Back in the Grove 4

Hello once more, today I intend to do the last in this series on the "Celtic Cuff".

The adjacent picture shows the stippling that highlights the knot work as is the case with the lettering in the Book of Kells, the Lindisfarne and MacRegol Gospels. It is also seen on the lettering around the edge of the Ardagh Chalice in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. Although very time consuming it does make the knotwork stand out.

In the last picture you can see how the knot work has been planned to go around the hinge at the bottom of the cuff and continues all the way around. The design is a constant reminder that ones Path through Life consists of ups and down and eventually end up at the beginning and starts all over again. Finally the catch that you see in the upper part of the picture, has a built in safety catch. It is a double click catch that opens up by pressing the little bar.

This is the last of the pictures and it shows the open cuff as well as the catch with the CE mark on the bottom. I trust that this was of interest to some of you, and thank you for you time.

Now I need to get going on my new venture at the Granville Island Market, in Vancouver. My opening date will be April 11th over the weekend. TTYAL (talk to you all later) RD

Back in the Grove 3

Phew, a busy cople of days. Anyway let me get back to the Celtic Cuff. You'll have to forgive me for using "Roman" numerals. God knows what I was thinking about.

Steps # 3 & 4.Next you see the development

of the design and a moments distraction

causes a minor mistake, corrected with a

little white-out.

The design is transferred to the bracelet/cuff and you can

just see the faint lines scribed before the engraving starts.

The little yellow pointer show where I have cut and the burr stands up before the intersecting line removes it. The burrs

are a little more visible in the next picture and the that look

like shadows make it easier to see them.

Well as Bugs Bunny said " That's All Folks"

Check in again and see the end of the Celtic Cuff. Soon to be featured on my website www.celticempire.com

Back in the Groove II

Top O'the mornin to You.

Where did I leave off?

The next step in the bracelet/cuff. . All Celtic art starts in the head and materializes via paper patterns on a multitude of objects. Personally I try to find a functional purpose for all things to which I apply Celtic art. So the first step is to make a copy of the area to which I am to engrave my design. The first image here is a section of the 205x 10mm strip along with the tools involved.

The next step is to divide the strip into a grid and then the dots in each of the quadrants and a basket pattern is laid out in pencil before being done in ink. Here you can see the cuff opened with the catch that has the trademark on it. In the next picture you can see how it looks closed and a ruler and a new copper cent gives you an idea of the size. The measurements are 51x 60mm oval and 3mm thick, yet only weights 23 grams since it is hollow.

While you are doing that, I'll get ready with the next step.

Have a great Day.

RD

Back in the Grove

At the patient insistance of my "Blogging Mentor", I am trying again to convey some of the stuff I have been doing.

The sterling silver cuff that had me stumped, blogging, logging or posting, should now proceed a little more smoothly. This time I'm going to do it in wee bits and pieces.

I did start a lovely new cuff/bracelet. Unique in that like hand cuffs it opens and then closes around the wrist for a lovely smooth bracelet. I am about to describe what all is involved in the design as well as the engraving.

Please bear with me as we progress through the variouys stages of creating a unique Celtic Cuff.

MADE TO LAST.....................

For those who have seen my website http://www.celticempire.com/ , you may have seen under Celtic Leather, a card case that was purchased 27 years ago by "Robb" and was lost several times in some very remote places but always returned. Well this Christmas Robb decided that replicas or similar card cases would make nice gift for a number of associates and friends.

I should like to share with you the steps in making these "CC's". The leather pieces are cut in large numbers from 6oz calfskin. Once cut the edges are airbrushed in tightly packed bundles, then burnished before the thin line is added just for a finishing touch.

The next step is to emboss or rather impress a design onto the leather. In this case the "Newgrange" spirals, adapted from the burial mound on the banks of the river Boyne in Ireland, was the inspiration for this design. Today access is rather limited to this megalithic tomb, but in August 1984 people were allowed into the tomb with little or no restrictions. On the left is a picture of the design pressed into the leather beside the actual engraved block used in this instance.

Next we have the inscription or lettering that 'Robb' wanted on the inside of the card cases for his friends. The lettering used is moveable type set in a "Halvorfold-Kwikprint" machine and is changed for each separate name. Needless to say the type has to be choosen to fit within the limited area of the inside pocket.

Next the front part of the card case are airbrushed in the desired colour.

Here you see burgundy or 'Cordovan' a name derived from the city in Spain called Cordoba, which was given to it by the Moors when they occupied Spain and brought their skills in leather craft with them.

Now the assembly of the parts are glued together and then sewn with matching colours of thread. Burgundy on top and natural on the bottom. In large 'Machination" versus 'Manufacturers' ( manu = hand, facture= make), these are fed into a machine and sewn a precise distance from the edge. No hands needed to guide the the pieces through the machine.

Once sewn the edges are buffed and the corners are put on individually. In many commercially produced leather items there are only corners on the front for appearance sake. I prefer to put corners on all sides so as to ensure that the item will last for a lifetime. For me it is very rewarding that someone like Robb came back after all these years to show me that although well worn, the function of the card case he bought so long ago was mantained.

Through the magic of the digital camera, I am able to post an image ( on the left) of one of the finished card cases that Robb is going to give to his friends and associates. I sincerely hope that many years hence they will also look back upon Christmas 2008 with fond memories and enjoy the function of this simple but most useful of leather articles.

Evolution of "Mother and Child" Pendant.

The evolution of this design is a perfect example of serendipity. To follow the steps it begins with the selection of the stone. I choose from a number of 30x22mm ovals and once selected traced a proportional oval upon which to set the stone: using a template I choose a 60mm long axis to go with the 30mm long axis of the stone. It is then positioned at the lower end of the larger oval and I start to work out the design which Is then traced in ink before being transferred to the metal.

Now we have the design which is done in pencil until we have one that meets with our design criteria, and that will be rendered in ink. This in turn will be traced onto Mylar before being transferred to the silver blank.

The next step in the evolution is the cutting of the Sterling silver blank and making the bezel for the stone and it will immediately be noticed that there are stamps on the oval. Originally these were applied to prevent fraudulant manufacturers from selling metal that did not conform to the standard of 925/1000 part pure silver and 75/1000 copper, tin or lead in some instances . Here you see the ster mark as well as my registered trade mark RD, plus a further mark which I apply to indicate that it has been made in Canada .

On the right is the design traced onto the sterling silver blank with a tungsten-carbide scriber. Although this is very faint it is enough to guide the engraver. The process of transferring the design is a very simple one that I learned from an engraver who had learned his craft/trade in the large manufacturing firms of England, producing silverware for the wealthy clients who would commission whole tea services with their family crest engraved on each piece. These sets would consist of a simple "Tea Service" of a tea pot, milk, sugar, sugar tongs, strainer and tray. The process is to trace the design on the reverse side with a pointed stylus, not sharp, but enough to leave an indentation. You roll soft wax or plasticine over this and then align the work underneath and burnish with a bone or smooth piece of plastic so as to transfer all the wax to the work and leave a faint line that has no wax. This then is scribed onto the work.

Eh, voila we have the finished pendant in a lovely presentation box along with a photograph for insurance records as well as a card with the story of the evolution.

It started out as a simple Celtic knotwork to fit the shape of the stone and the blank, however once I started the engraving it became clear to me that this looked very much like a mother in times gone by who might squat at the riverside to give birth to her child. Arms out to catch and enfold, with knees projecting on either side. Not till later did it occur to me that even the shape of the piece and the position of the stone were also really indicative of the child bearing process. It is with humility and wonder that I think of my mother who went through this process which has brought me to this.

You may or may not have noticed the Triple question on my Tee-shirt, "Who are you calling a Celt ?" and "Who are you ? Calling a celt."or "Who are you calling? A Celt."

The map from the National Geographic May 1977 gives a perfect overview of all the peoples of Europe that are considered to be of Celtic origin.It also shows many of the artifacts had been uncovered up until then. As archeaology continues in many places all over Europe, more and more is coming to light.The Hochdorf princely grave site being one, and the discovery of the body of "Otzi" in high Alps of Austrian- Italian border has given us a much clearer insight into who and what these people were and how they lived.

More currently it has been my privelege to meet with some of the more reknown Celtic Artist of the 20th century.In alphabetical order Courtney Davis, whom I met for the first time at Scrif Celt in London,and the on another occasion we met during the "Work of Angels" exhibition at the British Museum at the time that we both met Janet Backhouse, author of "The Lindisfarne Gospels". And again in Cornwall at the Royal Swanery near Abbotsbury after visiting Maiden Castle, one of the largest Celtic hillforts in the U.K.You can check out Courtney's art in the many books that he has published by Blanford Press.

Next is Jim Fitzpatrick, whose art I fell in love with many years before I met him.Posters and cards used to abound in many stores along Oxford street in London. However it was the books that he published through Paper Tiger, a division of Dutton Books, that really caught my attention. "Erin Saga", "The Book of Conquests" and "The Silver Arm" making reference to "Nuada" a Celtic hero who lost his arm in a battle and then had an artificial arm made.

The image you see here is from one of the most famous of his books, "Celtia",in this book you can clearly see how Mucha influenced him."Macha" and "Morrigan" are not unlike "Music" and "Poetry" both from Mucha in 1898.The Art Nouveau is replaced with some very intricate Celtic art work and faces from Celtic mythology. In the same book is a cover for a record album for Alen Stivell with his harp. Then "Thin Lizzy" with" Johnny the Fox and a real break from tradition with Jailbreak also for "Thin Lizzy" A clear indication of a definite evolution of art styles.I'll come back to Alan further on in my disertation.

Earlier on in one of my first 'posts' I made mention of Aidan coming into my shop and inviting me to join his Celtic Art classes. I have to say that along with George Bain, he has been the strongest influence on my development with Celtic art. Since he lived in Vancouver like myself, it was a natural that I should attend his classes for quite a period of time. Upon reflecting on this period I find I have some of the very early class notes that Aidan gave his students.The original "Coracle" Vol.1 #1 dates from January 1983 typed in 8.5x5.5 inch carried on till the following year in Vol.2 when he started to do the lovely hand scripted Coracles that eventually evolved into the series on Celtic art that were published by Thames and Hudson.

On a couple of occasions I was priveleged to carry the original works for delivery to T&H in London. The last one that I took over, I was allowed to add a punctuation mark to one of the pages. Not unlike the feeling that I got when I took my children on a hike through Germany and we stopped at the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz and was asked to press one of the pages using the press that was used to create the Gutenberg Bibles.

Last but not least, as the music of Alan Stivell plays in the background,I recall the Celtic Festival in Vancouver, July 6-8-1990. I had the pleasure of hosting Alan's visit whilst he was here. On a subsequent occasion he and his wife played host to Gretchen and I while we were in France. We had a personal tour of Rennes and the Brociliande Forest, from whence Lancelot is said to hail.