The workshop sketchbook

 The workshop sketch book lives in the workshop..it never goes out and never takes a trip to anywhere, like an old friend it sits waiting on my desk...recording my last thoughts and tests. Keeping a record of sizes, ideas, thoughts and paper patterns I might need again.

It is there to refer to and it’s fellow elders sit inside my desk waiting to be referenced when needed.

Each page has a figure or interesting snippet cut out from an old book or magazine, so I never turn over the page to a blank white starting point. I do at least 10 pages ahead…all ready…and I keep a look out for other characters who who be appropriate.

My work space

 My workshop isn’t very big, 7 foot by 7 foot. Luckily everything I make and collect is small.

The window sills are piled up with my cabinets of curiosity.

I trained in jewellery and silversmithing at the RCA and the layout of the bench was similar to what I have now. A table with a bench peg, all my tools at arms length and my “hearth” for soldering, and to my left a table for my sketch book and half completed work. The large sketch book lives on this table and the small book goes with me everywhere.

The chair I sit on is a low chair I fished out of a skip from a clinic in Lambeth..(designed for children and nursing mothers). 

This is the space I dreamt of as a child.

The importance of collecting.

 https://a1scrapmetal.blogspot.com/

A very important part of my  work involves collecting  small metal objects from car boot sales and charity shops.

Third year workspace Alsager 1983

 I did my B.A at Crewe and Alsager.  The course was a new Craft degree , so we had the advantage of not having a second and third year to look to. Which I enjoyed as we could make it up as we went along. I pretty much had the metal workshop to myself, as it was a combined studies course and most went for textiles or ceramics. 

Fluff Collecting

I made these on my year out between Alsager and the RCA. I went to Swindon to work in the Jolliffe Studio above the Wyverne theatre. I was trying to make new work for an exhibition in Stafford..which I really wasn't ready for. These are all different types of FLUFF collectors, pocket, trouser turnups and belly button fluff. Mail Artists send me samples of fluff from arund the world. (that wasn't a pleasant thing to recieve in some cases.).

more strange scissors..

A selection of strange scissors I made to cut, pierce and crimp paper for Mail Art purposes.
I made them by forging thinh steel rods...but I had a lot to learn about forging!
The small ones were so dainty, so I called them "ladies edge crimpers".
N.B..never try and record your work in strong sunlight..most of the early pictures are taken from slides and are the only record I have.

Drawing "module"

As part of my degree we had to do a sort of "drawing module"..now, I do love drawing, but I didn't see it as a separate thing to my making..so I got a bit shirty and decided to make dip pens and make scratchy marks with them and call that drawing (I had discovered I loved being in the metalwork room room and nothing could get me out of there easily)...All the objects above are my attempt to make pen nibs, using forged steel, nickel silver and brass rivets. I tried various ways to make ink reservoirs so I could draw for a long time without having to re-dip the nib. Joining other metals to steel proved trickier than I expected and I ended up breaking a lot of very fine drill bits as I wanted to connect them together with very fine copper rivets.

Both the pens above were made with two pieces of forged stell, held together by strips of wood and wire, the ones comes in a boxed set complete with blotting paper cleaning tools (as the steel soon went rusty if left).Fig A
The scissors, Fig C, were also forged and were for making holes in envelopes..more Mail Art influence.