking for her fearlessness in changing scale. She works comfortably across the micro-detailed intricacy of carefully orchestrated granulation to the grandeur of large-scale architectural interiors. A great deal of trouble can come with changing scale – ranging from the physical to the technical to the conceptual – and few metalsmiths manage it as successfully as she does. Rather than finding herself bogged down by balancing these demands, Victoria creates each of her unique pieces with an exhaustive attention to detail, as well as a keen eye for what might enrich an object in a rare and precious way.
FROM THE ESSAY FROM SPIRAL GALAXIES TO WHORLS OF WIRE: A CONVERSATION WITH VICTORIA LANSFORD
BY RAUNI HIGSON
In 2023 Rauni was commissioned to create the first of two pairs of ceremonial keys for the Peninsula Hotel. The first pair were for the grand opening of their London hotel, and the second were to commemorate the new company headquarters for China Light and Power in Hong Kong.. While designing the dog lions for the first pair, she realized she could use Eastern repoussé to capture her intended details in the keys’ bows. One of Rauni’s specialties is hammer chasing, so she quickly learned my process of Eastern repoussé. Our conversations about the best way to join the mirrored components led to the collaboration of a new course coming later this year: Mirrored Forms for Jewelry & Vessels – A New Hybrid Process for the Hydraulic Press with Eastern Repoussé.
Rauni Higson MBE is a leading British Silversmith known for her distinctive sculptural work often responding to and inspired by the natural world and landscape. Much of her work is made to commission, for celebration and commemoration, contemporary designs created using traditional silversmithing techniques, principally by forging and hammer-forming sheet silver. She set up her studio in the dramatic landscape of Snowdonia in 1997, after training at Lahti Design Institute in Finland, her mother’s native country. Her work is in many collections, including the V&A Museum, six pieces in the Goldsmiths’ Company Collection, and the National Museum of Wales. Commissions include a Processional Cross for Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and the Prince Phillip Challenge Trophy for Henley Royal Regatta. In 2025 she was awarded the Member of the Order of Excellence of the British Empire for her services to silversmithing and heritage craft.
At the end of her essay in my monograph, Rauni wrote about my artwork and outlook
I get the feeling there will never be a shortage of fascinating projects, and instead, plenty more to come and much to look forward to.
FROM THE ESSAY FROM SPIRAL GALAXIES TO WHORLS OF WIRE: A CONVERSATION WITH VICTORIA LANSFORD
BY RAUNI HIGSON
I would say the exact same words about her artwork!
