Who says that being poorly has to be boring. All curled up with the radio on and a reel of wire and some leftover fused glass… What could be better?!
Month: May 2016
Post Exhibition Crafting
Back in the workshop the morning after the exhibition just shows my dedication to my jewellery making. After peeling myself out of bed, I made the most of my tools and fellow silversmiths to make this spinner ring, which I think it much better than the first one.
Soldering the ring so it appears to peel open and dimpling the surface, I feel gives it a more natural appearance and the use of a copper spinner gives it a ping of colour whilst keeping it minimal.
Finally starting to feel like I might be able to do this!
Dry Run, @Shipley, Gateshead
It is finally here! Tomorrow marks the opening night of the end of year exhibition at the Shipley Gallery in Gateshead. After a manic few weeks, I was able to successfully complete my glass necklace and glass case to represent the tragedy and glamorisation of the 27 Club and the lives of the most famous members. Using black bullseye pate de verre in a press moulding technique, I was able to combine screenprinted edited images onto waterjet cut glass cabochons to chain together with silver to create my representation of the glorification of tragic deaths of infamous artists in the media.
Come along tomorrow night for our opening night to support the amazing work all of the second year students have worked so hard to complete! 6-8pm!
Badge of Honour, 2016
Exhibition Night Jewellery
Since I am too skint to buy a new frock for the opening night of the Dry Run Exhibition I have been having a play with some of my handmade glass cabochons and some silver wire to make my own jewellery to wear for the night. This way, I have fancy new accessories and people might twig that the necklace on display was made by me!
Eureka!
I think I have finally found the method to create my necklace! Thanks to the master class with Jennifer Halvorson, I have been working with press moulding pate de verre to create glass replicas of the original object (in this case cameo frames). The one featured here is a bigger version of the overall piece.
To encapsulate the musicians in the centres of the pendants, I have experimented with screenprinting to capture their ghostly profile in a crisp silhouette.
Months of work is finally coming together and I can’t wait to see the results when all the coldworking is done!
Back to the Silversmith’s Bench!
Regardless of the fact that I have my end of year exhibition and assessment coming up, I decided as if I wasn’t busy enough to book myself back into another set of silversmithing lessons. Having a break away from making only made me realise how much I love it and need to do it. Since I can not afford the tools myself I haven’t been able to get my silver fix at home and have been itching to get back in the workshop. This time I wanted to create something a bit different and went about creating a wrapped moonstone ring. Although it is not as neat as I hoped I was fairly proud of my attempt at this style (the curse of the perfectionist).
As well as the ring I was asked by a fellow student who endeavours to help everyone else, to make him a necklace using a strange tooth-like stone he found of a beach wander. Using a simple bell cap design, I created a bezel which the stone could slot into and hang on a chain. Safe to say he loves it, every time I have seen him since it is sitting on his chest!
Crafting with Cross Stitch
Student life can prove to be limiting when it comes to buying presents for birthdays and Christmas, but not when you have a crafty hobby. For my lovely Nana’s 80th I took to the sewing box and decided to make her something she can keep forever (instead of return to Marksy’s or hand it to one of the grandchildren on the sly).
When we lost my Granda in 2013, it became a comfort between the three of us (myself, my Mam and my Nana) that when we saw a little robin, we knew he was about keeping an eye on us. So I took to the internet in search of a robin cross stitch pattern and decided to make a little patch for a cushion I was making her. I haven’t cross stitched since I was little and immediately fell back in love with it as soon as my kit arrived.
There is a fantastic little haberdashery and tea room close to home which never fails when on a fabric hunt. I rummaged the boxes and shelves for autumnal colours as that is when my Granda left us and usually when robins start to appear more often.
Instead of spacing out the making process, I got completely addicted and ended up completing the robin in a nine hour stretch and then patching the rest of the cushion in a couple of hours the next day.
Nothing better than a thrifty little keepsake and a cuppa at the coast!
lottielilycraft 