Thought it was about time I shared some info about my regular gallery the Guild of Ten in Truro. I've been a member of the Guild since 2016 (can’t believe its been 6 years already!). Jeweller Jenny Yates invited me to join this cooperative gallery. She was on the look our for a new jeweller but got an automata maker into the bargain! All the makers in the gallery are based in Cornwall so you will meet a maker every time you are able to pop in.

The gallery has been in Truro, on Old Bridge Street, for over 40 years. It was initially set up by a group of 10 craftspeople who wanted to share rent and responsibility for their own gallery. Since the 70s it has been handed on from one group of craftspeople to the next. Currently our longest standing member, seamstress Christine Roxburgh, has been involved for 37 years, whilst our newest member, paper-crafter Pam Booth, joined in January of this year. To add yet more intrigue, textile artist Madeleine Jude was a founder craftsperson, she left for London in the 80s only to re-join in 2021!

The Gallery Frontage on Old Bridge Street

Interior of the gallery back in 2019

The deal is that we all chip in for the rent and take our turn in staffing the gallery. As with all good cooperatives all decisions are made by committee so we have great fun keeping on top of things! Each maker is allocated a space which we are free to set up as we wish (within reason). I inherited a lovely jewellery display case from a previous member and was able to adapt some shelves to display my freestanding metalwork and automata.

My little corner of the Guild - July 22

I’ve recently added wall hung work to my display. I have often played with lino cutting so it was a natural step to use this alongside metal motifs to make something new. The Guild is a place to try out new things. I know that if our customers are keen then I’m on to a winner and I might well take a new idea further.

Its great to have a regular gallery to be part of where I can meet people and chat about my work as well as that of the other members. It always makes a pleasant change from hammering away in the workshop! It has also given me a fabulous group of craftspeople to belong to. This has been so invaluable over the last couple of difficult years. There’s always someone to run things past if I’ve got myself in a muddle and its just lovely to share how other makers run their businesses and develop their work.

We have learned to move with the times and now have an online shop with some of our wares for those times you can’t make it to Truro.

New lino/metalwork wall hung work

Following a photoshoot with John Hersey I now have a beautiful collection of new photos of my work. John also took photos of my hands and tools as he got excited by the opportunities offered in my tiny workshop. The photos were taken just as the light was going down on what had been a bright November day in 2021. John was keen to capture the light as it was offered, so the photos are rich in chiaroscuro (strong contrast in light and dark as seen in the paintings of Caravaggio!). I hope you’ll agree that the photos are beautiful works of art in themselves.

hammering a centre point on copper

One photograph shows the frequent process of hammering a centre point into metal prior to drilling a tiny hole. The hole could represent an eye on a character like a whale or it could be an entry way into the metal so that I can use a fret saw to cut a more complicated shape. Either way, I have been using the same centre punch and hammer since 1990. That’s the wonderful thing about the traditional metal working techniques I use, the tools are truly lifelong friends.

I felt an affinity with metal from the first time I tried silver soldering as a teenager. My mum is a potter and back when I lived at home I would often help her out at craft fairs. On one occasion she introduced me to one of her jeweller friends who showed me how to solder two bits of silver together. It seemed like magic then and still does. I love the fact that many of the tools I use today could have been used by our ancestors in the middle ages, or a similar version could have been used as far back as the iron age. There is a warmth and a humanity to hand tools that comes from repeated use, wearing the wooden handles into the shape of the maker’s grip.

Another photo captures me using a block of bees wax to ensure the tiny saw blades I use in the fret saw run smoothly to cut more intricate patterns into sheet metal. I can’t think how many of these saw blades I’ve burnt through over the years - they have a horrible habit of going ‘ping’ just at the wrong moment, there then follows a quick scurry around the workbench to find another.

People often assume there is a high tech option to cut copper into the tiny shapes and patterns that I use. If anyone knows of any that work then please let me know - I’m told that laser cutting copper is impossible because its so heat conductive that it seals itself right back up again - genius metal! However, I have to say that I really do enjoy the hands on approach. It ensures that every piece is entirely unique and adds that all important human quality that can’t be achieved any other way. So I will carry on using my fret saw, my snips and my decades old hammers to make my work.