Peridot earrings

I made some earrings with large-ish peridots (around 5mm) for a friend of mine. Here's one of the earrings during the setting process, followed by photos of the finished earrings.

New Classes in Central Reading at the Rising Sun Arts Centre

I'm starting new classes in central Reading - details below! Learn how to make your very own jewellery! You could make something like these earrings, which I made for a friend several months ago:

Or perhaps something like this bangle, which a student of mine at South Hill Park made:

Jewellery Making Classes at the Rising Sun Arts Centre in central Reading in Autumn 2015

Wednesday 23 September - Wednesday 25 November 2015
1:00 - 3:00pm
£190 for 10 weeks

Held in the large upstairs room at the Rising Sun Arts Centre in Reading, learn to make jewellery!
Be guided through a series of projects progressing to designing and making your own individual jewellery.
No experience or artistic skills are necessary. Classes are for both beginners and those with experience.

Classes are small, up to 8 students. You will be introduced to and given full instruction in
tools & equipment as the course progresses. Students can choose to work either in silver or they
can work in copper or brass. Silver is not included in the course cost.

To book or for more information, please email machidewaard@gmail.com.

Autumn 2015 Classes in High Wycombe

My classes in High Wycombe are running from September 24th to November 26th. They will be from 1:30pm - 4pm.

Classes are at Studio E174 in High Wycombe.

Jewellery Making Classes

Be guided through a series of projects progressing to designing and making your own individual
jewellery. No experience or artistic skills are necessary. These classes are for both beginners and those with
some experience.

Classes are small, up to 6 students. Due to small numbers you are guaranteed one-to-one tuition and all
the support you need to translate your ideas into finished pieces.

The class will provide a range of hand tools and access to equipment. You will be introduced to
the workshop and given full instruction in the use of tools & equipment as the course progresses.
Students can choose to work either in silver or they can work in copper or brass. Silver is not
included in the course cost.

Autumn 2015: (minimum 4 students, maximum 6 students)

Thursday 24 September - Thursday 26 November 2015
1:30pm - 4:00pm
£230 for 10 weeks

To book or for more information, please email machidewaard@gmail.com

Make a copper ring or pendant 5 July 2015

Click on the poster above for a larger view to read details.

Creative Day at the Rising Sun in Reading

I'm participating in a Creative Skills Day at the Rising Sun in Reading this July!

Make a Copper Pendant or Ring

Sunday 5 July 2-4pm

Make a copper ring or pendant. Get a taster of basic jewellery and metalwork techniques like hammering, texturing, stamping, forming, measuring, filing and polishing. No previous artistic or metalwork experience required. Walk away with your very own handmade unique copper ring or pendant! 


I will be starting jewellery making classes at the Rising Sun starting in September, so watch this space for more information!! 

Click on the poster below to see closer:

Henley Arts Trail - great weekend!

The Henley Arts Trail is over for another year. It was a busy weekend, with about 200+ people coming through our venue per day! Talked to lots of people, had many interesting conversations with visitors as well as my co-exhibitors at venue #12. Here's a photo of our venue - Shiplake church hall:

Many thanks to Maria Meerstadt (painting), Kate Findlay (textile), Jill Chadwick (glass), Inge du Plessis (painting), Pelin Pratt (ceramics) and Paul Baden (wood) for making it a pleasant, fun weekend!

Henley Arts Trail on this weekend!

Come see me at venue 12 in Shiplake at the Henley Arts Trail this weekend.Download the flyer here: www.henleyartstrail.com

New Classes leaflets

New Classes at High Wycombe, in lovely leaflet form: Click on image for better view!

New Classes!

New class times are available! I am teaching at Studio E174 throughout April, May and July. Please see below for details or Studio E174's website: http://www.studio-e174.co.uk/index.php?page=day-classes

A class with an emphasis on jewellery making techniques. Students will be guided through a series of projects or can work on their own projects. Suitable for beginners and those with more experience. No experience or artistic skills are necessary. Due to small numbers you are guaranteed one-to-one tuition and all the support you need to translate your ideas into finished pieces. Students can choose to work either in silver or they can work in copper or brass.

April- May 2015 Thursday Morning Day Classes

Course code: THmSU(1)15
Tutor: Machi de Waard
Number of sessions: 5
Start date: 30th April 2015
Finish date: 28th May 2015
Thursday 10:00 - 12:30
Number of places: 6
Level: Beginners/intermediate/advanced

Cost: £115.00

April - May 2015 Thursday Afternoon Day Classes

Course code: THaSU(1)15
Tutor: Machi de Waard
Number of sessions: 5
Start date: 30th April 2015
Finish date: 28th May 2015
Thursday 1:30 - 4:00
Number of places: 6
Level: Beginners/intermediate/advanced

Cost: £115.00

July 2015 Thursday Morning Day Classes

Course code: THmSU(2)15
Tutor: Machi de Waard
Number of sessions: 5
Start date: 2nd July 2015
Finish date: 30th July 2015
Thursday 10:00 - 12:30
Number of places: 6
Level: Beginners/intermediate/advanced

Cost: £115.00

July 2015 Thursday Afternoon Day Classes

Course code: THa(2)SU15
Tutor: Machi de Waard
Number of sessions: 5
Start date: 2nd July 2015
Finish date: 30th July 2015
Thursday 1:30 - 4:00
Number of places: 6
Level: Beginners/intermediate/advanced

Cost: £115.00

silver garnet ring

A friend of mine received a garnet as a gift, which is very lovely but you can't do much with a garnet on its own. Hence, a ring was requested. The garnet is quite sparkly and oval. I didn't want to hide it in a heavy setting, so I went back to a setting I haven't done in a while - a basket setting. This one is made with 0.8 wire with two oval rings and 6 claws. The shank is made from 1.5mm round wire with the top flattened and tapered, attached to the side of the basket setting. I think it looks more delicate in real life than on the photos, but in any case, here are some photos to show how it turned out!

Off to California

I had a couple of turquoise stones which were not quite right for earrings - no matching set. I wanted to make something for my sister, who loves turquoise, so I made this fun bangle. It was easier to set the turquoise than I expected. The bangle part is 1.5mm round wire with a clasp at the back. It's now making its way to California to my sister. You could learn how to make one of these yourself by taking one of my classes!

champagne chairs

There is a company called Design Within Reach and they, in their own words "give customers access to the best in modern design – including iconic works that have been in production since the mid-20th century as well as innovative items designed today – and made design within reach." Now, that is all lovely and stuff, but the interesting thing is that they have an annual competition where people are challenged to make a mini chair from a champagne cork. The rules are basically this:

Use any or all of the materials (except glass) from no more than two (2) champagne bottles. Glue is the only permitted adhesive. You are not permitted to use any additional materials – including tape and/or paint.

Of course this kind of thing is like catnip to me and my mom..... mini? creative? challenge? and so.....

These are our chairs: mine is a mini chesterfield chair, with a sort of beat-up look, probably due to scratches from a mini cat. I was most pleased with the tiny 'wheels' on the front legs. (My chair is about 2cm high.)
My mom's is a mini baby high chair, complete with bonus bubbly baby. Here are the photos:

(and here is where you can see all the amazingly creative and fun chairs made for this year's competition - just scroll down on that page.)

Classes at Studio E174 in High Wycombe!

I'm going to be teaching again!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Classes at Studio E174 in High Wycombe.

Jewellery Making Classes

Be guided through a series of projects progressing to designing and making your own individual silver
jewellery. No experience or artistic skills are necessary. These classes are for both beginners and those with
some experience.

Our classes are small, up to 6 students. Due to small numbers you are guaranteed one-to-one tuition and all
the support you need to translate your ideas into finished pieces.

All our courses provide a range of hand tools and access to equipment. You will be introduced to
the workshop and given full instruction in the use of tools & equipment as the course progresses.

Two ten week courses are available:(minimum 4 students, maximum 6 students)

Thursday 29 January - Thursday 2 April 2015
10:00am - 12:30pm
£230 for 10 weeks

Thursday 29 January - Thursday 2 April 2015
1:30pm - 4:00pm
£230 for 10 weeks

To book, please email machidewaard@gmail.com.

lots of exciting new photos

I have new photos - all done by the brilliant Stone Photos (www.stonephotos.co.uk) and many of them are now up on Not on the High Street. Also new on Not on the High Street is my latest mini pendant - a sweet little hollow pendant with an embedded 18ct yellow gold ball on the front with contrasting finishes on side and front. You can see it here. I'm really happy with the photos, showing the jewellery as I hope it always ends up - worn by someone! Here are some of my favourites:

New work on website and some in galleries

New work! Several new brooches are on my website and on Not on the High Street. A new hollow mini pendant (11mm diameter) is available at Jam Eton and New Ashgate galleries. That mini pendant will soon be on Not on the High Street as well.

Here are some photos: click on each one for more information.

mini photo frame

I was talking to my mom the other day and she showed me the contact sheet from a set of photos that she had printed. The photos were very small on the contact sheet, 14 x 20mm. (They were all of my nephew, apparently my parents literally cannot have enough photos of him!) Anyway, it happens that my mom is also restoring an old dollhouse. So I suggested that the tiny photos needed a tiny silver photo frame to be placed in the dollhouse. So, here's the result....a photo frame that fits photos that are 14 x 20mm.

It was made in 4 parts. First the very thin wire U-shape to create the slot for the photo to go in. Then the back of the frame with a little notch in case the photo is hard to get out (the U-shape was soldered on to the back). Then the front of the frame - a bevelled inside and outside edge rectangular frame. Then I soldered the back on to the front. Then the stand - made so the frame can stand horizontally and vertically.

So here it is: total size 18 x 23mm. (One with my 3cm panda as model.)

New stockist!!!

I am delighted to announce that I have a new stockist, the fabulous Adore Contemporary Boutique (www.adorecontemporaryboutique.com) in Falmouth. The gallery is run by Jessica Hewitt, who makes her own lovely, colourful jewellery. You can see her work on her website: www.jessicahewitt.com as well as at Jam Eton. I have sent a collection of 25 pieces to Adore, including this rather new brooch. It is all sterling silver with eight silver balls and a double steel pin.

October - start as I mean to go on

I have been busy making, making, making and more making. I have exciting new work which will be unveiled soon and also very excited to have a new stockist. Details of all that will be revealed soon when my work is actually at this gallery!

This is proof of working hard - the skin was peeling off the top of my fingers!

I have taken to sending Dougall photos of my progress during the day, just to keep me going and I got some nice series of photos out of it. Here's a series showing the progression of my t-bar clasp necklaces and bracelets (which are now back in stock at Jam Eton and will be on their website soon!):

Roses are red.......or silver

I've been making roses for a woman who wanted to have a piece of jewellery to commemorate her late grandfather who was a keen gardener. First I made a ring, and then she also asked for matching earrings. It's a very different style to what I usually make - an interesting challenge to make them look like real roses. All of the roses are about 1cm diameter. So here's the ring:

and here are the matching stud earrings:

Gold ring

I had a heavy gold link from a bracelet or necklace that had been taken out because the bracelet/necklace was too long. I wanted to use the link to make a gold ring, trying to cut out as little gold as possible. So I hammered and hammered and filed and finally made it into the shape I wanted. The only blip was that due to the original shape of the link, there was a little gap/hole in the shank of the new ring that I had to fill, which I did using the bits I had cut out during the process. So, except for the solder, the ring is made entirely from that one original link. I made photos along the way to show the progression. You can see more photos of the progression on the Facebook page for Studio E174, which is where I did most of the work: https://www.facebook.com/studioe174 

Here are a few of the photos: 

Jewellery evening classes at Studio E174

Studio E174 are now taking bookings for autumn evening classes - filling up fast! Based in High Wycombe.

Silversmithing Classes start on Monday 15th September, Jewellery Classes start on Tuesday 23rd September. Classes are 2 1/2 hours and cost £230 for 10 sessions.
 
To see previous student work, further information and a booking form please visit http://www.studio-e174.co.uk/index.php?page=evening-classes

Follow what's happening at the Studio on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/studioe174

News

Today my grandmother is 95 - happy birthday Oma!!!! Thought I'd start with that rather impressive birthday news!

Yesterday I made a visit to the lovely New Ashgate gallery in Farnham to drop off a couple of pieces of jewellery for my display there. If you haven't already seen it, their website has been spruced up and looks rather spiffy these days: http://www.newashgate.org.uk/shop_artists/7702/c/101/machi-waard/jewellery
Of course I also have work at Jam in Eton, whose new website is also pretty spiffy and you should have a look at the wide range of lovely jewellery (and more) on show: www.jam-eton.co.uk 

The big news for me is that I've joined Studio E174. The studio is a proper jewellery and silversmithing studio in the sense that it's filled with tools and benches and the buzz of people making exciting things. It's in a lovely old industrial building with lots of other studios in it, ranging from PMC upstairs to model cars and railways and many other things besides. Studio E174 (named after the E number that silver is as a food addidtive) was founded by Lucian Taylor and Elizabeth Callinicos. Lucian is an accomplished silversmith (amongst many other things, Goldsmith Hall commissioned work from him!) and Elizabeth is a well-established jeweller and installation artist who shows work all over Europe.

I will be attempting to post items on the E174 Facebook page, which you can like here: https://www.facebook.com/studioe174

So far it's been a great environment for me to get lots of making done. I've been busy! I'm getting closer to being able to work on new designs, which is a great feeling. Here are some photos of activities in the studio:

This is the main bench in the center of the studio, here with Polly Collins (she was learning tig welding with Lucian, the result of an award she won for her silversmithing work). 

This is a small torch (oxygen and propane I think it was) - a type of torch I hadn't used before, so something new to try! The regular torch had been kidnapped to go to Art in Action with the silversmiths (I think it was the Contemporary British Silversmiths). Art in Action is on this weekend!

 I've been asked to make a ring and a bracelet with some roses - so I practiced making roses with sterling silver, here are some results: left is a close up after polishing, right on my hand before polishing.

And a photo of the benchpeg with a whole load of circles ready to be turned into earrings.