The Lesley Ross tutorial on how to make Silver Jewellery was fascinating.
After a long apprenticeship at Helston and Truro Colleges she was able to encourage us by describing the evolutionary process as learning by doing, making us feel that the wealth of tools and techniques were not beyond our capabilities.
As well as tools Lesley passed around examples of silver cuffs and pendants so that we could see the results of drilling, hammering , riveting and etching with nitric acid. Lesley advised that as materials were costly it was better to practise on copper, then silver sheet and lastly gold - £ 500 for a sheet.
After annealing with a torch Lesley taught us the stages of making a cuff, riveting on flowers and geometric shapes, sometimes in gold or with a black etched background; sometimes finishing off with jewellers rouge to give a high lustre. Very different was a seemingly delicate knitted fine wire bangle difficult to produce.
See: Open Studios Cornwall, May 24 to June 1 where Lesley and other artists will be exhibiting. The competition for a favourite piece of jewellery was won by Fay Iliffe.
The talk on Herbalism by Eileen Carter is on Thursday, June 12 at 7.30pm at the Methodist Schoolroom
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