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.

Wheel Cutting Engine

I just thought I'd add this little vid of my Dad using his wheel cutting engine, much fun will be had with this machine (provided he lets me use it hehe), so watch this space!

'The Silver Moon' pendant, Silver, July 2008

A pendant representing the moon with a rich matt white finish and a burnished shiny edge to catch the light. I'm pleased with the smooth texture on this one, it took a bit of experimentation with the Water of Ayr stone, the barrel polisher, then whitened and burnished to finish.

'Little Buttons' Pendant, silver, July 2008

Some shapes I made whilst playing with the doming block the other day, I've been leaving things finished in the raw white state lately - it emphasizes the form more and makes jewellery really stand out when worn.

A Heavy Heart, Silver, June 2008

This pendant is based on a commission I did a while back, it's designed to look a little like a real heart, and it's heavy. You're meant to feel it all day long, a heavy heart thats always on your mind.

Winstanley, Beaumaris. c1830.

An 8 day longcase clock dial dating from about 1830. There is a clock recorded in Iorweth C. Peate's 'Clock and Watch Makers of Wales' made by John Winstanley of Beaumaris in 1820, probably the same maker, but this style of clock is a little later. As you can see from the before and after pictures it's had a light clean, the figures, signature, globes, numbers on the date wheel, seconds indicator and circles have been re-inked, and the faded gold has been re-painted. The disc indicating the moons fazes has been very lightly cleaned.

Art Deco Pendant, Silver, Feb 2008.

The pendant was designed for a friend who loves Art Deco designs, her boyfriend wanted something for her that reflected her interest in Art Deco, but that also had a modern edge.

I'm pleased with the finished pendant, it's comfortable to wear, big enough to make a statement, but not too 'over-the-top'. I included some spacers so the pendant can be worn in a few different arrangements.

The design below is one of the design models for this commission, not quite as attractive as the final design, but I thought it was worth including here.

Silver Bangle, 2008

I designed this bangle for my cousin (he and his girlfriend live in North Wales and Wigan), and he wanted something that expressed the distance (and the link) between them. I used a map of the North Wales coast and the layout of the road to create a seemingly abstract design that would have significance for the wearer.

The two lines you can see represent the coastline between Llandudno and the Wigan area, and overlaying that is the road that links the two houses.

Moses Evans, Llangernyw, c1751.

This is my latest clock dial restoration, a Welsh clock by Moses Evans of Llangernyw. The customer was keen to keep the corners original, so I just worked on cleaning, the signature, and the black and gold work. The cleaning was straight forward on the dial, but the date wheel was in awful condition – thick with hard black oil that had built up over the years. After cleaning inking in the blackwork was quite straight forward – I followed exactly what was originally on the dial, the numbers, lines, lettering and ornamentation are exactly as the original would have been. The Welsh amongst you may have noticed that Llangerniew is actually spelt Llangernyw, this often happened because many of the artists who worked on these dials were unable to read and write, often foreign (Italian) and spelled phonetically, a steady hand was more important in this job!

I’m quite pleased with the ornamentation around the date wheel window which was almost invisible because the ink had faded completely; I think it shows how ornate the dial originally was.

The following information is taken from ‘Clock and Watch Makers in Wales’ by (Iorwerth C. Peate, 3rd Edition 1975) which shows that the maker might have had three shops in different towns, or possibly moved from town to town during his career.

“Evans –
Moses. Llanddoged. 1780-1819. (North Wales Weekly News 5.9.1935). Clock (‘a fine example of Welsh craftsmanship’) dated by G.J. Mayor as ‘about 1750’ (North Wales Weekly News, 19.9.1935). L.c. clock, brass dial, at Colwyn Bay, Denb.
Moses. Llangernyw. L.c clocks at Bangor and Flint. A clock at Dolwen, Denb., has it’s case inscribed 1751. Dresser clock (No. 41) in W.F.M.
Moses. Llanrwst. L.c. clock at Llansannan, Denb.
Note. – The three last named, at Llanddoged, Llangernyw, and Llanrwst, are almost certainly the same person.”

Stokes of Bewdley Painted Dial

This is a painted dial from a 30hr Longcase clock dating from 1740/50 which I restored in January 2008. I cleaned the dial lightly, removing dirt from the scratches and revealing the true colours. The first image shows the dial half way through cleaning, and as you can see the cleaning has made the remains of the signature visible.





After the cleaning stage I re-touched any bad areas of damage; re-blacked the numbers and replaced the signature following the original lines exactly; and finally re-painted the goldwork. The second image shows the finished dial, cleaned and repaired.

Hello and Welcome!

Greetings, as you might have guessed this is a blog about my work! I will be including everything on here; work made in the past; work in progress; commissions; my own designs; my clock restoration work; and work I'd like to undertake in the future. I'll also be including anything that catches my eye, things that inspire me, and just about anything I fancy really... :-)

I'm new to blogging, I've never written one or read one, but that's about to change! Making is a solitary pursuit (I work in the shed at the bottom of the garden) but it wasn't always like that. I miss working in a shared workshop, being around other people who are geeks for metal, and generally interested in talking about design all day long. So, please leave comments, feel free to talk metalwork because I love it, and if you know of any blogs that might interest me let me know!

Thanks

Wendy