I’m working on new designs for Pittenweem Arts Festival 2017. This bronze cast vessel takes its texture from the beach sand that it was cast in. The sun shone all day today so I went onto the rocks to take some pictures.
I found my neighbour’s iron guttering on the rocks (the photo shows where it used to be)
and I took it to Scottish Sculpture Workshops. Where we melted it, along with other scrap iron (which Ross nobly ‘cracked’ while I did the sand bed for the furnace)
The molten iron was poured into a two-part sand mould of a small vessel form (and some other moulds)
This is the iron piece with runner and riser, tomorrow I’ll cut the extraneous bits off, but I rather like the patterns it makes in the sun.
The bronze tripod bowl in the picture left the Mall Galleries for a new home.
Taking with it the patina from Scottish sea water and this seaweed.
And maybe some grains of sand from the cleaning process.
These are my new plinths, made for me by Charlie Clark, ready for my solo exhibition at White Fox Gallery, Hirsel Estate.
The plinths are designed to ‘step’ across the centre of the gallery. I’ll take some pictures in the gallery, this is my front yard.
The exhibition opens tomorrow and runs til mid October. Drop by and see it.
Finally the sun broke through yesterday and I could take some photos of what I’ve been up to this week. This is a bronze bowl with wee legs, it’d be a tripod but there are four of them. It has a patina from seaweed soaked in sea water. It’ll be on show in London in August at the Society of Designer Craftsmen.
This is the first of the large bronze dishes to be finished, it has amazing texture, I think I’ll leave it without patina. It’ll be on show at my solo exhibition at White Fox.
This smaller textured bronze will be on show at White Fox, also.
This piece, again for White Fox, has copper wire through the bronze casting and sea water patina.
I had a fun morning showing Kat and Trisha how to sand-cast. I managed not to take pictures, but they both made bowls and shell pieces.
We worked outside as it was a stunning day (still is)
Just popped out for proof!
Anyway it reminded me that I have two further workshops scheduled for this year:
8th August Plantlore and Jewellery as part of Pittenweem Arts Festival
This is a brooch made at an earlier Plantlore workshop
and a week long sand casting workshop in The Algarve 13th to 20th November at Aqua Ventura.
I went down to the rockpools today and used beach sand and sea water to clean a couple of my bronze vessels.
There was a green crab as well but s/he was camera shy.
I finished texturing the pieces with my favourite stone on my beach shelf.
I’m hoping that the sea water will patinate the bronze as part of the process.
I’m trying one piece with this whitened seaweed from around the high rock pools to see how it patinates.
I also rescued a piece of driftwood which may make a stand for a bowl.
I finished the wee pewter bowls this morning and one is off to Germany with its new owner.
The wee silver bird earrings are off to new homes too.
I shall make up some more of these earrings for tomorrow, which use my silver bird charm and so are only available from my Open Studios (until Pittenweem, White Fox and London!)
ENOS artists (East Neuk Open Studios) will have some work at Cambo House ENOS Hub this weekend – 21st/22nd May. I’ll have this charm bracelet and some pewter shells at Cambo. But do visit me at my studio in Cellardyke for a wider choice of jewellery and metalwork.
I’m open the first weekend only.
I went up to the Scottish Sculpture Workshop last week with my three large mould boxes and here are the two bowls that were cast. One sand mould didn’t survive the journey, but these two bowls should look good once I’ve cut off the pouring cup and generally given them a bit of a clean and shine.
They looked a bit like satellite dishes on the beach today, enjoying the Scottish sunshine, but they are more tactile and a prettier colour.
juliacowie 