Torque Necklace with Charms.

I made this torque necklace as a necklace that can be worn on its own or it can be worn with charms attached to it. The charms hook onto the cut-out which is cut to mirror the pattern in the metal caused by hammering. I thought it could be a range of jewellery that charms could be purchased seperatly.
I made a collection of enamel charms to go with this copper piece.
The design could be made in silver or gold as well as copper and charms could be as varied as your imagination. Charms could have precious stones inset, they could be engraved or stamped with personal messages or they could be made to order as a one-off commission.
I am pleased with the outcome of this piece which took its influence from a lily firstly but also from a question mark (the charm being the full stop at the bottom).

Pewter Bangles.

I have been making pewter bangles in various sizes.

I used Nitric acid to emphasise the hammered effect. The bangles are soldered when size is achieved.

I made this one with a slightly different design.I also made some in this design which is more elegant. I did not use Nitric Acid on these as I wanted to keep them silver.

Metal Pictures.

I have been making pictures out of coloured and inlaid metal.

I made these two and mounted them together. It is called ‘Night and Day’.

The top one reminds me of a night sky and the bottom one reminds me of a rising sun.

I also mounted these in adjoining frames as they are of a similar size and have similar colouration.

Enamels.

I have been working with inlaying metal and looking at various types of metal manipulation.
Whilst making some charms as an addition to a necklace,
I decided to make some larger enamel plaques.

I will be setting these into frames.

Assignment Brief 1 (2). Arts and Crafts Influence on my Metalwork.

A HISTORY OF THE KESWICK SCHOOL OF
INDUSTRIAL ART
Canon Rawnsley, champion of the Lake District and founder of the
National Trust set up the school. From 1883 he was vicar of St Kentigern’s Church, Crosthwaite, just outside Keswick. Rawnsley was a good friend of John Ruskin, whose art and writings laid the foundation of the Arts and Crafts movement. This movement developed in the middle of the nineteenth century, with a growing resistance in some parts of Victorian society to industrialisation. Ideas of ‘truth to nature’ and honest craftsmanship fed into the founding of the Keswick School.
Classes for metalwork were initially held in the Crosthwaite church parish rooms.
A grant from the County Council and private donations led to the construction of the School building in 1893.
The School prospered and swiftly developed a reputation for high quality copper and silver decorative metalwork.
The school closed in 1984
The early years of the school saw a list of rules established which carried on well into the modern period. The aims of the KSIA were stated as such:

To counteract the pernicious effects of turning men into machines without the possibility of love for their work.

To make it felt that hand-work really does allow expression of a man’s soul and self, and so is worth doing for its own sake, and worth purchasing even at some cost to the buyer.

To try to displace by hand-work the crude metal and wooden ornaments produced by steel dies and hydraulic presses.

To show that here in England an abundance of skill of hand is wasted which, if any education worth its name were given to the whole working man – to his eye, hand, heart, as well as head– could and would help England.

The early work of the School was influenced by the Celtic and Norse heritage of the Lake District and the ideas of the Renaissance. By the end of the nineteenth century, the Arts and Crafts movement began to have an influence over the School. The School reflected the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement with its focus on ‘truth to nature’ and hand crafted work. The grounds of the School were planted with flowers, trees and shrubs to ensure that observation from nature would influence design. The School went on to produce some fine work in the Arts and Crafts style.
Fine white metal caddy spoon arts & crafts Keswick school (ksia).
MY copper and pewter metalwork is also inspired by Arts and Crafts.
My torque necklaces take inspiration from the form of a lily.
I have developed my design idea further and am in the process of making various bangles in this range.
I love the hammered effect of these pieces and this is further enhanced in the pewter pieces by treating with Nitric Acid. I tested the same process with the copper but did not think it improved the finish. Luckily, Nitric Acid is easily removed by using a pickle solution or by polishing with wire wool.
Copper torque necklace. One of a range of copper bangles. Pewter torque necklace. One of a range of pewter bangles.

I will also be incorporating rivets and leather into some of my final pieces.
In some of my earlier work I have looked to nature for influences including the golden ratio. I much prefer natural curves to straight lines. I think, especially in jewellery, natural curves worn on natural curves of a body are more harmonious.
Another school of Arts and Crafts I will look to in the future is Newlyn, I have been looking at some of the work produced and a lot of their work is embossing which is something else I want to try myself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newlyn_Copper
I looked at this site but there are many more websites on Newlyn.

I really liked these bangles and lots of interest from people wanting them so I made more.

Black and White Ceramics.

Tags

DRP Criteria 3, DRP Criteria 4

Previously I began working with monochrome ceramics. Monochromatic imagery commands a different perception. With black and white, the greater contrast makes a bolder statement, creates more depth and mystique, and makes the patterns and designs more dramatic. Black and white always produces textures that appear to have more depth and crisper lines by virtue of the wider dynamic range and greater contrast. The added resolution and detail that is possible adds a hyper-realism to the subject, this is evident in B & W photography. I experimented with inlaying sliced black and white blocks into clay. Unfortunately the black did not come out black after firing.
I made some more, mixing black clay myself by adding black oxide powder to the clay. It was impossible to tell if they would turn out until after they were fired as the first one looked black before.
The new ones turned out very successful. The black is very striking which is exactly what I wanted.

I also want to try out these black and white ceramics with a small amount of colour in one area.
I found this artist who also mixed monochrome images with small amounts of colour.
Eric William Ravilious (22 July 1903 – 2 September 1942) was an English painter, designer, book illustrator and wood engraver. He grew up in Sussex, and is particularly known for his watercolours of the South Downs. He served as a war artist, and died when the aircraft he was on was lost off Iceland.[1]
Ravilious engraved more than four hundred illustrations and drew over forty lithographic designs for books and publications during his lifetime In February 1936, Ravilious held his second exhibition at the Zwemmer Gallery and again it was a success with twenty-eight out of thirty-six paintings being purchased.[9] This exhibition also led to a commission from Wedgwood to for ceramic designs. His work for them included a commemorative mug to mark the coronation of Edward VIII, which was revised for the coronation of George VI.[9] Other popular Ravilious designs included the Alphabet mug of 1937,[15] and the china sets, Afternoon Tea (1938), Travel (1938), and Garden Implements (1939) plus the Boat Race Day cup in 1938.[16] Production of Ravilious’ designs continued into the 1950s, with the coronation mug design being posthumously reworked for the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953.
Another artist who works with monochrome is Sally Hook.
Sally is an Australian ceramist who has been producing work for around 27 years. Her work is predominantly monochrome.
Both of these artists use glaze to create their decoration on their ceramics. My method is different, I make the pattern out of black clay but both methods are similar in finished products. I intend to carry on refining my method as I do not think there is anyone else doing it my way (inlaying slivers of coloured blocks that work almost like a transfer) and I would rather create unique work than copy someone elses. If my work is successful I would like to continue making these ceramics and hopefully get an exhibition.
When I make the next black and white ceramics I will also be using white porcelain clay which will give me a really crisp white to contrast with the black.