Saturday 21 May 2011

Casting Class

Lynn here, I wanted to tell you about the class we had on Wednesday.  This one was Casting and I was excited about having a go!  I have lots of pieces from my early days (and those that have gone wrong of course!) that are scrap so having a way of re-using the silver sounded fantastic.  Not only does it allow you to use up scraps but it also means you can make some beautifully complex shapes.  Wikipedia writes :

"Casting is a manufacturing process by which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a casting, which is ejected or broken out of the mold to complete the process. Casting materials are usually metals or various cold setting materials that cure after mixing two or more components together; examples are epoxy, concrete, plaster and clay. Casting is most often used for making complex shapes that would be otherwise difficult or uneconomical to make by other methods.
Casting is a 6000 year old process. The oldest surviving casting is a copper frog from 3200 BC."

I have always wanted to 'have a go' but hadn't until Wednesday.  Going to the studio allowed me to try under the watchful eye of Chris who is very safety conscious so I knew it would be the best and safest of environments to do it.  We all had a good time and are now able to take what we learned and use it in our own studios or, even better, in Chris's studio on open session.  Using the open studio is probably where most of us will have another go as we are able to use the equipment there, saves spending money on things you may only use occasionally or, even worse, only once!  Chris will be running the class again so sign up for the newsletter and you can be kept informed of the next and any other classes to be run in the studio.... the next one is 'Anodised Aluminium' on Saturday 5th June with Mandy Nash.... you can see some examples of her work here and I can tell you truthfully I can't wait!!! :D





Sunday 8 May 2011

Last Chance!

Today is your last chance to visit Chris at the Art Trail... I just know she would love to see you there! 

Friday 6 May 2011

North Somerset Arts Week 2011 : 29 April - 8 May LAST 3 DAYS!!!

Wondering what to do this weekend?  Well you won't go wrong going to the North Somerset Art Trail!  I visited last week and really enjoyed it, so did my hubby (not an easy task I promise!) You have to visit Chris of course (see previous blog post for more info) and see the amazing new collection she has,  it's fabulous!!!  Also well worth visiting is the Walled Garden Cafe to, not far from Chris's venue and with really scrummy cakes to be had along with tea served in proper tea cups with a real sized pot to! 

View the North Somerset Arts Trail Newsletter for more information