Just taking some quick pictures before packing my pieces for North East Open Studios (NEOS) which previews next Friday. The work will be displayed at Art in the Buchat. Glenbuchat. Do pop along if you are in the area.
This is a damascus steel bowl on a burr wood stand, it’s so tactile.
Still time to drop into the new visitor heritage centre at Cambo and see some artworks. Some local artists, including Keny Drew, Judith Heald and Linda Jackson, have a horse stall each to display their work. This is mine.
It’s a lovely display area and there are interesting displays about the history of the estate and the stables.
Most days you will find the cafe and shop open as well.
also your eyes may focus better than my photos…
They reopen 4th January 2018.
This bowl is on display at Inspired at Goldsmith’s Centre as part of London Festival of Craft. The exhibition closes today, so hurry on down. The piece is sterling silver (probably nearer Britannia as I always add a bit more fine silver to the mix) on a pattern welded steel base.
The small spoons that I’m just finishing for the Unit Twelve Spoons exhibition have come a long way from this layered iron billet at the Bushfire Forge.
I forged the layers of the billet together and out into a rod.
and twisted it hot.
I hammered the rod down and shaped the end.
I then ground the spoons to make them the shape I wanted and to start revealing the pattern. I refined the shape of the spoons, sanded and polished them.
Last week I heat treated the spoons in my enameling kiln – hardening and tempering them.
Then more grinding, sanding and polishing to remove the oxides.
Then the magic moment in the fondue pot on the camping stove – using ferric chloride to reveal the pattern layers.
More re-used kitchen items – the tea treatment to clean the remaining oxide. A few other finishing processes and they’ll be ready to send off to Unit Twelve in Stafford.
These are some that I made earlier.
If you are nearer the Borders there are some of these spoons at the White Fox Gallery, and if you are in Fife there will be some at ENOS Open studios this October.
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.
The Create in Fife exhibition continues at the Lochgelly Centre. I have five pieces on display there and I popped in to visit them on Friday.
It’s a mixed exhibition with paintings, jewellery, glass, photography and prints. As well as my metalwork.
My safety gloves and safety goggles arrived, so I could dilute the drain cleaner from 96% proof to 30% – ready to etch the pattern-welded steel bowl stand that is in the picture too. (I think this should come with a Health and Safety warning -always add acid to water and do it slowly, it gets super hot)
Last weekend I went to Bushfire Forge and carved an antler handle for a damascus spoon that I’d made earlier.
It is inspired by Cellardyke harbour – the waves,
and the harbour wall.
Guess who got selected for Gold Membership of the Guild of Jewellery Designers. Yep me. This is the link to the article about it. It comes with exciting things like discounts and publicity and useful things like insurance. There is also a Facebook page for people to sell and exchange stuff and I’m looking forward to some earring boxes heading my way.
I took some of the pieces that I sold at Pittenweem to their new homes earlier this week. Which was great fun, very grand homes for all.
One of the wee Damascus spoons went to a new home too. I can now reveal this (it might have been a Christmas surprise, but I now know it couldn’t wait!). It is apparently sitting on slate, but I think I may investigate charred oak, defo needs something.
The wee Damascus steel bowl that has inspired the shape of many of my cast vessels is finally cleaned, finished, etched and sanded back.
I liked it when it held the secret of its patterning:-
This is it after I cleaned the crud off the surface. I tried etching at this stage and was disappointed, until I realized that I needed to cut away the surface to reveal the patterning.
So many hours and cutting discs later it was ready to etch, and this is the final result.
juliacowie 