Building work begins

Posted on November 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

The building work has started in my studio. The plan is to create a beautiful new teaching space from what was two separate rooms and it will allow me to develop my ideas for new classes and also, very excitingly, to invite other teachers to run special classes here.

20111129-201101.jpg
This is how it looked first thing this morning. The first week will be really messy as Chris dismantles the dividing wall but it is great to see my ideas progressing.

20111129-201257.jpg
In the meantime I have set up a temporary workbench in the house so that I can still get on with some projects.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Art clay silver, cloisonne enamel, courses, Design, enamel on silver, introduction to enamelling, Metal clay, workshops, Yorkshire

Tagged , , ,

Starting to clear out

Posted on November 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

I have started the big clear out ready for the builder to begin work in my studio tomorrow.

20111127-170951.jpg

This corner of the room has always been used to stack ‘stuff’ out of the way and was hidden behind a sheet. The plan is that this corner will house the equipment for lamp working glass and also my hearth for soldering and torch work. I am really excited about the reorganisation as it will really open up the space and bring what were wasted areas into use.

There is still quite a lot to move but the clear out is well underway. Today a friend has collected boxes of dark room equipment that I haven’t used for around 20 years. Her partner will now be able to set up his own darkroom and it is great that it will be used and enjoyed again. I have also sorted out a lot of real junk (why did we keep this stuff for so long?) A trip to the tip is planned for later in the week.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Art clay silver, cloisonne enamel, courses, Design, enamel on silver, introduction to enamelling, Lampwork glass beads, Metal clay, silver jewellery, workshops, Yorkshire

Tagged , ,

Making new plans

Posted on November 15, 2011 | 1 Comment

I am now making plans for 2012, including some fairly substantial alterations to the studio over the winter period. I still have a few dates available for one to one classes before Christmas but am beginning a bit of a clear out. If you are wanting any jewellery as Christmas presents then please get in contact, either by message here or through my contact form

20111115-192555.jpg
I still have things available like these pretty enamelled stud earrings.

Keep watching for an update on the studio and exciting classes for 2012!

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Art clay silver, cloisonne enamel, courses, Design, enamel, enamel on silver, introduction to enamelling, Metal clay, silver jewellery, workshops, Yorkshire

Tagged , , , , ,

Tiny birds

Posted on November 6, 2011 | 1 Comment

Here is a better photograph of the tiny cloisonné pendant I made yesterday, daylight helps!

20111106-093534.jpg

→ 1 Comment

Posted in silver jewellery, workshops, courses, Yorkshire, drawing, cloisonne enamel, introduction to enamelling, enamel on silver

Tagged , ,

Introduction to cloisonné enamelling

Posted on November 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

I have had a very enjoyable day teaching a one-to-one workshop on the introduction to enamel on silver. After a short introduction and instructions on the safe use of enamel and the kiln, my student Ingrid did lots of small pencil sketches from which she selected her designs. She then learned how to wash and grind her chosen enamel colours and shaped very thin silver wires to match her design. After applying her wires to the silver base, she began to build up thin layers of enamel, firing each layer in turn.

20111105-200737.jpg

Here are her finished pieces and very pretty they are too.

I had shown her examples of the kind of patterns I create and began this tiny pendant, that I finished off later in the day.

20111105-200939.jpg

This is a very small pendant, only approximately 15mm x 12mm, smaller in scale than anything I have done recently (and not done any favours by the photography). It is nice to revisit the bird theme.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in cloisonne enamel, courses, Design, enamel, enamel on silver, introduction to enamelling, silver jewellery, workshops, Yorkshire

Tagged , , , , ,

Another pair of earrings

Posted on November 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

Here is another pair of enamelled silver stud earrings, finished yesterday. Let me know if you are interested in buying something like this.

20111104-093603.jpg

The transparent enamel shows the underlying texture of the silver through it. They are slightly more of an autumnal tone, not quite such a bright red as they appear in the picture here. I also enamelled a pendant to match.

On Saturday I will be running a workshop introducing the technique of wet laying enamel onto silver. If you would be interested in learning to enamel please get in touch, either by adding a message here or through contact page

→ Leave a comment

Posted in courses, enamel, Metal clay, silver jewellery, Yorkshire

Tagged , , , ,

Sketching

Posted on November 2, 2011 | Leave a comment

Drawing and sketching has to be an integral part of any design practice. I recently realised that I was spending much less time drawing and sketching than I used to and began to feel that this was having an impact upon the development of my work. I am one of those people who needs to keep learning and developing so have set myself the challenge of drawing at least three times a week. This is not with the intention of creating great drawings but just of honing my skills and developing a sense of ‘fitness’ in my technique. Like any kind of exercise, if you do it regularly then it becomes easier and I am enjoying the process.

Sketching plants, leaves or flowers does mean that I am looking at them more carefully. At some point I think I will want to dissect pieces to gain a better understanding of their forms. At the moment am enjoying exploring the basic shapes, but am reaching the point where I want to find ways of showing the colour.

20111102-190323.jpg

At this point in the year I like to set aside a bit of time for development work, it will be interesting to see where this takes me.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Art clay silver, Design, drawing, Metal clay, silver jewellery, workshops, Yorkshire

Tagged , , , ,

Enamelling to the edge

Posted on November 1, 2011 | 1 Comment

Today I have been in the studio catching up with a bit of work. I have a few pieces to enamel for an order so really need to get on and finish them.

Here are some earrings I have enamelled today.

20111101-181335.jpg

I took this photo quite late in the afternoon. I usually try and photograph work during daylight hours as it is easier to get a better colour balance. They are a shade lighter than in the photograph.

20111101-181509.jpg

I have also begun a large pendant, but it is unfinished. Hopefully I will be able to finish it tomorrow. It is very satisfying to be back in the studio, working quietly with a bit of gentle background music. I did take a short break to wander around the garden and to go for a walk with Lucy, my little Bedlington terrier. It has been a beautiful sunny day and the autumn colours are really vibrant at the moment.

20111101-183150.jpg

→ 1 Comment

Posted in courses, Design, enamel, silver jewellery, Yorkshire

Tagged , , ,

Enamel painting

Posted on October 12, 2011 | 7 Comments

I am trying to take my drawing a stage further by beginning to learn enamel painting. This technique uses very finely ground underglaze colours and a painting medium. The drawing is built up by painting onto a smooth White enamel surface in thin layers, firing each layer in turn. The final layer is a thin coat of flux or transparent enamel to give the surface an even gloss.

20111012-142843.jpg

20111012-142900.jpg

→ 7 Comments

Posted in courses, Design, drawing, enamel, workshops, Yorkshire

Tagged , , ,

Text in enamel

Posted on October 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

I have become fascinated with the medium of botanical illustration and it’s conventions. I am experimenting with ideas for combining detailed drawings of plants with snatches of text. Here is an earlier panel with a sample of text applied using a riso screen printing technique. This bit of text is actually from a ship’s log, but in future work I am intending to include writing about plants and their uses. It will be an interesting project and I am looking forward to producing some larger scale pieces again.

20111012-143909.jpg

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Design, drawing, enamel, Riso Screen printing, workshops, Yorkshire

Tagged , ,