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Showing posts with the label Royal Opera House

Dancing in the dark

DANCING IN THE DARK It is quite commonplace for someone to say that they can’t draw. Whilst I agree that some individuals find it comes to them more easily than others, I take issue with those that are so quick to dismiss it as even a possibility. It saddens me to think that this avenue of creativity is closed to some, or at least, they think it is. Years of teaching design to teenagers has reaffirmed my belief that a large part of the problem is simply a lack of confidence. I don’t mean to make light of it but it really is quite amazing how quickly improvements are made once the initial barrier is broken through. I usually start students off in pairs sitting opposite each other with a sheet of paper and a pen (not pencil) in hand. The idea is to draw the person opposite in a continuous line without looking at the paper - this not only creates a room full of hysterical laughter but it also loosens everyone up and relaxes them into the task. I specify a pen as the default posit...

Silversmithing!

When I have been talking to visitors at my Open Studios exhibition they have been surprised to learn that I studied Silversmithing & Jewellery for my degree (over 20 years ago!). I thought I might share with you one of the projects I did back then and hopefully you can see how it has influenced my work today. A trip to a dress rehearsal at the Royal Opera House and an instruction not to look at the paper whilst we drew the dancers (with the aim of showing movement) led to this sketch above. Back in the workshop, I developed my sketches into wire models (I still love using wire!) and then started to forge metal pieces to convey the curve and movement of the dancers. The image above is my first attempt of a metal candlestick inspired by the dancers. I developed this further and spent many hours forging metal in the workshop in order to produce the final silver candlestick shown below. I had a very muscular right arm due to all the hammering, forging, sold...