A few gentle days on the water

I have realised that one of the things that I enjoy about blogs, is seeing the landscapes and adventures of my fellow bloggers around the world. Wether it is the view from their window, or a trip that they took, it's wonderful to be transported to places new.

Now I am very lucky, my parents own a beautiful narrow boat called Moon Daisy (after the huge Oxeye daisies that used to grow along the canal in Yorkshire where my mother grew up.) They had her built, and she arrived just a handful of weeks after my first child. My children's childhoods have been full of trips on this boat, and my oldest boy who is now nine, is already a competent boat handler, he can start her up, cast her off, and drive her beautifully. Now he's getting bigger and stronger, he can open the gates and the locks too. 

At half term, my parents, my boys and I, set out from our mooring to venture a little way along the Thames, and then off up a little National Trust owned canal called the Wey Navigation. Its beautiful and rural, and the sunshine came along with us.

I think it's impossible not to relax on a narrow boat. Speeds are limited, the boat chugs along at slow speed, and you can feel urban life's faster pace slip away. It's wonderful to all be together without having anything to do except be together.

Spring time on the canal means ducklings and goslings, being woken by birdsong, an abundance of Mayflies landing on the water, and fat ducks gorging themselves on them. We saw Herons, and Cormorants, and on the Thames a gull catching a huge fish. There were cows, and horses, and two wild deer close to the bank unfrightened by the slow moving boat. As I keep chickens, I am not a fan of foxes in my garden, but to see two beautiful healthy ones rooting about in a shady wooded dell was quite magic.

Spring has come late this year, but everything is lush and abundant. The leaves on the trees, the tall Cowparsley, the fields full of golden Buttercups

Whenever I am on the water, I feel the pull to live near it. I could imagine myself in any of these little old Lock Keeper's cottages.

It wasn't all sunshine, we had a day of rain too, but we pulled on our waterproofs, and had a good excuse to light the little wood burner inside.

I don't think it will be long now before the boys can manage the boat entirely on their own, I will just be able to sit back, relax, and watch the world slip by.

Aquamarines and Moonstones

The sun went behind clouds just when I needed to take pictures of my stock of stones for a customer planning some commissions. It doesn't show these beauties at their best. "

The Perils of Photo Etching!

Today I decided to have a day off making, but as I am not very good at 'resting', I decided to fiddle with some etching that needed doing. While my silver melts away in nasty chemicals, I decided to do a little technical blog post (most unlike me), on the dastardly subject of photo etching.

Those of you that know my work, know that I like to use text on my pieces. In fact I would do so much more often if it wasn't such a pain. How can there be so many ways for it to go wrong? 

Now there are all sorts of ways to apply text to silver. You can use steel letter stamps which you hit with a hammer to strike a mark (not my thing), you can take it to someone for it to be hand engraved, as trust me I have done an engraving course and I cant see me managing to engrave decent lettering on something myself in the next 50 years! They will probably do this at great expense, here in London a hand engraved Initial is £10 - £15! They can do your engraving by machine, either a hand held one, which I have yet to see good results with, or they can do it with a machine linked to a computer.

Now, I like to add my text by etching into the silver, because I can set it all up, and supposedly control it myself, and I can do it here, at home while I get on with other work. Here is how it is done... (and how it can go wrong!)

First of all, you type your text on the computer and print it out on acetate.

Then in a dark room, you use a light box to expose the text on to some special photo sensitive film.

Use some very, very fine sandpaper on your silver, and thoroughly de-grease the metal so it is perfectly clean. Look out: If you don't do this effectively, then the film will not adhere and the process will not work.

Peel the see through backing off the film and place it on the silver. Burnish it into place, using a hair dryer as a heat source. Beware: The film gets very brittle at this point, so take care that it does not crack. If it does you have to remove the film and start again.

It should look like this. Remember: The film has a see through layer on the top too. Its really important  you remember to remove that bit too. I have forgotten before, and then wondered why the 'acid' is not etching into the metal. Doh! Next you have to put this into a solution of washing soda. This removes the film from the area you want to etch (the text), and exposes bare silver. Look out: At this stage, the film can bubble and warp, and you might have to start all over again! Rubbish!

Thoroughly dry the piece. Use tape to mask the silver so no metal is exposed. Beware: If you forget to mask the back, the acid will eat into it, and your pendant would look an awful mess. 

This taped bit, has been attached to a bit of polystyrene, so it can float upside down in the etching solution I use which is Ferric Nitrate. The way Ferric Nitrate etches is to eat the silver away and the particles fall down to the bottom of the solution. If you are using Sulphuric Acid to etch, that works by bubbles coming off the silver and rising up, traditionally a feather is used to stroke the residue away from the area being etched with sulphuric! The most ideal way to use Ferric Nitrate is with a bubble tank. It warms the solution so it works faster, and also the bubbles remove the residue so you get an even etch. I don't use a bubble tank, so intermittently, I remove my piece from the solution and run it under the tap / give it a brush with a soft toothbrush to remove bits. I can also sit my container of Ferric Nitrate in a bowl of hot water to warm it.

Take your nasty chemical, and your safety gear. In a world following best Health and Safety procedures, you would use a pinny, a full face mask in case of splashes, industrial gloves, an extractor fan, as you can see there is not a great deal of that in evidence here. Just my trusty marigolds which often get removed as the best way to check the depth of your etch, is to run your nail across the text to feel if the silver has been eaten away. 

Suspend your silver upside down in the acid, check it intermittently to remove residue, and after some time you should hopefully have a nice bit of etching. 

The time taken to etch still seems a mystery to me. At the minute it's taking about 3 hours with my current cold solution - heat and age of solution make a difference. Sometimes with warm Sulphuric you can be all etched in 20 minutes. Ferric etches slowly and cleanly, Sulphuric - quicker with more 'bite', leave it too long and it over etches and your text will have jagged edges. 

Check the depth with your finger nail, or they say with a pin, but that doesn't work for me. When it feels deep enough, clean off all the blue film, and hope that you were right about the depth, as if it is too shallow, you have to start the process all over again!

Here's what you should have now. If you look at the bottom of this piece, you can see some of the solution did manage to seep under the tape at the edge. I always allow some wastage when I'm etching something. I etch a piece first and cut it out afterwards, rather than work on small disks or pendant shapes.

And these are some of the pieces I have made with photo etched text.

Now... better get off and check the bits that I am etching now. Fingers crossed!

5th May

Meet the Maker Post

Borrowed from the Made In Bristol Website, layout messed up by me!

Today's Meet the Maker is Charlotte Bezzant - the super talented 

jeweller from London.  Over to you Charlotte:

Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about 

your work? 

My name is Charlotte. I make jewellery in silver. Sometimes 

I like to include solid silver casts of little bits that have 

inspired me, like twigs and shells, in my jewellery. 

Sometimes I etch little phrases that I have scribbled in my 

sketchbook or have heard. I am inspired by all sorts of things, 

and make jewellery that I like to wear. 

Apart from creating things what else do you do? 

As well as making jewellery, I am a mum to two boys 

(in fact jewellery making has to fit round their lives). I run 

marathons (but not this year!), grow my own vegetables, 

and keep chickens in my London garden. 

When did you know you were an artist/maker? 

I have always known! Back in the sixties my mum studied 

Three Dimensional design, and my dad trained as an 

Architect. I grew up in a house where drawing and making 

things were part of everyday life. I genuinely feel that 

doing something creative is as necessary to me as breathing. 

What do you love most about working in your chosen 

discipline? 

I just really enjoy making things; so to translate something 

that inspires me, into something I want to wear brings a 

smile to my face. Some of my happiest times are when 

I am in my garden studio, the sun steaming in, the doors 

flung wide, and the birds singing, while I am busy making. 

Where does your inspiration come from? 

It can come from anything, but normally somewhere I have 

visited. The work in Made in Britain came about after an 

amazing trip to the Arctic wilderness. The glittering ice 

and snow was breathtaking and beautiful. The little twig 

incorporated in the work was plucked from the snow in 

-20 degrees. The words were scribbled in my sketchbook 

after coming inside to escape the ice that formed on your lashes. 

Describe your studio or workspace? 

I have the most amazing purpose built studio in my garden. 

I've already mentioned how I love working there in the Summer, 

but I also love it when the rain is drumming on the roof, 

or when it's frosty outside. It's well insulated so I am always 

snug and warm. One side looks out on my veggie patch, the 

other on my chickens, it white, and bright, and it's my own little sanctuary! 

If you could peek inside the studio of any artist, designer 

or craftsman (dead or alive), who would it be? 

I am a nosy wotsit, and love looking in all creative spaces. 

I cant pin myself down to one name, but I would pick a mixed 

media artist so I could gawp at fabrics and found treasures. 

How would you describe your creative process? 

Something I have seen will inspire me. I might be able to 

scribble in a sketch book straight away, or it might be 

something that sits at the back of my mind for months, 

waiting for me to work out where I'm going with it. 

Sometimes I just buy gemstones. Some shout at me, and 

I have to have them, then I will make a ring that's just right 

for that particular stone. 

What handmade possession do you most cherish? 

Right now it's a little canvas of Cherry Blossom on blue sky, 

painted by my seven year old for Mother's day. 

What do you when you are stuck in a creative rut? 
It hasn't happened yet, but it could be a good excuse for an 

inspiration seeking holiday! 

Where would you like to be in ten years?

I can't possibly think that far ahead. Right now I think 

I am lucky indeed to be able to do something that I love, 

that some other people also like it enough to buy, and that 

it can fit round my family so I can always be there for my boys.

Thank you Charlotte! We all have serious studio envy!  

You can find Charlotte's beautiful pieces of jewellery 

in ourMade in Britain shop until June 2013.

Made in Britain shop is now OPEN!

Mon - Sat: 10am - 6pm

Sun:  11am - 5pm

Quakers Friars, Cabot Circus, Bristol

April 'Family' necklaces

This month I have made three Family necklaces. They are often commissioned as Birthday gifts, sometimes with lots of members of a family clubbing together to buy them. I love doing them, as they are often made for special occasions - big birthdays, anniversaries, or sometimes to commemorate special things. Heres a little peep at the most recent ones...

This one has such a tiny group portrait in it, daddy and two children. Even though the photo is just under 1cm across, the details are so clear.

Lots of friends got together to commission this one for a 50th birthday. No humans on this one, just a much loved dog! (Extra long 60cm chain.)

Finally, someone gave a gift voucher to their friend for one of these necklaces. She took months deciding what to put on it. In the end this one has one photograph, and three tags which read 'live, laugh, love'. It is to commemorate her special friend who died far too young. It is always deeply moving when I am asked to make necklaces that are special reminders like this, but a lovely way to keep a lost one close. I have decided to show this one before the photograph was set in place.

Seashells and memories

So dear neglected blog... 2013 has been a difficult year for me so far, with not enough energy for all things, so the blog was left to rest for a while. But now, as the sun comes out to warm us after a long and cold winter, I feel warmed; feel a little of my zest is returning; am enjoying a burst of creativity that is making me feel alive.

Earlier in the year, I had some teeny tiny seashells cast in solid silver. They were just four different ones from a handful I found on Shell Beach in Dorset. Shell Beach is a National Trust Beach, between Studland and Poole Harbour. Every year, my parents and my boys have a week camping adventure in that gorgeous part of our country. However, if you recall, last Summer was not really much of a Summer. Cold rainy days, waterlogged ground, floods. Our usual little old fashioned campsite was partly closed, and mainly deserted. Only fools would brave camping in that weather. The day we walked on Shell Beach was typical of the Summer of 2012. Cardis and kagouls were required, and our feet, bare for paddling, were frozen from the wet sand, and the sea that hadn't had chance to warm up. The wind was wild and chilly, and we had to turn our heads to stop the fine pale sand from stinging our eyes, but we passed a happy hour wandering the tideline and finding the tiniest of shells.

I obviously knew I was going to make some jewellery with the castings, but I didn't know what I would make, and when the shells arrived back from being cast, they were left to one side, my spirit was broken for a while, due to some personal stuff, and I didn't have the inclination to work with them. My energy was needed elsewhere.

As I was working on some etching for commissions, I took the opportunity to etch some words I had scribbled in my sketch book ages ago. Here is one of the tags.

The day I took that photo, I had had a meeting with the owner of a lovely little local independent gift shop, who had admired my work and asked me to create some pieces for her shop. That boost, the sunshine, and digging the lovely aquamarines and moonstones out from my stash, helped my fog clear a little. A picture of what I wanted to do with the shells was beginning to emerge in my mind.

Squeezing working with the shells, between commissions that had been backing up, I started playing around and came up with these pieces.

The shells were beautiful enough, that they spoke for themselves. I love things on small scale, necklaces with tiny elements that move, and this, like nearly everything I design, was a necklace that I would truly enjoy wearing.

Finally, I used one of the tags, with aquamarines, and apatites, to make a necklace that quite simply is made for me. Perfect. (But difficult to photograph!)

...oh, and then today, there were some tiny stud earrings.

I'm still fizzing with some more ideas, and have some different tags etched too, so I'm not quite done yet, but it's been brilliant feeling inspired and alive. Designing and creating. And making a new little collection that I am really happy with.