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!