I'm splitting this into a couple of parts to stop me going on for too long (ha!).
I've so enjoyed this last week of just playing about with some ideas that have been hovering around for ages. A lot of them I think have the potential to become part of my work in the future, but as usual the problem isn't a lack of ideas but too many. At least this week I've had a chance to find out exactly how things work with each other, and I've also had a good old practise of stone-setting.
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| Plan of Action |
I was pretty organised about what to do each day, so I didn't feel overwhelmed but stuck to task. The post-its allowed me to move stuff around as necessary for a bit of flexibility though (everyone needs a bit of flexibility, right?) Each day was also given a page of ideas to try.
As usual my sketchbook was rather a list of notes and thoughts rather than actual sketches - that always seems to be the way I work - using the materials & techniques as I work with them rather than having a specific end in sight. It was a luxury to give myself permission to do this by giving myself time to experiment, rather than feel guilty about veering off track away from something different I was supposed to be doing.
Monday:
Experimenting with etching aluminium plates.
I'd done this a couple of years ago at the printmaking workshop, but wanted to try it again, and see whether it was something that could be incorporated into my work. A jeweller friend had been talking to me about dyed aluminium and it set me thinking about how plain aluminium can actually be polished up really nicely, and is light and inexpensive, so a good vehicle for larger pieces that become prohibitively expensive in silver. (Am I doing a good job of not going on?.......)
Anyway, here are what I came up with. They were etched using various resists in copper sulphate (that bright blue stuff that reminds you of chemistry lessons). If you want to find out more, there's a recipe and instructions here. I found this solution very aggressive, so you may want to water it down a bit more, or use a colder solution.
Top left had deposits of copper from the copper sulphate totally by accident (usually they're brushed off during the etching process but these stayed even through cleaning). Further work needed to repeat this as I LOVE it!
Top right was just a play about with different resists and etching, but am enjoying the use of the Spirograph appropriated from No. 2 son (a selfless Christmas gift).
Bottom right was inspired by an ink and wash of trees I did years ago and keep returning to. I think am definitely going to develop this further and hopefully develop into some larger jewellery pieces.
I had planned to move on to printing from these, but other priorites took over. It's still a plan though - I need to get some new pieces ready for the Hepworth Print Fair in March.
Tuesday:
Stone Setting Practice
At the beginning of the month, I went on a stone setting course with Penny Davis at the incomparable West Dean College. I've gone on about this place before but it really should be prescribed to all artistic type people. I went there to do it because I knew I needed imprisoning in one place for 3 days to make me persevere with a skill I've never got on with but always felt that, as a self-respecting jeweller, I should learn to do properly. Also their tutors are top-notch, and it was wonderful to be taught by someone with decades of experience. I learnt so much, not just about the stone setting, but lots of other hints and tips for working jewellers. Being largely self-taught, it's a real treat.
ANYWAY, One of the key things I came away with was that you can learn the techniques, but then it's down to practice, practice, practice. So I resolved to keep going with it while the techniques were fresh in my mind, as I have a terrible habit of being the eternal student but not capitalising on the new skills I've learned.
Here's my first bezel setting from the course:
I'd been wanting to use stones as part of my landscapes for ages, so I set it into an old silver etched piece, then set that into a bit of brass with copper I had lying about. I knew I wouldn't be selling my first stone-setting effort so that took the pressure off and I just made something I liked.
And here are a couple of things I started there and then finished off this week. Flush setting - probably not to be my thing, but a good skill to learn, and not to lose through lack of practice!
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| Etched & filed silver & copper rings with flush set Cubic Zirconia |
As you will see, I need to practise, and I'm not sure I'll be flush setting things in a row much in the future. (Rings not finished either, lest ye judge).
On Wednesday morning I'd scheduled in coffee & a natter with friends/colleagues (another new year's resolution - to build in time to see friends once a week without feeling guilty about it) and this arrived on Tuesday, so despite my plan, Weds afternoon was a bit of a write-off (but it did teach me lots about what I was planning to do later in the week, so that was alright, wasn't it?).
Part 2 next week, if I haven't forgotten everything.
