A LONG table crafted into a lightbox showcases four years of work for ­silversmithing and jewellery degree graduate Sarah-Louise McKay.

Skilfully crafted wafer thin pieces of porcelain meet chunky silver chains in her collection called The Braes, now on show at the recently opened Glasgow School of Art Reid building, where she completed the final months of her degree.

The 23-year-old from Rutherglen, who has just received a first class honours degree, took her inspiration from nearby Cathkin Braes and her theme is an interpretation of absence and memory after a relative's ashes were scattered in the location overlooking Glasgow.

"My use of porcelain symbolises both what is absent, through its white appearance and temporal life span when rolled out, and what is recovered, through my own interaction with material," she says.

There are delicate brooches and rings as well as a series of porcelain bowls that signalled the very beginning of Sarah-Louise's project.

"This year I've tried to be quite experimental and I've had a lot of good feedback, especially from the lecturers.

"When you go into fourth year there's that nervousness because it's your last year and you feel you need to prove yourself in a short space of time."

Sarah-Louise's work is now on sale and after the week-long degree show, she heads to ­London at the end of the month to take part in a designers' showcase.

After that she'll decide whether to step out into the commercial world or carry on studying for a Masters degree.

Her work is among thousands of pieces being shown at the Reid building by Glasgow School of Art design students graduating this year, on show to the public until Saturday.

angela.mcmanus@ eveningtimes.co.uk