Casting in resin ' i love it'

I spent four days experimenting with resin and silver last week.  The possibilities are endless, I was casting text, and very tiny spoons ( yes more spoons!) fabric, silver leaf, and fired porcelain.  It's not pleasant to work with though, very very smelly and sticky, and dust masks needed when sanding to a high polish, but I loved it and will definitely do more.......

"Preparing to Sell' day for Made by Hand

Just got back from a very inspiring day at Tredegar House in Newport where Sarah, from Made By Hand Wales and Contemporary Craft Fair, Bovey Tracey, put together a number of speakers to help selected makers gear up for the December show.  It was a really useful day, not only to meet some of the other exhibitors but to gain some insight into marketing, publicity and the press.  I'm totally hooked on writing press releases and finding the next publicity angle to promote my work!  Watch this space as I promise to keep my blog updated from now on!

Making, Making and more making!!!

I've been flat out making in the studio the last couple of days.  It is amazing how long fettling small slip casts takes.  Working during the day I can hear the squirrels and next doors cats playing chase across my roof.  At dusk it's the best time to watch the bats flit around the trees outside the studio.   And.... when I leave the studio, often very late at night I'm a bit worried I might come face to face with the badger my neighbour got chased by after the fallen apples!!! 

The moulds worked!!

Thankfully all the moulds were successful!!!  Here they are being filled with porcelain slip.  I am having a few problems with the spoon cast because the stem of the spoon is so thin and it clogs before enough slip can fill the mould.   However after much thought and scratching of heads, the solution came in the form of one of my kids plastic medicine syringes... injection moulding at its basic level.  Now I can fill the moulds I've just got to get the unpacking of the spoon right, I've broken them all so far!!  Why do I love spoons so much?!  There is always tomorrow..........

Somerset Arts Weeks Countdown!

What a relief... all the plaster moulds for the new range of work are now finally finished two weeks behind schedule!!  Some late nights in the studio ahead to catch up I fear.  Very excited though, the spoon moulds are particularly good, fingers crossed I can fill the moulds successfully.

I love this little mustard spoon.  I picked it up in an antique shop in Lewes, Sussex and have wanted to cast it for ages....