Salvaging metal

©2020 Barry Smith - Ornate heavy handles from silver-plated serving trays

I was recently given two silver-plated serving dishes with lids. The person who gave them to me said they were her grandfather's and that just sat in the cupboard, never got used and just had to be cleaned from time to time. She said, "I know you can use them."( in your work). She knew I would cut the trays into pieces; and then make new objects. The trade was that I would make her a couple of pairs of earrings so that she would have the memory of the serving trays and her grandfather.

As you can see from the photo below the dishes were in good shape and of good quality.

©2020 Barry Smith - The gifted serving dishes

After about an hour with the side grinder and the blow-torch the two dishes and two lids were de-constructed and ready to be cut into pieces that will become: earrings; leaves; bowls etc.

©2020 Barry Smith - Serving dishes and lids after the de-construction process

©2020 Barry Smith -  The sides of the dishes and lids will become leaves and riveted earrings

I have started cutting some of the pieces down further to begin the process of making earrings for the woman who gifted the trays.

©2020 Barry Smith - Heavy ornate edges of the trays

©2020 Barry Smith - Ornate handles and decorative section from the lid of one tray 

©2020 Barry Smith - Quality silver-plated metal that is cut into more useful pieces for earrings

There is still a way to go; but you can see the groupings emerging

Treasures transformed

©2015 Barry Smith - Detail of one of the bowls and leaves from the family treasures

Sometime ago I indicated that I was asked to transform some family treasures into art and jewellery. Meg C said that the 5 small trays she was giving me to work with were her grandmother's.

©2015 Barry Smith - The five small silver-plated trays handed down from Meg's grandmother 

Her mother had handed them down to her and she wanted to hand them down to her 2 daughters. But like most silver-plated trays etc few people want to clean them and there are often not the occasions to use them - so they were just stored away.

My brief was:

• to make as many pieces as I could minimising the waste of metal; 
• using only the metal from the trays; 
• keeping in mind that there were three adult women who would share in the pieces produced; and 
• that the pieces would have forms or functions that would encourage the family members to use the pieces and so continue to treasure the energy and pieces handed down in the family from Meg C's grandmother.

The transformation process always starts with cutting up the objects for their respective uses.

©2015 Barry Smith - Strips cut for pate knives and disks for bowls

©2015 Barry Smith - Offcuts for leaf words, brooches and pendants

©2015 Barry Smith - Handles and feet for bracelets 

In the the end, with a bit of planning and judicious cutting, I created the treasure trove of pieces below. In all there are 52 pieces counting all the leaf forms - including a leaf form from a broken pate knife.

©2015 Barry Smith - Five trays transformed in living family treasure trove

Where possible I made sets of three - not always exactly the same as metal features etc. Sometimes I only had two matching offcuts from a tray to incorporate into pieces.

So there are three sets of Daily Word Leaves.

©2015 Barry Smith - Daily Word Leaf sets

©2015 Barry Smith - Daily Word Leaf set

Three flip pendants.

©2015 Barry Smith - Pendants from tray edges

Three brooches.

©2015 Barry Smith Brooches from tray handles,  edges and feet (compressed into buttons)

Three sets of earrings.

©2015 Barry Smith Earrings from tray handle and edges

Three spiral bracelets.

©2015 Barry Smith - Spiral bracelets from tray handles

Five starburst bowls and five fragment bowls.

©2015 Barry Smith - Starburst bowls from base of trays - some metal split and so was repaired using rivets

©2015 Barry Smith - Five fragment bowls pressed from the rounded edges of a thick metal tray

Four pate knives.

©2015 Barry Smith - Pate knives from edge of thick metal tray - there were five but one snapped in the forming process and had to be recycled into other bits.

And an extra pendant out of the metal remnants.

©2015 Barry Smith - Couldn't waste that last foot from the tray

Quite a number a variety of daily pieces to be treasured and used for a variety of purposes in a variety situations. Many more ways to honour a grandmother and a great grandmother on a daily basis. And the smaller pieces are easier to maintain and hopefully hand on.