A ‘Monday morning’ Make this week, sometimes I’ve found it’s nice to get them done and dusted early on. It’s a way of starting the week on a creative high, it also get’s it off my mind, clearing plenty of space in my head for thinking about my business – I’ve been doing plenty of that lately.
So this week I took part in one of our very last MasterCraft classes, we’ve decided to run them until the end of this year, however due to a reduction in bookings we’ve sadly had to make the decision to stop them. However they will not be forgotten, so watch our website for brand new taster classes on weekends.
Our second to last MasterCraft class was being taught by our onsite jeweller Kathryn Arbon. Kate has been a great mentor to me from the start or my creative career, giving me valuable advice and support in starting out as a maker and working with metal. She was also my tutor at college on my Silversmithing BTEC, it was great fun being taught by a friend from Walford Mill.
During her two hour class this Monday, myself and the other students had the opportunity to manipulate and reinvent our old, broken silver jewellery to produce new items to wear. We learned simple techniques with hammers and saws to make changes to rings, earrings, pendants and bracelets, and then used Kate’s torch to solder different pieces together resulting in entirely new pieces of jewellery.
I didn’t have much odds and ends of silver jewellery when I looked through my collection, although I did find an old ring and a broken brooch that was my grandmothers.
The brooch was very dirty, but featured an elegant filigree leaf and flower. I decided I wanted to separate these two pieces and solder the flower to an old ring. I started by sawing off parts of the brooch that surrounded the detailed flower, I then filed away the sharp bits I couldn’t remove. After this, I removed the stone from the ring by filing the edges of the setting and then pushing the stone out – I’ve no idea what stone it was, it pinged across the room and is no doubt lost somewhere between the aged floorboards of the Mill never to be seen again.
Once I’d filed and finished the pieces, I soldered the flower to the ring – it was a difficult mission to join the two metals which probably meant I was trying to join fine silver to sterling silver, in the end I asked Kate to do it for me as the class was coming to an end.
Although quite flowery and girly and still in need of a clean, I do like my ring – it’s a typical ‘Caroline’ piece, using the natural world and a bit of ‘pretty’ as inspiration.
So that’s it, week 48 done and dusted! They seem to be flying by even quicker now it’s all drawing to a close, I have no doubt the last 4 will be gone before I know it. Items are coming in for my ‘Ready Steady Make’ at the end of the year – if you weren’t aware, I’ve asked 26 people to provide 2 things (anything they like), and during the last week of the year, week 52, I’ll be working in the gallery at Walford Mill creating my final Make from all 52 items…… possibly a bit of a crazy mission, but I had to end with some kind of extravaganza!
Next week, a final one for the kids that come to the Mill, I’ll be creating the all important ‘festive decorations’ with the students in my Craft Club. The class is next Saturday from 2.30-3.30pm and we’ll all be getting in the Christmas spirit!
