Catalogue Image

I utilised the sunshine over the weekend to produce some really beautiful shadows for my photographs for the "MAness in the Method" catalogue; I feel the shadows give the piece some depth and transparancy

Rusting steel

I have been handpiercing put of steel from a local DIY store....here are the results of being left out in the rain....I think ill leave it for longer to see a real orange tint to the rust!

Working weekend...

Heres what I have been upto this weekend; piercing out lots of frames ready for the domes to be attached via riveting, sewing & laserwelding at the school.. I have been using 1.2mm thick gilding metal but this is REALLY hard work on the hands...so Ive resorted to copper sheet instead which I can patinate

Home made fabric electroforming

I have set up my own home made electroform tank which I am pretty proud of. I understand how the whole process works and I am able to control the electroforming more with the fabrics when operating it myself.

The principle behind electroforming is the desposition of a metal layer on a base of conductive paint, powder or other conductive material, using a direct current through a solution called an electrolyte. Copper is one of the easiest metals to form with.

The fabric is sealed first as it is porous with an acrylic sealant left for 24 hours to dry naturally and then painting with copper conductive paint and again left for 24 hours.

The process takes time so has to be well planned out before hand. The electrolyte is a mixture of warm 4 litres of distilled water, sulphuric acid 560ml and copper brightener fluid 55ml.

My power supply is a 12v car battery which also needs a car battery charger with it; this is the expensive part! Also attached is the resistance wire and croc clips to control resistance as bigger pieces tend to need hardly any resistance compared to smaller pieces as I require a very smooth even finish from the copper layer

Here is the anode and cathode after their first trial; looking slightly burnt for some reason, which I have not yet figured out

It took a couple of days to get right but here is my first electroformed piece of fabric:

The test on whether I have done this well will be on Monday when I dome it in the workshop. Fingers crossed it doesnt crack!

Historical Interior Visuals: Erddig Hall Wrexham

From my visit to Erddig Hall in Wrexham I gathered some photographs which serve as my inspiration from interior detail

MA Show Fundraiser!

 

What a GREAT night and thankyou to everyone who turned up. Thanks you to Hannah and her friend Gemma who organised the whole thing at The Rainbow, Digbeth! Even the Professor Jivan had a boogie with us!....the total we raised was £230 towards our exhibition costs! THANKYOU again!

Some creative photography

I am planning on photographing my pieces in a way that really shows off the pieces and their conceptual relevance. I have a model in mind; Miss Rachel Colley, I have a place in mind: an old house infront of a bay window dressed with white linen. As these photographs show I need light to be omitted through the backs of the pieces to show their qualitites. So a photoshoot is on the cards!

I have been busy...

Only 2 months and 10 days of the MA left....I have been busy so far handpiercing, electroforming, doming, soldering & embroidering....I have much to do; laser welding, riveting, plating more handpiercing, doming, electroforming and embroidering

Metal thread embroidery

I am looking into adding a third element to my designs in the form of metal thread embroidery, using gilt; tracing the pattern of the electroformed netting. As shown above, this thread is couched peral purl using gold cotton thread overtop of the pearl purl.

Detail of the metal thread

This piece is using a different technique where I have used the metal thread as a stitch; this required drawing the wire down to unravel it and again to thin it

Detail of the metal thread piece

"Piece Progression" Submission

This is an online exhibition held on CraftHaus, an online participatory sport for craft artists at share their work. The exhibition is curated by Miriam Rowe, who is a former MA student at the School of Jewellery to show how pieces progress and what is involved in their making. This is my submission.

My haven of a workshop...

This is where I like to come and work at the weekends and whenever I can when I am not in the studio at the School of Jewellery. Its a haven for doing my work. Its in the middle of the Cheshire countryside and keeps warm all year round. My soldering torch here isnt very strong, only from a propane outlet, so I like to do mainly my handpiercing here, which requires intense concentration.

This is the beautiful view from the workshop...I like to leave the windows open while im working to get fresh country air in. I really appreciate coming to work back here from the city, it makes a real difference!

new pieces...

MA Jewellery Silversmithing & Related Products show fundraiser