Making Antiques and Heirlooms

By Silver Timbers

Forty years ago, Silver Timbers (formerly Frances Timbers) was quoted as saying “I’m producing antiques and heirlooms for the future”. At the time, she was a weaver, but the same philosophy applies to her current practice of making sterling silver jewellery. For Silver, weaving and making jewellery, as well as other arts and crafts, are tangible connections to psychological and spiritual aspects of the human psyche.

Silver had started a new life in Kirkfield, Ontario, turning her art of weaving into a business. In addition to creating fine linen and silk articles, she started teaching weaving, attending juried exhibitions, and importing linen fibres from Northern Ireland. Wanting to increase her skill, she completed the Master Weaver certification from the Guild of Canadian Weavers by 1991.

Silver displayed her weaving skill at the Victoria County Studio Tour from April 1987 until 1991, when she lived in Kirkfield and then Lindsay. As you may know, she started showing at the Apsley Studio Tour in September 1996, when she moved into her newly-built log house at Glen Alda. In spite of the love from many yearly visitors there, her life as a weaver was interrupted by the conventions of being an academic student (BA, MA, and then PhD) which are quite demanding, including the publishing of books and articles. But her desire to physically create arts and crafts did not go away. After her completion of university, she started exploring the joy of working with sterling silver in the Haliburton School of Art and Design.

Silver was welcomed back to the Apsley Studio Tour as a jeweller in 2016. Many of her depictions of what is ‘modern’ jewellery are drawn from traditional and historical designs. She has not lost the interest in producing things that are reminiscent of the antique and heirloom-ish. She encourages people to wear the pieces they buy 24/7, every day and night, so that the personal ornaments will interact with their spiritual feelings. Come experience Silver’s spirit this September!

The Apsley Studio Tour takes place on September 20 and 21, 2024, from 10 to 4 daily. 11 studio locations spread throughout the North Kawarthas present the work of 30 artists, including 4 new to the tour this year. A wide variety of art and craft is on display and many of the studios have live demonstrations. Please go to our website at apsleystudiotour.com to download the Toureka app which will help you to plan your route, or to download a map of the tour. Information about all the participating artists is on the website and app. Please join us for a fun-filled weekend.