Out and About

Out and About

Whilst out and about in the local countryside taking in the environment i passed by Jeffery Hill just outside of chipping and spotted this fantastic wooden sculpture by Halima Cassell called sun catcher, who is a local Blackburn based sculptor which i knew nothing of or even heard of the artist until that point, i quickly took the opportunity to inspect closely and take some photographs of this work and share with the world

Dolphinholme Farm Glamping Trip

Field trip to Dolphinholme Farm Camp

Before setting out to Dolphimholme i decided i was going to try and use natural materials to create a necklace or a piece of craft type jewellery with a nature theme. I took with me a few hand tools plyers 

a wrasp, a file, a pad saw, and a hand drill with the intentions of looking for small knotted pieces of wood. 

On arrival at Dolphinholme while checking out the camp i found myself down at the river not having been very successful at finding the type of bits of wood i originally had in mind, however down at the river i was drawn to the tactile nature of the pebbles, on touching and inspecting a few i discovered several different types of rock some of which had a very choky smooth feel and appeared relatively easy to cut or drill, like the stones below

Pebbles as found

Here are some of the pebbles i test drilled to see if the rock was soft enough for my hand drill

As you can see from the picture above i tried various sizes in pebbles and different diameters of holes  in the pebbles. 

I selected six stones drilled small holes in each end and linked together as a chain with steel wire to create a necklace like below

I then varnished the stones with matt varnish to give them a richer colour. The chain effect of the pierced stones appealed to me, i feel this piece could be improved upon by using smaller more carefully selected stones to give a lighter slimmer more balanced shape, also developing a alternative form of linking, possibly using manufactured chain splitting the links between the pebbles.

Induction Week 1

Day 1

Blackburn Museum Visit

On day one of induction week we all made a visit to Blackburn Museum were we was prompted to look at the objects and images around us differently not just in a historical context, more in a way of a starting point to possibly develop or just to inspire other potential work. I personally liked the industrial weaving equipment of which i took some photographs with my phone, see below

I was drawn to the combination of wood and steel side by side, the different nature of the two materials, one warm and natural and the other cold and man made yet the combination of the two works well visually which also had a nice tactile feel.

Keeping what id seen in mind i felt particularly inspired to create a something with this combination of steel and wood. When being asked to bring in found materials and objects i found a piece of rose bush wood which had twisting shape that suggested a bound and figurative shape as below

I then cleaned, trimmed and notched the back so the piece would sit on a square edged shelf or table, the figure being short of a head i decided i was going to fabricate a head out of steel in my workshop. here are the results of efforts below

I feel there could be a lot of potential in other figures with these materials and possibly other figures.