April Newsletter

I hope everybody received the schedule of workshops coming up, and the times that the studio is open for your use. Winter is coming, and a time for brooding over creative projects, good books, and warm socializing! We look forward to seeing you at the AGM, and the various workshops and studio time scheduled. Please think about your availability to serve on the committee when we elect the new committee at the AGM in June.
Also don't forget to email me with any news or things of interest you would like to share with the rest of us:)

Contact Details for your Committee Members

Arthur Harrison  (Chairman)   03 382 1332  craftyart2002@yahoo.co.nz

Karen Atherton   (Secretary)   03 337 6632   markaren20@yahoo.com

Noeline Walker  (Class Co-ordinator)     03 322 4131  noelinew@xtra.co.nz

Solvejg Ruarus       03 329 9887  solvejgr@gmail.com 

Diederic Ruarus   (Treasurer)  03 329 9887   diedericr@gmail.com

Crystal Mathieson   03 980 3992   quartzcrystal@hotmail.com

John Weeber         03 322 4242   johnweeber@windowslive.com

Jo Crompton (Newsletter)    03 9818061  joannacrompton@gmail.com

Anita Parris  (Membership Secretary)    0277796857  anitagann@yahoo.com

Visiting Artist Kobi Bosshard - Come and meet him at our Studio

A few weeks ago we became aware that  Kobi Bosshard will have an exhibition in Christchurch in the NG Gallery from the 7th of May.
He is one of New Zealands best jewellery makers over decades,now living in Dunedin.
We sent him a letter asking if there would be a chance that he could visit our new Studio and meet our members, may be answer questions one would have.
Kobi rang me to arrange a time.
I am very aware of the fact that his time could be limited ,but he offered to come on

Wednesday the 8th of May at 10 AM. to the Studio 39C Tanner St.

It is during workhours,but there was no other time available.
If you can make it.. please come along!!!!
Send me an email if you can be there so I can plan enough coffees.

We hope to be able to plan more contact in the future......
Our library has bought the great book recently published about his work and his life story.
Visit the exhibition !!!
Solvejg
email:solvejgr@gmail.com
phone:03-32998

* May's workshop is an Enamelling skill sharing day with Anita and Michelle. 

Saturday 25th May 10am -3pm. $20 for the day. Ring Arthur, 382 1332, to book your place, there are limited spaces available. We have some enamels available for use and will crank up the kilns after a long time of disuse after our relocation. It might be useful to have prepared some copper shapes to bring along if you have something in mind to make.

* The AGM is scheduled for 10th of June, pending our accounts being ready by then. We have information to mail out to you all beforehand, and your membership subs need to be current for your vote to be valid.

* Membership Subs are due.

$65 for the year April 1st 2013 - March 31st 2014. Either send a cheque  addressed to 'The Silversmiths' Guild of Canterbury' to PO Box 19905 Christchurch 8241, or pay online to our BNZ Account 02 0865 0197906 00 with 'Subscription' and your name in the reference lines.

Please email Jo ( joannacrompton@gmail.com), with your details so she can keep them up to date, especially your email address since that is how we communicate mainly! Just click on my email address above - do it now while you are here:)

* Members' Work on Display

There are a couple of members with work being exhibited. Perhaps you might fancy a trip out to see some art and have a coffee!

Noeline Walker has some gorgeous work showing at the Oxford Art Gallery, April 16th - May 12th. She has been working with silver and slate that has come from roof slates from Christchurch Cathedral.

Jo Crompton is exhibiting with her painter friend, Gaby Reade, at the Two Rivers Gallery in Cheviot, during the second half of May and early June. Jo has created a group of brooches and pendants to complement Gaby's arch shaped oils of 'The Virtues', several in a 'Madonna and Child' vein.

* From the library

A big THANK YOU to Pam Englefield!!!
She donated a whole pile of great books to our library.
They will be of such good use for all of us!

I"ll mention 2 now:

The Ultimate Jeweler's Guide by Joanna Gollberg......very  clear in instructions ,lots of great information!!!
This one is reference only ,so come in and have a good look.

The Jeweler's Directory of Decorative Finishes by Jinks Mc Grath....also very usefull.and can be borrowed.

All our books are on the shelves now and the catalogue is up to date.
Solvejg

Adding Colour to your Metal Workshop

This was a well attended, thoroughly enjoyable workshop, where several members shared their experiences using several different techniques.

Solvegj shared her use of gold leaf. Using layering and spray adhesive Sol created a manageable sheet of gold which could be cut into a shape, which she then sandwiched between mylar, (this can be purchased from stationery suppliers in A4 sheets), and then riveted into her final pieces of jewellery. Gold leaf is very fine, sticking to your fingers and being easily blown away if you breathe on it. It is well worth the challenges, adding a gorgeous touch of luxurious colour to your jewellery designs!

Noeline had been exploring three different ways of adding colour; gilders paste, colour pencils, and some ceramic paints that give a very creditable enamel look. 

Arthur had been very busy preparing some copper pieces for us to try out the colour pencil techniques, roughing up their surfaces to provide 'tooth', and applying a good coat of gesso. The colour pencils are oil based, and we used both Prisma Colour, and Soft Colour pencils, with turps as a solvent. layers are applied, sprayed with fixative, and heated in a  dedicated toaster oven, before finally being sealed with Renaissance Wax and heated for a final time.

Gilders' Paste comes in lots of colours which are gently applied to your finished piece of jewellery, rubbing the wax into the texture and grooves of the piece. It dries hard, but can be removed by wear, and turps, so ois best used on jewellery that won't receive a lot of contact.

Paebo Porcelaine 150 is a water based media which can be applied to any heat stable surface, and is baked at 300ºF in an ordinary oven to achieve a finish that is as permanent as enamel. I think this has promise!

Top LHS are copper discs with Paebo porcelaine paint applied.
RHS is Titanium with various heat effects.

Jo Shared her experiments with titanium sheet, and Arthur provided us with samples to try our own ideas out on. The main things to concentrate on were to keep things spotlessly clean, as oils from your fingers and gunk on your tools both affect the consistency of colours achieved. John Weeber tested using this interference as a way to get some different design possibilities. Titanium gives a spectacular range of colours and is another way to add colour to your work. It also calls for cold connections to join it to your pieces so provides a different look on that level too.

Look at those waves, made using a resist method

This was a fun workshop using materials and ideas that are new to all of us. Play is vital to keep us fresh and our designs growing and developing along the way. Sharing our skills with each other always gives rise to further possibilities and a new level of excitement in our work. Let's do more of this!

Jo Crompton

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SSG Committee Meeting Minutes Summary

May 8, 2013 

Arthur

Crystal

Solvejg

Anita

Jo

John W.

Diederic

Karen

Noeline

Debi James

Meeting opened at 7 p.m. 

Michelle Boston showed examples of her work including enameled pieces.  On the basis of those examples she was invited to join the Guild.  On the strength of the enameled pieces she was asked to do a workshop soon with Anita on enameling.

Minutes were accepted with some clarifications by Karen.

Noeline and Jo will update our entry in the Arts Participation Guide to include education and pictures.

Matters Arising

 Arthur reported that we have spent all our grant money.  Arthur and Mark will now write a report for Creative New Zealand and include photos to support our purchases.

Arts Centre:  We got a letter from Liz Hodgeson (manager of Arts Centre) inviting us to come look at our vacated space and retrieve any left belongings.  Apparently a small cabinet is still there (probably the metal enamel cabinet) but we don’t need it.  Arthur will contact Liz and let her know.

Arthur will contact Nicola Roake next week to discuss doing a forming workshop.

Treasurer’s Report

Diederic gave us a draft only which was done as the IRD requires.  He will add closing stock and cost of stock.  He suggests no receipts be sent out for memberships.  Arthur moved, Jo seconded .  Accepted and Diederic was thanked by all.

Noeline reported on the stock-take for silver.  There is a discrepancy of 57 grams ($199 loss).  This is much better than previous stock-take results which seems to mean that Noeline’s new system of numbered pre-cut stock is working.  We need to keep online banking slip system.  Diederic suggests that we let him know when a large payment for silver is expected to come in. 

Classes Report:

Noeline said there is not the same demand as last term but we are still getting students:

Term 2:

Tuesday, Level 1, five people  (3 paid)

Weds, Level 2, eleven people (7 paid)

Thurs Level 1, two people (not paid)

Thurs Level 2, nine people (3 paid)

Term 3:

Level 1, three people (2 paid)

Level 2, two people (1 paid)

Substitutions of classes for any time missed by students is working all right.  Make-up time is still at the discretion of the tutors.

Crystal is doing Facebook updates.  Crystal and Noeline will do updates for library.

Karen suggested we offer projects for Level 2 students rather than letting them choose their own.  Karen will do a list of suggested projects but we will still let them choose their own.

Arthur suggests having a tutor training and assessment workshop.  Suggests devising exercises to test competency.

Karen suggests tutor evaluation sheets to be given to students at the end of term.  Noeline asked for suggestions of what to include on evaluations.

Diederic wants tutors to notify him of time worked after each term.

General: 

Annual Meeting is scheduled for June 10.  We need to receive the accounting results in time to send them out 6 weeks before the meeting.  Diederic hopeful that we will make the deadline but not completely sure.  We will ask people to bring a plate and the Guild will supply drinks.

Solvejg and Diederic had the banner made for the outside.  It looks good and everyone thanked them.

Diederic reported that the sanitary bin is not being emptied by the company contracted to do it.  He will follow up.

Solvejg suggested writing to Kobi Bossard to see if he will meet us and maybe answer questions while he is in town for the National Gallery show.  We agreed this is a good idea.  Maybe we could get him to give a workshop or a master class sometime.  Tony Williams would be good to do an enameling master class.  We need to contact Anna at Creative New Zealand to find out about tech-based funding. 

 Noeline will contact Terry Banks to talk about a stone setting workshop.

Exhibition:

Solvejg suggested City Arts space for exhibition.  Karen will check it out and will also write to Magma to reinforce our request for exhibition space.  Our ideal time for exhibition is late November.

If we need more display cabinets we might be able to rent them from Peek Displays since one of our students works there.

Karen suggested holding the exhibition at The Studio but was voted down.

Solvejg suggests having photographic bookmarks made to drop off at cafes, pubs, etc. to promote the Guild.  Crystal will investigate.  Crystal will call in the newsletter for photographs to include in the bookmark ads.  Photos to be sent to her.

Workshops:  

April workshop this Saturday.  Colouring metal workshop – Arthur will prepare some copper pieces with gesso ahead of time.  Twelve are signed up already.

May 25, 10 to 3 p.m, Enamel Have-a-go with Michelle Boston and Anita facilitating.  $20.

June 8, Repousse and chasing, Arthur

July 13, 14, lost wax casting, Arthur and John W.

August 10, PMC with Susan Brown.   Karen will get prices for best PMC deal and arrange how to order.  Limit class to ten people.

Arthur committed to do Thursday Club Nights.

The Saturday and Wednesday studio hours will continue as before.

Working Bee:

April 27 10 a.m. until done.  We will get together to install blinds, sort exhibition stuff and put together remaining display cases.

Meeting ended at 9 p.m.

March 2013 NewsLetter

* Mentoring and Studio Time Programme

Our mentoring programme is now operating from the Guild Workshop. This is a great way to get some help with problem solving, exploring a new technique, or just a bit of a refresher while making a new piece of jewellery. It is designed to be flexible, you ring around the list below, until you find someone who is available, arrange a time that suits, and make a $10 donation to the Guild to cover costs.

Noeline Walker     ph 322 4131

Arthur Harrison    ph 382 1332

Karen Atherton     ph 337 6632

Jo Crompton         ph 981 8061

Guidelines:

• The mentoring and Studio time programme is available to all financial

members of the Guild

• The member would need to ring the mentor and discuss the project to ensure

they have the mentor who can best meet their needs

• Once the mentor has been established the member will need to arrange a time

for a session which is suitable to all involved

• The duration of the session will be arranged between the mentor and member

• The member should organise the materials – silver, stone etc - required for

the project – mentors will not be responsible for providing any materials

• The mentoring and studio time is to enable members to learn, solve problems

and complete projects started at a workshop or for the Guild Exhibition.

----------------

Hi Everyone,

We hope you all had a happy Easter and enjoyed a few days break as we enter Autumn and start thinking about the approaching Winter! There are quite enough excuses for a small indulgence in chocolate in my mind.

Things are ticking along nicely as we grow into our new facilities and all the opportunities they offer us as members. We are drawing to the close of the trial period for the various times we have had someone available at the workshop for members to come along and make use of the space. It has been a bit mixed response with some discussion needed about where this will need to go in the future. Your feedback would be welcomed, an email to Arthur or a phone call to one of the committee members is all it takes. You could even leave a comment at the end of this month's newsletter.

April's members' workshop is shaping up nicely.... Arthur has ordered some titanium for extra interest - just offering a little temptation! I know lots of people are intrigued by those lovely colours that can be achieved. Details below.

It is now time to renew your membership subscription for 2013 - 2014. I will include the details below. Your membership gives you voting rights in the upcoming AGM, access to the Guild's monthly workshops, our library, the workshop and all the associated tools, the monthly newsletter, the mentoring program, and the chance to engage with a group of other creative souls with a huge range of skills and interests! There is someone amongst us who will have the knowledge and skills to help solve your technical problem, explore new ideas, or at the least point you in the direction to find out about what you want to do. I think that is one of the things I enjoy the most and there are some great conversations to be had!

We are also looking for people to serve on the committee, help teach the evening classes, and perhaps share some skills in our monthly workshops. Of course you can be involved in any, or all, of these areas as your time and energy dictate. It is a fantastic forum to participate in, I have learned all sorts of things I wouldn't have if I hadn't taken the plunge, and made some good friends as well.

Contact Details for your Committee Members

Arthur Harrison  (Chairman)   03 382 1332   craftyart2002@yahoo.co.nz

Karen Atherton   (Secretary)   03 337 6632   markaren20@yahoo.com

Noeline Walker  (Class Co-ordinator)     03 322 4131  noelinew@xtra.co.nz

Solvejg Ruarus       03 329 9887  solvejgr@gmail.com 

Diederic Ruarus   (Treasurer)  03 329 9887   diedericr@gmail.com

Crystal Mathieson   03 980 3992   quartzcrystal@hotmail.com

John Weeber         03 322 4242   johnweeber@windowslive.com

Jo Crompton (Newsletter)    03 9818061  joannacrompton@gmail.com

Anita Parris  (Membership Secretary)    0277796857  anitagann@yahoo.com

OOO, and have you seen our video clip put together by the talented Tannery people, featuring our own talented Arthur Harrison? Click on the word Tannery and go take a look!

We look forward to hearing from you soon

Jo

* Next Committee Meeting

Monday 8th April, 7pm at our workshop. Everyone is welcome to come along if interested.

* Heads up

A wee reminder that our tools need to be treated as if they were your own. Both bracelet mandrels have received a bit of a battering and need to be re-faced as a result. If you strike the metal mandrels with a metal hammer they will be damaged, leaving hammer marks that will damage the surface of the next person's metal. Always use either a rawhide, or nylon hammer when using a metal mandrel to shape your piece.

Coming Up.....

* April Members' Workshop Saturday 13th, 10am-3pm

Mixed Metals, Colouring, and Texturing

Learn how to combine different metals, ways of texturing your surfaces, and adding colour in a variety of ways. We have a rolling mill, and pitch pots for repousse' work which you may like to try out. Come and share your own ways of embellishing metal, and learn some new things from each other too.

•Mixed Metals, Colouring, and Texturing

Cost: $20

To Book: Ring Arthur 382 1332, don't miss out!

* Membership Subs Due

Our Subs are now due, $65 for the year. We will be sending out a separate email for your details etc, while Anita Parris takes over the role of Membership Secretary. 

In the meantime payments can be made online, using your name and 'subsription' in the reference panel. The account is called The Silversmiths Guild of Canterbury. It is a BNZ account, 02 0865 0197906 00. 

If you want to send a cheque, send it to: 'The Silversmiths Guild of Canterbury, 

PO Box 19905, Christchurch,' with 'Membership' on the envelope.

Please email Anita with your details - postal address with postal code, contact phone number, and current email address   anitagann@yahoo.com

Casting Workshop Report - February

Photos and report from Crystal

 

Busy, busy, all at work.

The Silversmith Guild of Canterbury held a “Casting Workshop” last month on Saturday 16th February. This workshop was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and was kindly run by Arthur and John Weebley who, as long-serving Guild members, were very generous with their time, expertise and instruction on the two methods of casting available to try on the day.

Most popular at the workshop was the Delf Clay casting, a method which offers excellent results for intricate detail. Delf clay is a method of manipulating this special casting clay into half of a metal cylinder, next pressing in the article to be cast, for example a shell or a button, then adding talcum powder for later resistance, followed by the second half of the cylinder packed with more clay. The cylinder is then separated into halves (eased by the layer of talcum powder inbetween) and the object to be cast removed. Airholes are then added as well as a funnel for the silver to run through, then the cylinder is rejoined. Silver is then melted in a crucible with the aid of a mixed gas and oxygen torch, and poured into the cast, creating a silver duplicate of the original object.

Delft Clay casting all ready to go.

Melting silver scrap, preparing to be poured.

Of course this sounds very simple in theory, but there’s always the challenge of things not working as expected, such as a funnel being too small to take the silver, missing the funnel completely (especially while wearing those dark UV protective glasses), or the general challenges of intricate objects that take several tries and a lot of patience for good results.

The second casting method to tackle was the ‘cuttlefish casting’, where 2 cuttlefish are sanded flat on their soft face to achieve a tight fit together, and the object to be cast pressed in. Airholes and funnel are then added and the cuttlefish sealed together, finally we pour the silver into it in the same manner as the Delf Casting method. 

Cuttlefish Casting freshly broken out from the mold

One of the great benefits of cuttlefish casting is the beautiful ‘ripple-like’ pattern that can be achieved, as this pattern is actually in the cuttlefish itself and can be brought out by using a soft brush on the inner surface, showing a beautiful layered texture resembling the ripple patterns on a beach once the tide goes out.

The ripply ones are Cuttlefish castings, and the smooth ones Delft Clay
Both are capable of great detail. The original objects are dark, and the delft cast silvery.
Well done Crystal!

It was a wonderful day for all - for those who have done casting at previous workshops and those who were trying it for the first time. We were well pleased with a great variety of successful cast objects, from crosses to flowers, wolf heads to scotty dogs, pigs and trout!

We also had a visit from a local Gem Seller, showcasing a range of natural and synthetic gems, both cabachons and facet-cut stones. Huge thanks to Ian Shackley for bringing along his gems for purchase, keeping us busy with our own variety of projects.

Ian Shackley - Gem Seller

Hope we got you all enthused to sign up for the next Workshop!!! It’s well worth a try.

- Crystal Mathieson.

Silversmiths’ Guild Committee Meeting Summary

March 4, 2013.

7:00 p.m.

 

Arthur

John Weeber

Anita

Diederic

Solvejg

Karen

 

Apologies:  Jo, Noeline

 

Minutes from February meeting accepted.

 

Matters arising:

 

Creative New Zealand’s representative seemed to like her visit and raised no red flags about how the money was spent. 

 

The Tannery video was made and is now online at the Tannery website and on our Facebook page.

 

Noeline has a brochure ready for the city council.  Judy (the kite lady) will give us the Kids Fest information -- Solvejg will contact her.   Karen will get publication dates from Council.  We can talk about the idea of giving youth workshops at the next meeting.

 

Karen and Sol contacted Barbara Simch at Magma Gallery to talk about possible exhibition space.  Promising first contact with more to be discussed.

 Fran Dudding, Bursar at Steiner School, will oversee our books.  She will get them the first two weeks in April and have them done in time to have the AGM in June.

 

Classes:

 

Asked John Weeber to consider teaching a class but he is currently too busy and declined.  We agreed we need to train more tutors.

 

Solvejg and Karen suggested the Level 2 classes need some further structure beyond teaching cabochon stone setting.  Should we perhaps have a Level 3 class?   Discuss at a later meeting.

 

Arthur suggested that tutors are doing too much of the students’ work.  We need to let them make their own mistakes and learn from them. 

 

Tannery:

 

The door holder and rubber stopper still need to be installed.  They also need to fix the hole in the wall near the door.

 

Workshops:

 

Arthur noted that there were only four people at the last chain workshop.

 

Susan Brown agreed to hold a metal clay workshop in August.  We will limit it to ten people.  Karen will find best deal (internationally) on metal clay and arrange buying 25 grams per person.

General:

 

Solvejg would like us to buy a chenier cutter, bigger disk cutter, plastic coated wire for ring sizing.  The price for the Guild to buy a centrifuge from John Ogilvie is $300.  Yes, we will buy it.

 

If there is dog poo outside our door we should call the café lady.  She will happily come clean it up.

 

We bought a banner holder from the Kite lady.  Need to get a banner to put outside when we are open.

 

Size 0.8 silver is needed to be taken out of storage and put in the box for sale.

 

Newsletter should include a piece about bracelet mandrels being damaged by hammering.  Only soft hammers should be used with the polished bracelet mandrel.  We will need to re-surface it.

 

Discussed how to store hammers.  Suggestions include drilling holes in the handles for hanging on nails in some kind of order rather than dumping them in a tray.  Maybe a peg board system with outlines of each hammer so we can see that they are replaced.

 

The rolling mill is hard to use because it shifts position when pressure is applied.  We need to stabilise it with a block, or planks or clamp so that it stays in position when being used.  Agreed that we will see what evolves.

 

Need to decide how to arrange furniture to best advantage.  Suggested no wardrobe, better use of the platform over the loo.  We will need a working bee to fix the space usage issues.

 

In response to a question by a student, Solvejg asked why we file a groove and fill with solder the brooch back hook rather than just bending it.  Discussion about how the filed and soldered finding is stronger than a bent one.

 

Meeting adjourned at 9 pm

Next meeting is April 8^th to accommodate Easter.