Rowan leaf commission

I've just completed this metalwork plaque commission this morning. This piece is to celebrate the imminent birth of baby 'Rowan' for some very good customers.

I saw-pierced the leaf in brass & then textured the surface with a punch to impress 'veins'. This was then soldered onto a copper background & took several attempts to get the right colour as it was quite a large piece of metal.

I hope they will be pleased with the results.....

METALWORK COURSE

The past few day's I've been in discussion regarding running a metalwork course in the Cotswolds later in the year. This has now been finalised & you can now go ahead a book a place. I have specified that the number of participants be redistricted to 10 so places are limited! Take a look at the website for more information......

www.cotswold-artstudio.com

http://www.cotswold-artstudio.com/sharonmcswiney.asp

Date for your diary.....

October 23rd & 24th

10am - 4.30pm

Condicote Village Hall nr Stow on the Wold

SALE! SALE! SALE!

We have been into the studio today to set things out for our SALE which starts on

10am Saturday 2nd January

• A whole cabinet full of jewellery reduced by 50%!!!


• A special £5 jewellery bargain box


• Greetings cards reduced to £1 & £1.50


• Selected Ceramics 1/2 price


• Limited reduced panels & block pictures
  
  

Sil Urchin drops £36 now £18!

CO Fairy drops £26 now £13!

SIL fairy necklace £40 now £20!

Plus many more 1/2 price pieces.....

The studio will return to normal opening after Saturday 2nd

Tuesday - Saturday 10am until 5pm

We intend to close the studio for 1 week to refit & revamp the space towards the end of January...watch this space for more information

Little donkeys

More little donkeys have arrived at the Fold.......

Looking for a home this Christmas!

Hookshouse Pottery : Exhibitions

I'm just finishing off sorting out the work I'm going to take to display at Hookshouse Pottery tomorrow. I have shown at this great little venue on several occasions over the post few years & it is lovely to have been asked to take part once again. I won't be there myself has Chris White looks after the work throughout the show.

Hookshouse Pottery : Exhibitions:

Next Exhibition – ‘Hand and Eye’ - October 2009

Autumn has come round again, and we have another fine collection of work for you to enjoy. Our new exhibitors include Pamela Griffiths, with paintings of Languedoc, Pembrokeshire and the Stroud valleys, and Ian Shearman with his wonderful seascapes. Jane Smith’s sensitive creations from wood and bark are new to us too.

Old favourites Sharon McSwiney and Penny Williams will be bringing us more of their imaginative and smile-inducing metal jewellery, clocks and hangings, and the ever popular baskets of Norah Kennedy will be on show again. Wendy Batt returns with more of her prints, much enjoyed on her first visit last spring, and Terry Devereux is back after a long break with some superb studies of Venice. We also have more of Anne Rogers’ felt, simply the best there is around!

The following is a full list of exhibitors:

Wendy Batt – prints
Terry Devereux – paintings
Pamela Griffiths – paintings
Norah Kennedy – baskets
Sharon McSwiney & Penny Williams – metalwork
Anne Rogers – felt
Ian Shearman – paintings
Jane Smith –wood and bark
Christopher White – stoneware pots

Large Commission piece

This large picture has just been collected this morning! A customer had bought some of the small block pictures a while ago & wanted a larger piece in the same colours. This one is 90cm x 55cm which heat coloured brass & copper on a deep red painted background.

I couldn't get the lighting right on these this morning so the colour is a little off but it gives you the idea!!! Obviously I can make these pictures in sizes to suit & paint the colours to co-ordinate with your interior decor.

So now I have today & tomorrow to continue making panels & pictures to deliver to The Gallery Upstairs in Henley in Arden on Monday hopefully......then off to Tetbury on Thursday to Hookshouse Pottery....and Ludlow on Friday to set up Showing Off...phew!

It's all a bit frantic at the studio at the moment! I'm trying to make as many metalwork panels & pictures as possible for next week as I have 2 events booked for the weekend, plus a delivery for an exhibition.

On the list of things to do also are Christmas cards.....

These are some of the metalwork designs I'm doing this year. I'm mounting them as with my other cards on window mounts on smaller size cards. They will be approx 10cm x 10cm cards in red, green or cream. Priced at £3 each. I am producing some of the designs in etched copper in addition to the usual etched brass.

There should be a selection out in the studio by this weekend!!

Forthcoming Events in October

Time is whizzing by & we are almost in October....I have a number of events coming up which I will of course keep you posted about. Here's a brief listing.....

• Worcestershire Guild of Designer Craftsmen are showing in the Craftcases at No8 in Pershore.A selection of work from some of the members will be on display & for sale, including some of my jewellery. This is from 9th October until 18th November.



• Three Little Pigs also in Pershore is going to be showing some of my metalwork panels & pictures plus a selection of garden sticks & greetings cards throughout October.



• An exhibition at Hookshouse Pottery is planned for 23rd October to 1st November where I shall be showing a range of work alongside Penny Williams & other makers including Christoper White who hosts the event at his studio near Tetbury.



• Several WGDC members are taking part in 'Showing off' in Ludlow 24th & 25th October together with members of the Shropshire Guild.

More details of these events will be posted nearer the time to each one....this is just to give you some ideas!

Malvern Show this weekend

I'm setting up at the Three Counties Showground this afternoon for the Malvern Autumn Show. As usual I'm exhibiting with the Worcestershire Guild of Craftsmen in the Wye Hall alongside Penny Williams. The weather forecast looks good so I'm hoping for lots of visitors! I'm going to show some of the Autumn Leaves metalwork pieces.

More information regarding the show can be found at www.threecounties.co.uk and on the WGDC website www.wgdc.org.uk

The Guild will have the new directory's available at the show which are a very useful guide to the Guild members. My Bransford studio will still be open today and Saturday as usual.

Metalwork Sections in production

With numerous exhibitions & events coming up fast I thought I'd better get cracking on making some metalwork panels. As these are the most labour intensive pieces I produce I thought I would make as many pieces as possible over the next few days & then start to assemble them together. As I am showing at the Malvern Autumn Show this weekend I only have today to work on production!

These are a few of the pieces I made yesterday....

Stripey Cats!

I'd run out of the 'Lucky Black Cats' at the studio so while I was making some more I had the idea to make some striped cats. By applying the flux carefully on to the brass you can control the pattern to some extent. I think these first attempts are quite nice!

h.Art starts this week!

This week we'll be putting up our exhibition at the Fold cafe 'Autumn Leaves' as part of the h.Art event this year. There will be jewellery, metalwork, glass, wood, textiles & batik work on display all with an Autumnal theme be it with colours or leafy images.

Also on Saturday I'll be showing at the Hereford Craft Market in High Town 9am - 5pm. The studio is still open as mum is there!

We are opening for the full h.Art dates:

Saturday 12th until Sunday 20th September

11am - 5pm

Our exhibition is likely to continue in the cafe into October so if you can't make it over the next few days there will still be an opportunity to view the work - as long as it hasn't all sold that is!!

If you haven't got your h.Art guide yet contact www.h-art.org.uk

There is also a local h.Art trail which has been put together by several of the artists in this area. Click on the links to view:
local%20art%20trail%20for%20h.Art%20East%20Herefordshire%202%202009%20A4.doc

Map%20for%20local%20art%20trail%202009%20on%20A4.doc

Tim's Metalwork Boats

These are some of the cute copper & brass boats that Tim has made....I'm about to start experimenting with mounting them onto pieces of driftwood. As he is not at the studio at the moment I'm not sure when he'll be able to make anymore? It's interesting how differently we work - I'm very much interested in flat pattern & colour whereas Tim is much more 3D!

Beautiful Sunflowers!

Popped to the allotment this morning & picked these fab sunflowers - thought they'd be lovely in the studio as the colours echo my metalwork....

Elephant garden stick

Yesterday I made this elephant garden stick for a commission. I've used the same design as on the E for Elephant alphabet card then cut the piece out in copper, soldered on a wire for the ear & stamped some patterns. The flower underneath has been etched in brass.

The colour has worked well & I think he looks a happy chap!

Leaf progress...

Some more sneaky previews of the pieces I've made for the Autumn Leaves exhibition. Noticed this morning that the huge beech tree at the top of the garden has started dropping a few orange leaves - No way!! Tooooo early... not ready for autumn yet!

Greedy Birds!

Visitors to my Fold studio will know that I also have regular feathered friends who visit daily! Goldfinches, blue tits, great tits, coal tits, long tailed tits, green finches, chaffinches, robins, dunnocks, blackbirds & collared doves all love to munch on the sunflower seed & peanuts I put out. This is turning out to be an expensive hobby....I buy the seed in bulk online from street end feeds who are pretty reasonable & it's British seed. So I thought I'd be a bit cheeky & put out a donation box to help with the costs!

I bought an inexpensive box (which was a rather bright blue colour originally) - painted it white, stamped on the lettering & attached one of my copper & brass decorative birdies. I think it's rather cute & I might make another one just to have at home (without the donation bit obviously!).

Leaf inspiration

Next month the deisgner makers from the Fold are having an exhibition in the eco cafe on the theme of Autumn Leaves. This is part of the h.Art event which runs from 12th - 20th September.

More info can be found at http://www.h-art.org.uk/

I've just started working on some wall pieces....

Several years ago I collected some fabulous coloured leaves from Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham. I colour photocopied the leaves - it was so long ago it was before computer scanners were readily available! I've managed to find these images & I'm using them as a starting point.

The colours of heated copper & brass really lend themselves to this theme.

I've been busy saw piercing out the shapes of various leaves; oak, beech, maple etc.

Watch this space for a sneeky preview of some of the panels....