In Copper

I've been wandering about the city centre lately and have been noticing the beautiful architecture and how the buildings decay and age over time, something which always seems to inspire me. It reminded me of some objects I'd raised in copper- a very different metal from silver in how easily it tarnishes and the ways in which it does so, and so I thought I'd put up some images of the pieces in copper. It's amazing what you see in the city when you just look up.

New Designers

OK so this post is somewhat overdue but still relevant and so I'll end this month referring back to how it began- with New Designers. Our whole class made our way down to London to exhibit all together one last time at the Business Design Centre in Islington along side designers from art schools from all over the country.

The exhibits covered a range of disciplines including jewellery, textiles, ceramics and glass and it was interesting to see what everyone has spent their last year or more working on. I think everyone must have gotten something out of it as I think events like this are really inspiring if at times a little intimidating- all the more reason to continue with the hard work. I sold a couple of pieces and Anna Hegarty in my class won the Argos prize and everyone receiving interest from various people and companies. So well done everyone and all the best for the future.

Busy Summer

Oh dear, it's been a while since I last posted and my blog has been rather neglected. In the past two months I've moved home to Glasgow, graduated, been to London for New Designers and been on a wee trip round Spain- Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona and the music festival at Benicassim. And so I'm now back on home turf feeling inspired and ready to start new things. I've posted some pics from my trip. I just love the food market off the Ramblas in Barcelona. All in all it's been a busy but good summer.

Close Up

These are images of some rings based on an idea I revisited, the original ring was the one I used for my postcard. The idea was to reuse objects and pieces of old jewellery to make a new piece and one of the pieces I reused was the magnifying glass from an old watch. I liked the idea of using the magnified glass as a feature on the ring. Unfortunately I found this extremely hard to source and so in the two rings shown I have used ordinary watch glass and the lens from a geologists eyeglass. This is definitely an idea I'm going to take further, so long as I can source more lenses.

Shows over.....

Well the degree show is over but that's about it really, everything else is just kicking off. The degree show went really well and all our work was well received. I'd gotten to the point where I was a little tired of seeing my own work but hearing other peoples views and compliments refreshed my mind's eye and reminded me why I'd set out to do all this in the first place. And so, now feeling refreshed I'm set to continue and also start new things. I have a commission and a gallery is interested in exhibiting my work which are both new experiences for me and I'm quite excited about them. I'll just post a couple of pictures of my display just now which I kept quite minimal. I wanted the work to speak for itself so I displayed it upon mirrored acrylic as many of the pieces had detailing on the underside and used some of my photos on the wall which were the basis for my designs and inspiration.

Surreal...

It's nearing the end of a pretty busy and tense week and this is only the start. We all got our results this week and I'm pleased to announce that I'm now a jewellery designer and the word student isn't going to crop up quite as often now. Not only that but our degree show previews tomorrow night, it all feels very strange yet also very exciting. I'll keep you posted as to how it all goes but for now I'll sign off and just wish everyone the best of luck for tomorrow and a big congrats.

Ready for the Show

Oh dear, it's been quite a while since I last posted. Things have been really hectic of late but the works all done now and so hopefully this space won't be so neglected. The degree show is all set up now and we're currently being assessed and gearing up for the preview party on Friday. It's all really exciting and yet feels surreal at the same time. I'll just put up a couple more images for now. These are just some quick snaps of some brooches I made. Hope you're all enjoying the warm weather.

Rhythms and Beatings

Still beating the metal, so I thought I'd add a couple of pics of my bowls before they get cleaned up. It's quite interesting to see the different textures and patterns and texture that hammering the metal makes, I also find that I start a bit of a rhythm once I get into it. My fingers have been getting a bit of a beating as well recently but it's part of the process so they'll just have to toughen up. My poor hands, but I do it because I enjoy it.

Details.....

Just taking a wee minute to post some details shots of a piece I completed today. I've had to force myself to stop working on it, too much of a perfectionist perhaps. It's often the case that a piece can be overworked and the idea can be developed and used in other pieces as I guess nothing is ever really complete in art and design. I'm not posting pictures of the whole piece nor too manyof my other works as I don't want to give the game away before degree show.

Cake Friday

Just reached the end of a really hectic week- the work is set to continue over the weekend unfortunately. As much as I enjoy it there's been a little too much of it recently. However, as a treat on a Friday someone in the class bakes- we have a rota. This week it was Claire's turn and I think it was the best yet. A small round of applause for her. As you can see in the picture our studio is always full of strange found objects, think we all must be hoarders at heart. Anyway, I will hopefully find the time to post something related to my work soon. All I need is time. Have a nice weekend.

For a Friend

Just managed to grab a wee five minutes during my lunch break to add this post. Trying miserably to avoid being online much at the moment since there are so many distractions. It doesn't help much that I keep needing to order supplies to finish off my pieces.

The piece shown is a gift I made for one of my oldest friends, I haven't seen her in such a long time that I've yet to give her it. I wouldn't say this piece is particularly like my style but hopefully it has a touch. More importantly I hope it's a piece that she'll like. It was a bit tricky to make but was finished without any major setbacks and I'm quite happy with it now. Definitely a one-off though.

Work in progress...

This is a piece I've been working on lately. There's still a lot to be done as I still need to add my designs but I'm quite pleased with it so far as the silversmithing techniques I've picked up have been largely self-taught from books and videos. It's a bit daunting but I've enjoyed experimenting with the different tools and tricks of the trade. I'm also working on a larger bowl though I'm afraid the silver may be flawed, however it may just become a quirk in design of the bowl. We'll see...

Busy busy

Well this week has been a bit hectic and I'm beginning to wonder if I'll have any time for sleep. However it's been a good kind of busy and I'm really looking forward to the degree show, only a matter of weeks now.

The image above is of a ring I made of re-used objects. The gold cross is from an old earring as is the green stone, and the magnifying lens is from an old watch. I hope to make a couple more rings like this, although sourcing the watch glass has been a bit of an issue. Fingers crossed....

Starting....

Well this blog will no doubt be a bit of a challenge for me as I'm quite a private person. However it is a good opportunity to share some of my work and opinions and really just hear from others. I'm in the last couple of months of my final year of art school studying jewellery and metal work at Duncan of Jordanstone and with this comes many new beginnings. The uncertainty of which is somewhat daunting but I'm feeling positive so watch this space.