MAKE: SHIFT Crafts Council conference

I spent two days last week immersed in craft innovation.

I'm really interested in the idea of collaborating; with industry, museums, science....  This was a really great opportunity to hear about makers doing exactly that: 

Matt Duran's collaboration with medical research at the Royal Free hospital in London, to create glass moulds for growing a polymer in, which provides the scaffolding for new noses. More here


Designer / Maker  Lizete Druka; project designer, Advanced Colour & Materials at Jaguar.

Sara Robertson and Sarah Taylor showed us their incredible innovative cloth that incorporates light;
made from black Holland Linen printed with a newly developed, white-scattering liquid crystal thermochromic dye, polymer optical fibres and heat sinks.  More information here

I was so inspired by Dr Sarat Babu's passion for creating new materials through new manufacturing processes.  Below are samples of architectured materials developed through selective laser sintering.  More here

Finally, I missed her talk, but am a huge fan of what Fi Scott of Make Works has achieved; an online comprehensive directory of Scottish makers, manufacturers, material suppliers and factories.   When can we have one for England!

MATERIAL LAB's Jim Biddulph writes a great blog report from the conference:
http://www.material-lab.co.uk/blog/post/makeshift-2014/

Metal under attack from the elements!

The wonders of ageing metal outside of ‘metal sheets’ metal suppliers on the outskirts of Liverpool.  These beautiful colours appear over time when metal is stored or used outside.   I’m really excited about harness these ageing processes, and using them to my advantage to create outdoor metal artworks and facades.  Watch this space…

 See my existing outdoor pieces here

A walk around Ravsted, Denmark

Today, as a little diversion from work in Ravstedhus studio, we went for a walk to see Ravsted church and its beautiful lead roof.  Also stumbled accross some very attractive plastic objects with subtle, aged green surfaces.

 An electro- etched copper sample with fine mono- print marks etched in to the surface.

And to end the day.... The best steak I've ever eaten at a local restaurant.

Enamelling weekend in Denmark

Last night, I drove myself and three enamellers, four hours SW of Copenhagen to Ravstedhus,  where we're spending the weekend, along with several other British enamellers, and Tom & Inge; Danish jeweller / enamellers.    We'll be sharing ideas, eating lovely food, and hopefully making some interesting work.

My challenge for the weekend is to learn electro-etching, and also have a play with incorporating copper in to vitreous enamel using ideas sparked by a conversation with two amazing enamellers, Phil and Sarah last night.











My work bench with copper samples ready to be electro etched and then enamelled.

 The Ravstedhus workshop this misty morning....

 The wonderful master enameller Ruth Ball at her bench.

Two days to 'Make and Think' at University of West of England in Bristol.

I was honoured to be invited to spend two days at the UWE campus this week, working with the 'Make and Think' research group, comprising teaching and technical staff from the Art department.

The theme of light was explored through playful making experimentation, structured by three workshops led by pairs of group members. The first saw us working with one particular sheet material that was assigned at random to each of us. The challenge; to push and play with the material and light.  I used tiny holes to break through my given material; greaseproof paper.  I performed this in some areas so much that the material lost its integrity and structure, and caused the surrounding paper to warp and curve in an unusual way, and in places, disintegrate to nothing.

In the second workshop, we explored the idea of containing and revealing light, using unusual materials.  This morning, in the third and last session, we used fire to create light, but also to burn, fuse, smoke and pierce the surface of a range of materials and substances.  The fuse wire proved particularly exciting....

Thanks to everyone at UWE for making the two days such an interesting creative experience.

Using lit fuse to make marks on paper.





Playing with paper and light






Fused sugar following the shape of a lit fuse embedded in a bowl of sugar.