Fiona and I have had our friend Jeff and his wife Evi visiting with us for the last five days. Lots of catching up was done, good food eaten and good wine and single malt consumed - so a good time was had by all.
I had promised Jeff that I would guide him through the process of creating a pair of leaf earrings for Evi. So yesterday after we had got some sorting and packing tasks out of the way we headed down to the garage studio. You can see from the photo below Jeff's final product was great.
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| Barry Smith © Hands of the creator- jeff's leaf earrings |
In the following series of photos you can see the folded and cut annealed recycled brass; the leaf forms on the anvil (two sets - small ones are mine); the leaf forms being beaten; leaves unfolded and being polished; and the finished earrings being modelled by Evi.
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| Barry Smith © Metal - folded and cut |
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| Barry Smith © Brass on the anvil |
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| Barry Smith © Jeff forming the leaf |
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| Barry Smith © Jeff polishing the leaf |
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| Barry Smith © Evi models an earring |
I demonstrated each step of the process by creating a small pair of leaves. As you can see from the photo below these leaves are about 30mm long and are quite delicate.
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| Barry Smith © Small formed leaves |
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| Barry Smith © Small formed leaves |
It gave me a buzz to take my friend through this creative process; to see his pride in the completed product; and to see Evi's joy in receiving his gift. Good way to start the creativity of 2012.
Love these, Barry! Jeff did an excellent job, I'm not surprised Evi loved her present!
ReplyDeletehow wonderful!!! and i love those work worn fingers :) Evi must be so thrilled! it's so cool to be able to make something so beautiful out of scrap metal ... i am sure Jeff had the buzz too. afterall, how many times in a lifetime would one do something like that? (if you're not in the profession that is) ... YOU ROCK Barry, to have shared this experience with someone else :)
ReplyDeleteBarry, what a lovely gift for your friends and yourself! And, as you say....perfect start for the year! Wishing you and Fiona many wonderful things coming your way in 2012! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteI can imagine the joy of everyone involved with creating them and of course the lucky girl wearing them. I know how she must have felt; I celebrated the holidays and welcomed the new year waring my beautiful earrings made by you!
Once again thank you!!!
I hope you are doing more of these Barry. I'd love to advertise your work on my ears. See you Saturday at Studio 4?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the process. I'm sure your friend will always remember it also. The best gifts are always shared! Nice Job
ReplyDeleteWonderful of you to share the experience of creating! You obviously did a great job of teaching, the earrings look fabulous!
ReplyDeleteGreat results for all - good to share the love around xoxoxo
ReplyDeletehow great to pass on the skill, one gift, and the leaf earrings, another gift. barry, i really like the tiny ones!
ReplyDeleteHello, Barry.
ReplyDeleteYour heart warmth dissolves winter cold.
Thank you for your visit.
Good departure of one year.
I can hardly wait for the spring, ruma ❃
MIA, LT, MBPW, AM, JM, SZQ, S/R, N, V & R - thanks for positive comments on Jeff's earring results and my 'tuition-sharing' - it was a good way to give. LT - i lol when I read "you rock" I like that - thanks. AM - good to know that your earrings are part of your daily life - makes the connections stronger. JM- given the Friday production I think there is am opportunity for you to promote the wearable leaves. SZQ, S/R and N - I feel good about sharing in the way I did. V- thanks - these leaves are very intimate - bit like your woven pages. R- thanks for the greetings for 2012. B
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