I don't really update this blog anymore...

I have noticed that a few people have stumbled across this blog lately, so I thought I would put a link up to my new blog and website so you can see what I get up to these days.

I decided to start a new blog that was purely for my own work, I might keep this as a record of commissions I do, but for now it'll be quite here.

www.wendyleahdawson.co.uk


wendyleah.tumblr.com

Thanks

:)

Lenses and some sketches

So here is the product of my evening, two lenses dismantled in pursuit of the innards! I love the puzzle of getting into these things, SO well made, each time I think I've beaten them another layer defeats me. But with a bit of improvisation I got the iris out undamaged (it had been OILED by someone in the past though!! Just shows I only pull apart the duff ones) and then those beautiful big lenses came next.

Regalia chain 'work in progress' images.

Just after starting this chain for the Mochdre Community Council Regalia I acquired a new camera, which meant that every little thing I did had to be photographed. :-D So here is an overview of the stages involved in making a chain, obviously I've missed things out - otherwise it would be pretty repetitive. In between each stage more or less the same thing happens, the silver is cooled, pickled to remove the flux, and rubbed over with a toothbrush and pumice powder to clean it up.


So to start with I needed, uuum, lots of little round links (can't remember how many!) which entails making a long spring-like spiral around a mandrel, then cutting along it's length to make the links. They they're soldered, pickled and pumiced to get them to this state.


I wanted the chain to lie flat against the wearers body, so these little links were to be squished in the jaws of the parallel pliers, then put through the rolling mill to give them a flat reflective surface (and also to flatten off the uneven shape).


Then I needed some medium sized links, not so many though this time. They were made in the same way as the small ones, soldered together, then pickled to remove the flux and put through the rolling mill. Next I cut a slit along the join to open them up again, this will allow me to slip the 'squished' links onto the round link without having to worry about re-forming the circle afterwards. They can then be re-heated and the solder will flow again closing the joint. It's THAT easy, and no I didn't swear once... no really I didn't!


Here are the 'squished' links soldered to the medium round ones, six on each except for the ends which have three and a hook to be added later.


Next step was to make the large oval shapes, this was done by making large round links the same size, they were then soldered together to make the forming of the oval easier. After some fiddling with a jig, and some tweaking by eye, I had eight ellipses more or less the same.


The large ovals after being soldered and pickled, ready to be flattened in the rolling mill, again to give them a more reflective profile.


The large ovals after they've been through the rolling mill and cut open again ready to be assembled.


The last bit of assembly and soldering - it's easy to loose concentration and solder the wrong bits together here!


The finished chain, in all it's shiny glory after being pickled, pumiced and polished. :-) I've found this quite useful, who knows, if I'm organised enough to actually have the camera in the workshop with me next time there might be more where this came from!

'Passing of Time'

Winner of the Niagara Falls Casting Prize awarded by the British Art Medal Association, this bronze medal is heavy to represent the passing of time weighing heavily on our minds. The man in the image is on a train, biting his nails in the blurred 'double vision' reflection in the window. Train travel is like time travel - the hours slip by with the miles, leaving us with nothing but our thoughts.

Mochdre Community Council Regalia

This is Mochdre Community Council's Regalia, I've just finished making it and handed over earlier today, it was designed by a local schoolboy. It's made from Sterling Silver and is oxidised to emphasise the details.


The front of the medal shows Llangwstennin Church, Constantine (reflecting Mochdre's roman past - hence the name 'Cystennin') and the swan is taken from the Swan Buildings, which although it doesn't seem much today is one of the oldest buildings in Mochdre, it stood on the main road - the 'Old Highway', and was probably a coach house/inn. The little boy that designed the medal originally included a lot of other ideas, but I think this captures the main things he was interested in.


Sheffield Assay Office did the laser marking for me, and I love the way it turned out.


Lastly the hallmark reads like this:

• The mark on the left is my makers mark (WLD)
• 925 is the silver standard.
• The rose is the Sheffield Assay Office's mark
• The lion denotes Sterling Silver
• The K is the year (2009)
• The Dragon is specifically for work made in Wales.

This has been a long project because I've had so much going on (working in the theatre, teaching, doing my PGCE and trying to do other commissions along the way), people laugh at me - 'you're STILL working on that medal?!' but that's how it's gone. I was in need of a run of solid workshop days to finish it, and I just never get that. Having said that it has allowed me to think things through in great detail at each stage, the only part I've struggled with is making someone else's design - I would have tweaked the design so much during the making process that it wouldn't have looked anything like the original design if it were mine!

I'd love to do another one to my own design, something less restrictive that I can pour myself into. Maybe I will - to see what it could have been! A piece of regalia for some made-up society, laden with symbolism that means everything and nothing. Hmmm, can you tell my mind is bursting with ideas (good AND bad) now that I'm free of this commission! :-) That's not to say I haven't enjoyed it at all, in fact I'm really grateful that they asked me to make it, I've just been looking forward to getting stuck into my own work again.

So for now I'll be dreaming about my next project - working on some work that will hopefully be included in an exhibition in South Wales next year with an astronomy/time/cosmos theme, I'll share my ideas as they progress on here. One free evening I would also like to sit down and write up the process I went through when making this medal, and think about what I could have done to make it a better/quicker process. I've taken some step-by-step pictures of the chain as I was making it (acquired a new camera just at the right time!) so I'll post those as well in the next few days.

So, it's finished and I'm happy. Things go through my mind whilst working on a piece, this one has been filled with thoughts of family, memories, a sense of my place in this town and history, but most of all my Aunty Sue who has done so much for Mochdre over the years, she is missed.

One thing bugs me - there should be a clock on it!

Freesia Necklace

'Droplets' necklace

I just enjoyed making this one, nice for a change to spend time on a necklace rather than a pendant. The links are hammered with a texture that catches the light well, and it has a clasp that is designed to blend in with the overall look of the piece.

Silver Pendulum Pendant

A 'pendulum' pendant forged from thick silver, with a smooth mirror finish front and a hammered reverse. I've got a bit of a fascination with pendulum shapes and weighty shapes at the moment so there might be more along these lines to follow.

Homing Pigeon Brooch. Silver, steel, computer bearing.

This brooch trembles with the movements of the wearer. The birds are taken from sketches of Plate 169 'Homing Pigeon' in Eadweard Muybridge's 'Animals In Motion'. I used oxidised silver to distinguish the birds from doves, and kept the wires short so they tremble as opposed to swing, a more suitable form of movement for a small bird.

Welsh Love Spoon, Iron Wire and Eggshell, 2003.

This is an interpretation of a Welsh Love Spoon. The fragile binding wire structure set against the half eggshell is a representation of the fragility of love, and the cage like structure of the handle cupping the eggshell symbolises the protective element of relationships. When there is a pair of spoons it is possible to see the heart that they represent.

Bird Rings. Silver, steel and recycled computer parts.

Part of the Eadweard Muybridge series, simple silver bands with bearings from a computer hard drive mounted on the top holding the birds, which spin and move above and around the hand. A conceptual series of work that took further inspiration from Alfred Hitchcocks 'The Birds' - do you remember the main advertisement poster in which Tippi Hedren had her hands in the air with birds circling above?

Running Man Bangle, Silver.

'Running Man' bangle inspired by Eadweard Muybridge's images capturing humans in motion. The bangle is made entirely from sterling silver, with each running man pierced from 0.5mm sheet, then hardened, shaped and polished before being rivited onto the bangle.

Anticythera Pendant, fine silver and enamel, July 2009.

A fine silver and enamel pendant inspired by the Anticythera Mechanism, the layered colours are Kingfisher Blue and Elf green, and are really vibrant. I'll be using more of these transparent enamels over the summer now that time is allowing me to experiment and the comissions are out of the way!

Lois's bridesmaids jewellery

Three polished silver butterflies, slightly curved with silver tendrills hanging down, mounted on silver snake chains. They were made as a brides gift to her bridesmaids, and needed to match her wedding theme of butterflies. Hopefully a design that can be worn on any occasion, and that will be a lasting memento. Here are a few of the other designs that were for this commission:

Silver and CZ ring

More dabbling with settings, this one went perfectly when I was making it - probably thanks to a brilliant book called Creative Stone Setting by John Cogswell. I've used stone setting books before and they always seem to be a bit dry and factual, but this book is full of practical tips, anecdotes and humour, useful and entertaining! Anyway, one of his tips was to use the reverse action pliers to clamp the wire together whilst soldering the opposite joint - what a revelation! I used to wire everything together and solder all the joints at once (doomed for failure more often than not) but this method is perfect and much less frustrating!

So, I loved making it, not so sure about the finished piece - next time I'll refine the prongs, make everything a little more slender and then maybe I'll be happy. I'm full of ideas for the next one now so watch this space...

Amethyst ring

A large Amethyst cab set onto a hammered finish silver ring. Probably a bit too oversized to wear comfortably but it was quite a satisfying ring to make!

Daffodil Earrings, Silver, 2008.

A comission I've just finished, some daffodil earrings using a similar wire technique to a bangle I made for the same customer. I'm pleased with the final result, and will probably use this technique again.

Silver and Peridot ring, Sept 2008.

I've had a great afternoon in the shed, and this is the result! I wanted to try a really simple modern setting for a large faceted stone which I'll hopefully develop into a range in the near future. I'll call this a model for now because there are still changes I'd like to make, but so far so good.

I really am going to have to ask Alan for some photography tips because this picture doesn't show you the lovely green Peridot colour at all.

Archibald Sliman, Cumnock, 1837-50

An 8 day, 2 weight longcase clock with anchor escamement, made by Archibald Sliman between 1837-1850. I've only really lightly cleaned this dial and re-inked the numbers, but I thought I'd post it because it has an interesting layered look after various restoration jobs. I think that the painting at the top is original, but the corner paintings have been added at a later date (the rose and foliage is quite poorly done in comparison to the top), along with the maroon decoration around the edges. These areas have subsequently been painted with an ageing varnish, but for some reason they've chosen to keep the dial area free from varnish. The central area has been covered with gold leaf and then varnished also. I wonder if this is a relatively modern restoration job, gold leaf used like this is a new fashion, I wonder what they were covering underneath?

Mochdre Council Regalia - Wording

I finished cutting this out yesterday and thought I'd put a quick image up here. The medal was designed by a boy from Ysgol Cystennin, I'll post an image of the winning design alongside the medal when it's finished.

'Mochdre Is A Team' was drawn out using Adobe Illustrator, then printed and fixed to the metal for piercing. It took about three hours to cut out, and is a bit fragile at this stage because I used 0.5mm silver. When it's soldered to the back plate I can start deburring and polishing.