John Moore Studio | Discover Unique Jewelry

John Moore was born 1980 into a family of artists - his mother a jeweller and his father a painter. He was quite a singular child, not really interested in sports or playing with action men and never quite fitting in. He was a keen naturalist, often to be found gazing into his tropical fish tank or tending his beloved pond, watching as dragon flies emerged for their spectacular finale. Otherwise he’d be at the kitchen table, obsessively drawing and making things from the scrap paper his parents had saved, usually animals in the form of masks, puppets or automata - things he could bring to life by wearing them or operating them in some way. His passion for making was evident from the get-go. He was essentially making his own toys and the element of movement was deeply satisfying to him.

John excelled in creative subjects both in and out of school, including music, singing, acting and dancing - especially ballet, which sadly had to end due to a knee injury at age sixteen. He toyed with pursuing his love for performing arts but ultimately his real passion was for making. After achieving 100% for his A-level Art he completed a one year Art Foundation course and was the only non-fashion student to have his work in the end of year catwalk show: a pair of transparent plastic garments supporting externalised organs, a heart, bladder and kidneys - vac-formed bubbles of coloured liquid; and an arm piece - sleeves of faux leather straps, fastened around the arms and joined across the upper back. A fringe of long wire fronds, like porcupine spines, spaced at intervals from wrist to wrist, tipped with tufts of red feathers extended the . Wearable objects were clearly significant.

John aged 2 with his mother and grandmother

John’s first oil painting, aged 9.

Hungry to try new materials and processes John was resistant to choosing a single subject for his undergrad and opted for a BA honours degree in 3D Design at Manchester Metropolitan University. There he indulged in ceramics, furniture design, glass blowing, metal work and jewellery, with jewellery becoming the focus for his final year. Visits to museums including the Leeds Armoury and The Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford inspired the work for his degree show - a selection of pieces comprised of multiple repeated shapes based on beetle wings and made from anodised aluminium, including a large belt and some oversized earrings. Themes of colour, movement and natural architecture were firmly established.