I'm back...again!!

Dear nice people, It is holiday time again, and so I am back with a chance to keep up my blog. Lets hope I can manage to do it a wee bit more consistently!
Also I have no camera, so photos of my work will be up, just maybe slightly erratically. To start with though, my most exciting news is that I have passed my first year at art college, and am now preparing for third year!! :)
Since its the holidays though, I have been in The Little Bead Shop (www.thelittlebeadshop.co.uk) non-stop, as my boss Gil is getting a well - deserved break! I am in the middle of my Level 1 Art Clay Silver certificate at the moment, and its going well! There is so much paste though, I think you should be expecting to see a lot of fine silver leaves up for sale soon!! :)

I'll be back to post more soon!! (Honestly!)

Helen*

Lampwork - oooh!

Bonjour!
Yesterday I was working away in the Little Bead Shop and got to have a go on Emma's lampwork torch, and I love my beads!!
Emma is the owner Gil's daughter and she has her studio downstairs where she creates lots of silver and glass beauties! Her blog is fab, www.littlebeadshop.blogspot.com, go have a look! I'll get a photo of my beads up once my camera is up and running :). Meanwhile, here are some of Emmas. Needless to say, mine are not of quite the same standard! :)
Helen*

Christmas Holiday Project

Last time I was here I mentioned my Christmas project on Maisie Broadhead. I have been having so much fun doing it!
Her website is http://www.maisiebroadhead.com/ and it has some beautiful photographs of her work. I have been focussing on her 'Bathroom' collection, which features household fittings cast in silver to be worn on the body, giving them a new purpose and meaning.
This took me to the Sam Burns scrapyard in Prestonpans ysterday, to see what objects I could come across which i thought could do with a new lease of life... so £3.00 later I had an old remote control, a games consol handset, some old plugs, a showerhead, a couple of taps, a hard drive from an ancient computer and some old screws. Now, what to do with them? Any inspiration greatly appreciated :) . I'm back at college on Monday so will try and scan some of my sketchbook pages for you to see.
Other news...not too much. I just got back from a gorgeous holiday in the Conaries with my boyfriend, and it was pretty much jewellery-unrelated, although that didn't stop me from dragging him into every jewellery shop we passed! Going to have some fun with a bit of fimo tonight, I have a new idea in the pipeline. Ooh. I'll let you know how it goes and get some sketchbook photos up soon! Helen*

P.S. This image is Maisie Broadhead's 'Pullcord necklace'.

I'm back for Christmas!

Well Hello! Long time...and basically nothing!
I've been so busy with my course that commissions, things in the shops and obviously the blog have fallen waaaaay behind.
I can't believe how busy my course has kept me, and how much I've done. I have learned in the space of three months (deep breath): Soldering, riveting, hinge making, rolling mill, wire work, forging, all types of hammering, heating and sawing. Everything and anything to do with the basics of using metal. And my goodness there is a lot to learn! Glad to have a holiday for Christmas, though all is not quiet...I still have a holiday project to do :S.
Now this is called 'A Journey in Jewellery Design', which is not just the workshop techniques, though they are a big part of the course. It is also the art of the design process, so sketchbooks ahoy, and many a research trip. My sketchbooks were not so so good to start with, but my grades indicate they have got a lot better over the semester, so maybe I can share some of that with you over the course of the holidays too. I'll be back with more (and photos!) soon i promise.
Helen*
P.S. My Christmas project is on a designer called Maisie Broadhead, who I will find out more about and fill you in with next time!

News!

Well, we have had a very successful summer of classes at The Little Bead Shop (Knitted cuff pictured is one of the classes I teach), but the holidays are almost over, and I'm off to study jewellery and metal design at Duncan of Jordanstone school of art and design in September! I'm very excited, kind of nervous, but I will keep everyone updated with my new things!

If you want to get in touch with me then please e-mail me on hello@helenchalmers.co.uk, and very soon (fingers crossed) my new website http://www.helenchalmers.co.uk/ will be up and running! :)

Helen*