Awards & Recognitions

  • LIZETTE RICHARDS

    10 Barton Parade, Tomakin, NSW • 0432 016 243 • silverpaperstring@gmail.com PROFILE

    Accomplished Silversmith and Visual Arts Educator with extensive experience creating jewellery and functional objects using precious metals and gemstones. Skilled in delivering engaging workshops and teaching various art forms at secondary education levels. Awardwinning artist with multiple exhibition experiences and recognized works.

    ARTIST STATEMENT

    My artistic practice is deeply influenced by life on the Australian coast, where the interplay of oceanic elements and natural landscapes provides endless inspiration. Working primarily with precious metals, I create organic forms that mirror the fluidity and texture found in coastal environments. Each piece emerges through a dialogue between traditional silversmithing techniques and contemporary artistic expression. My work is in constant evolution as I explore the integration of diverse materials—particularly textiles and porcelain—with silver and other precious metals. This cross-disciplinary approach allows me to push boundaries, creating pieces that balance technical precision with artistic spontaneity. The juxtaposition of hard metals against the delicate qualities of porcelain and the softness of textiles creates a tension that speaks to the complex relationship between strength and fragility in both nature and human experience. Through my work, I invite viewers to reconsider their connection to natural forms and the transformative potential of materials, celebrating both the permanence of metal and the ephemeral qualities of oceanic inspiration.

    EDUCATION

    • Bachelor of Teaching in Visual Arts Education University of Sydney

    • Sydney, NSW

    • Bachelor of Visual Arts in Gold and Silversmithing Australian National University

    • Canberra, ACT

    WORK EXPERIENCE Secondary Visual Arts Teacher Carroll College • Broulee NSW

    • 01/1999 - Present

    • Teach Visual Arts to students from Years 7 through Year 12

    • Deliver Senior Photography curriculum

    • Instruct Design and Technology classes

    Owner and Exhibitor The ARTery Gallery

    • Mossy Point

    • 01/2002 - 01/2017

    Workshop Facilitator / Private Tutor Self-employed

    • Ongoing

    • Provide Silversmithing workshops for groups and individuals

    • Deliver private Visual Arts sessions covering painting, drawing, and mixed media

    EXHIBITIONS & ACHIEVEMENTS Recent Exhibitions

    • Swell Art Prize Broadbeach, Queensland 03/2025 Finalist

    • Halloran Art Prize

    • Jervis Bay

    • 02/2025 Finalist

    • River of Art Prize

    • Eurobodalla • 09/2024 Finalist

    • River of Art Prize

    • Eurobodalla

    • 09/2023 Finalist

    • Halloran Art Prize

    • Jervis Bay

    • 11/2023 Finalist

    • Practice What You Teach Exhibition

    • Mechanics Institute Moruya

    • 01/2023

    • River of Art Prize

    • Eurobodalla

    • 09/2022 Finalist, Winner of Highly Commended

    • River of Art Prize

    • Eurobodalla

    • 09/2021 Finalist

    • River of Art Prize

    • Eurobodalla • 09/2020 Finalist

    • Bay Pavilions Exhibition

    • Part of River of Arts Festival

    • SOART Gallery Exhibition

    • Part of River of Art Festival Retail Presence

    • Regular Stockist

    • Bliss and the Trove

    • Broulee

    • Regular Stockist and Workshop Facilitator

    • Steph's Fabrics • Broulee CORE COMPETENCIES Silversmithing Advanced proficiency in creating jewellery and functional objects using silver, precious metals,

Meet Lizette

Artist - Silversmith - Creator - Educator 

A woman with curly blonde hair, wearing glasses, a white shirt, and blue jeans, stands outdoors near a wooden structure with a green-painted door frame, smiling at the camera.

Lizette holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts in Gold and Silversmithing from ANU and a Bachelor of Teaching in High School Visual Arts and Photography from Sydney University, she is a dedicated artist and teacher based on the South Coast.

Working primarily with metals—both precious and alternative—she creates a range of wearable and sculptural pieces. Her practice is deeply rooted in themes of place, location, and memory, drawing inspiration from the coastal environment surrounding her seaside studio.

Using techniques such as casting, forging, etching, and material manipulation, her work often incorporates textiles, porcelain and precious gemstones, blending traditional methods with contemporary expression. A spirit of experimentation drives her practice, as she continually explores new ideas and possibilities in her art, while also engaging in teaching and branching into other media as opportunities arise.

Exhibition Work

  • “Kitchen Wear” 2024

    Embroidered cotton images, etched silver, handmade string.

     Inspired by the domestic history of women. 

    Necklace made of various small circular and oval charms with illustrated kitchen utensils, teapots, cups, and dishes, arranged in a bib shape on a black background.

  • “Lemon Biscuits” 2021

    Lemon biscuit recipe on silk, etched copper buttons.

    Old family recipes handed down and guarded like precious objects.

    An open handwritten recipe on fabric, decorated with pennies around the border.

  • “Leaf Litter”, 2024.

    Sterling Silver, inspired by the Australian Landscape

    Silver necklace with multiple leaf-shaped pendants hanging from a circular chain.

  • “From the Ocean” 2025

    Sterling Silver, 9ct gold, coral, aquamarine(2), emerald, peridot, diamonds(5). Inspired by the layers of beauty and colour within the ocean

    Silver necklace with a round pendant featuring two gemstones, one orange and one blue, with decorative elements and small diamonds or similar stones on a black background.

  • Take a Seat

    A quirky silver neckpiece with three different chairs. Etched, stitched and drawn onto the silver and sitting neatly and lightly around the neck. A drawing in jewellery experiment.

  • The connective Narratives of Science and the Sea

    Drawing on the symbolism of the sea and sky, this neckpiece merges etched, cast, and formed silver to tell a story of connection and exploration. A cast shell, compass forms, and the Southern Cross echo ancient navigational tools, weaving together science, memory, and the rhythms of the natural world.

  • The Art of Laundry

    There’s no big message here. Just an invitation to notice. To find joy in small things. To laugh at a porcelain pair of undies, and then think, “Actually, that’s kind of lovely.”

    Because there is beauty in the banal. There is poetry in pegged undies.

  • New List Item

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