New Etching Artwork Designs

I've just completed the artwork for some new etching. These will be photo-etched in brass & copper then used for my greetings cards. I thought it was about time I introduced some new designs to the range although the old favourites do still seem to be popular. I'm really looking forward to getting the first batch of metal versions delivered in the next few weeks.....

SALE ENDS SATURDAY

*******SALE*******

I have decided to continue my little 'sale' at the studio until this weekend. Although it feels like it's been going on too long....because of the awful start to the year with the ice & snow I thought I'd carry on for a few more days. I'm itching to have a move around and put out my Valentine display next week.

There are still some bargains to be had... £5 items of jewellery....cards @ £1....pictures @ £10 & £25...

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Rowan leaf commission

I've just completed this metalwork plaque commission this morning. This piece is to celebrate the imminent birth of baby 'Rowan' for some very good customers.

I saw-pierced the leaf in brass & then textured the surface with a punch to impress 'veins'. This was then soldered onto a copper background & took several attempts to get the right colour as it was quite a large piece of metal.

I hope they will be pleased with the results.....

Torquil Ceramic workshop part 2

Last Saturday was the second part of the Torquil pottery workshop in Henley in Arden. This time we were decorating our creations with oxides & glazes before leaving them in the capable hands of Carey Moon & Jayne Lucas for firing. I can't wait to see the finished articles! I just hope they survive in the kiln OK?

It's been a lovely experience to work with the paper clay & meet some really interesting people. I also took the opportunity to purchase some more pieces from Jayne for the gallery. These will be on display very shortly.

Printing with Sue Brown

On Friday last week I went over to see my friend Sue Brown in her lovely garden studio in Cheltenham. Although I did not do any printing on this occasion, I've made a set of 4 'plates' to use next time. These were created using a combination of tile cement, wallpaper & pva glue! It was great just to see Sue as she is always so inspired which I hope rubs off a little on me.... I'm going back in March to have a go at printing them.

New jewellery patterns

Today I've been working on my new jewellery 'masters' in the bunny studio. Duke the rabbit was very happy as I had the heater in there so he probably thought it was spring!

This is the first stage of production so they are not finished yet - cleaning & filing to be done, then moulds made...

Watch this space to see more details in the next few weeks.

Sorry that the studio has been closed this week so far...

Tim will be opening tomorrow (friday) & Saturday then back to normal next week.

Source book inspiration

I'm trying to keep myself busy.........

So this evening I've finished off one of my 'source books'. I've produced these sort of scrap books since college so I have quite a library of them now! Unfortunately there never seems to be enough time to devote to doing them these days and the pile of cards, photos, magazine cut outs just seems to grow & grow......

This year I'm going to make a real effort to sort out some of the paper!

It's really amazing when you look back at things from years previously & then find inspiration from different elements.

What I really need is a whole room to devote to this project so I could spread all the stuff over a wide area & select the images which go together.....yes in an ideal world.....

These are just a few of my favourite pages from the most recent book:

GRUMBLE sadly missed

Yesterday was very hard as we said goodbye to Grumble our dear friend for 20 years.

She was a very strong character which many friends & family will know & have scars to prove it!! Grumble sadly passed away yesterday evening at home with us - I think she had just had enough. The house seems very empty without her & it's going to take some time to get used to not seeing her around....

She had a long & happy life and I'm glad that we were able to share it with her for so many years.

Torquil Pottery Workshop

I had a great day on Saturday taking part in a ceramics workshop at Torquil Pottery in Henley in Arden. I had booked the course as a Christmas present to myself. I thought working with clay would make a nice change from hard metal surfaces! I was most interested in the work of Jayne Lucas (who I stock in the studio). She uses something called paper clay which is basically a paper pulp mixed with a powder clay, then mixed with water. The paper obviously burns off during firing. The mixture gives great flexibility to the material.

The first piece I made was a 2D bird plaque inspired by Lisa Larson. I used some of my etched metal pieces to create patterns in the paper clay surface.

Then I surprised myself by doing some 3D vessels! With these pieces I have embossed the patterns into the paper clay surface before rolling the piece up to form a cylinder. I then 'squashed' it to make more of an oval shape & attached a base.

So these are being left to dry for a week & then next Saturday we will decorate the pieces with glazes! I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished results....

METALWORK COURSE

The past few day's I've been in discussion regarding running a metalwork course in the Cotswolds later in the year. This has now been finalised & you can now go ahead a book a place. I have specified that the number of participants be redistricted to 10 so places are limited! Take a look at the website for more information......

www.cotswold-artstudio.com

http://www.cotswold-artstudio.com/sharonmcswiney.asp

Date for your diary.....

October 23rd & 24th

10am - 4.30pm

Condicote Village Hall nr Stow on the Wold

New jewellery designs

So yesterday I was at home again...managed not to get distracted by Ebay & did designs for some new pieces of jewellery. I'd had some rough sketches done for a while but have now finalised the designs a bit more. I find the pieces develop as you start to make them up in metal so I'm never completely sure of the final design.

I think these creatures will fit into my current ranges quite well. Frogs always seem to be a popular motif & the squirrel is just a bit bonkers! I thought the swan would be good for Worcester as we have so many on the river here. These will all be brooches but I'll also make the smaller frog design as earrings. I plan to make the puffin which I did in the autumn last year as a larger version for a brooch as I've had a couple of requests.

Watch this space for further developments....I plan to start the metal versions today.

Badge Bonanza!

Following on from the buttons.......

After some searching of the attic & garage mum finally located my badge collection from the 70s & early 80's. I'm not sure how I obtained all these sports badges as I'm not keen on anything too athletic now!!! Looks like some of them might have been through the washing machine????

I think these must have been my mum's??

Very retro!

Always a cat fan...

Sue Firmin Artwork

Yesterday Sue Firmin delivered my fabulous painting which I'd purchased at her recent exhibition at Number 8 in Pershore 'Where Land Meets The Sea'. This exhibition has now finished but you can view Sue's work on her website http://www.suefirim.co.uk/

I'm really pleased with the piece & I'm hoping to add to the collection in the near future!