metal is clay

She said “yes!”. It’s such a joy and a privilege to be asked to make that special ring—and this was an intriguing project right from the start: our bride-to-be had chosen her diamonds, was totally ready to have her custom betrothal band commissioned, and wanted to have no part in the design process. Just wow! The whole idea of that made me smile so much - how exciting would that be? Just waiting for that shiny surprise… 1 4k Palladium white gold cast betrothal band, with 3 princess-cut diamonds. Christine Pedersen, 2018.  Presented in hand-made ring-box, designed and built by Kelo Designs of Calgary. Kudos to Alex, the groom-to-be, for leading this wonderful task, and giving me some really good ideas about what Ali didn’t like—that was such a strong way to start a design process for you both. And cheers for the family brainstorm where I got to know Ali more as a person through all of you: we imagined what sort of ring we might create—something that could fit her per...

“Sorry it was so much bother” “Don’t worry about it, everything I do is bother!” I like to bother about stuff, that’s my day-job: dream, design, then make. Hundreds of small steps and details to bother about, on the way to something new. Along the way, I repair a lot of my own stuff. My friend and neighbour is a: “Please look after my dog” “Who wants cake and mojito’s?” - kind of neighbour. And he broke a favourite belt. It wasn’t expensive, but it is quite lovely: supple, dark Italian leather, with a cast buckle that delivered all the strain of bending over after a big dinner onto a tiny plate of who-knows-what cast metal that is - was - less than 1mm thick. Poor design. Why not just buy another belt? Maybe he should have—but it’s the principle… W e can mend things, and I could share a little happiness by drilling two holes and swinging a hammer to set 2 fat new rivets through a serious piece of scrap brass—that belt now has 5.7mm of quality metal to take the strain. A qui...

Artists write stories about their work all the time, and the greatest joy is when that story becomes important to another person.  This project was about creating a piece of fan-art for a client (DP) based on their love of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter stories. DP approached Jeff de Boer because he needed to commission a very special golden snitch sculpture: the body would become an opening engagement ring-box. DP had a very special proposal in mind, and the snitch was to play a key part. Jeff and I do not usually make snitches. Jeff is a renowned metal artist and teacher, famous for creating armour for cats and mice , and collected world-wide. Jeff also has an ever-increasing body of large-scale public art projects (…with lots of news to come in 2016!). His web-site is a magical place, full of stories made real. I am an emerging metal and clay artist whom Jeff is mentoring - particularly in the skills of chasing and repoussé - and these skills were to be at the core of makin...