Christmas Collection

October 30, 2021

In the run up to Christmas 2019 I decided to be brave and share a few pictures of my threaders and silver stud earrings on Instagram. I was blown away the support all my friends gave me. So last Christmas I added some pillow pendants and some lovely gold accents to my earring range. Again, I was really touched by how much everyone enjoyed them.

This year I wanted to create something new. I wanted to make a joyful, warm, sparkling little collection. I drew inspiration from Christmas cards from my childhood, particularly this one.

When I was young I loved the comforting glow in this picture and I always kept it in my bedroom. It used to help me get to sleep. Now I am older it hangs, framed, in my childrens’ room. I can’t draw for toffee these days so I’m not going to share the copy I tried to make of this picture. Suffice it to say that although it looks simple, it wasn’t easy for me! So I returned to the studio and had much more success forging little straw/star motifs by hand with my favourite hammer, trying to avoid bashing my fingers!

Then I got to thinking about the Christmas star that would have hung above this beatific stable scene. Apparently scholars over the centuries have suggested the star of Bethlehem was in fact a ‘great conjunction’. This is when two stars appear so closely in the night sky that they look to us on Earth as one single bright star. I was rather inspired by this suggestion so I brought my stable straw / star motif together with a mix of metals. If I have time I might experiment with a few other pieces but for now, my little Christmas collection includes rings, bangles and earrings. I do hope folks like them!

A new bench and some water casting experiments.

October 30, 2021

Goodness. Where did this year go??? I wrote this post back in March but I’m posting it now, if only to remind myself to keep up with my journalling a bit better next year!

14th March. Last week I put up a brand new bench in my newly cleared workshop, bolted down a brand new vice (thank you Homebase!) and FINALLY unboxed my rolling mill. So. Exciting! I moved my pickle pot and barreller into the workshop too and it’s simply AMAZING having everything in one place for the first time.

my new bench. v exciting. but that’s probably just me ….

I’ve also, since my last post, found some time to experiment with water casting. I’m getting better at it and it’s great fun. What’s not to like about melting stuff and dropping it from a great height?! Also, it’s great to be able to achieve something during lockdown when I have no access to a full workshop.

I really enjoy the random watercast shapes mentioned in my previous post but now I know more about the process, it’s clear that I don’t have the right tools. They are now on my Christmas wish list!

In the meantime, using what I have at home, I am achieving lovely ‘splash’ shapes, still very organic and each one is different, but they are ‘prettier’ than the deep sea/outer space shapes I inherited.

Some people see flowers when they look at these silver splashes but, perhaps because the seaside holds a special place in my heart, I see rockpools, sea anemones and spray from the waves. And that was where I was going, creatively, when I made these earrings for my lovely Mum for Mothers Day last weekend, and a little experiment ring for myself this weekend.

I added little balls of 9ct gold into the cups in a tiny solder pool, like tiny bits of treasure just left by the tide. The gold has a hidden meaning as they are made from chains from a necklace my Gran gave me when I was 16. The necklace eventually broke. And then one of my girls gummed it when she was a baby. But I always kept it. And now I can remake it into something new.

Anyway, it was fun and so I think I’ll do a bit more, perhaps work up to something on a larger scale.

Water cast silver

February 18, 2021

Recently, I was lucky enough to be offered some well loved tools. A lovely lady who lives locally offered them to me as her husband, a fantastic silversmith and teacher, is unable to use them any more. I am taking my time restoring them, starting with the hammers (old hammers are the best!).

Amongst the tools, there was a certain amount of scrap silver. I was intrigued by a box full of misshapen pieces and asked about them, discovering that these were remnants from a cathedral commission her husband once undertook. The commissioned piece incorporated a surface made entirely from these small individual forms.

Although I have never experimented with this process myself, I recognise these twisted, organic forms as water cast silver. Yesterday I chose a few pieces from the box to make a pin brooch for her and a pair of earrings for her daughter in law.

They turned out well … the high polish is wonderful and I’m not sure my amateur photography does the shine justice. The form of them makes me feel like they come from under the sea or outer space.

Like snowflakes, no two pieces of these water cast silver will ever be the same. Today I am inspired and am going to water cast some silver myself.

2021 begins!

February 16, 2021

Lockdown and a brand new job have offered some hurdles to getting started in the studio this year!

But it’s half term now and while the children binge-watch art and craft channels on youTube, I keep sneaking off for some making time. It’s piecemeal but I don’t mind … any time is good time!

The upshot of my sneakery is that some lovely shiny things are winging their way to the Assay Office today. Yay!

2021 has begun!