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.
