An Apple

The studio is currently working on two new weathervanes, with a big push last week to get both sketches enlarged & finalized as full scale drawings. Great for the current apprentice to see the whole process from concept-to-copper.

The extra-large apple weathervane should be fun, as the idea is to have one side of the vane showing a "whole" apple, and the other side showing a "half" apple. We have been looking at retro apple patterns to come up with a "punchy", layered design for the apple's core. It's amazing how much character the inside of an apple can have! Because the design is large, the focus on achieving robust volume from the "whole" apple has meant some very aggressive, prolonged blows with a ball-pean hammer (I have the blisters to prove it).The result is a rounded & deeply dimpled shape. Creating this shape required two full annealings (and two spot annealings) to soften the copper and coax it into shape. The surface will now be smoothed over the course of the next few days using synthetic mallets. Creating the layers on the opposite side will be interesting, as each layer will need to be braced to the mainshaft and reinforced for strength. Hopefully the two little seeds will appear like gems suspended within these layers. It all proves some of the simplest ideas can be the most challenging!

A Surprise in the Field

Considering that none of the sheep were supposed to be pregnant, it was with great delight that we looked out the window to see this. Although miraculous to see new life, sometimes the countryside can make me feel like I am suffocating. We went to an art opening last night hoping to see some youth and vibrancy...instead it was all very dogmatic and lacked any form of poetry or poignancy. Am I cynical or just too naive?

I came home (thanks to Google Chrome) to muse over pictures of Boris Lovet-Lorski's Venus, and visit the Hirshhorn to see the sculpture Garden, and track down the goat sign we saw at the inn in Bedgellert. Then sat down to re-read the Little Prince. Thinking about bronzes and plaster casting and texture and money and mortality...

Golden Hawk in Stormy Weather

The fully gilt Montagu's Harrier Hawk weathervane was photographed in the moments between torrential rain. The sun even made a rare appearance to dazzle us. Yes, it's a bit wet here in Herefordshire. With every break in the rainfall, the animals all get quite frisky, bucking and gambolling and tearing about the place. The birds, the sheep, the pigs, the cows. It's like the picture from  the book "Tim Mouse Visits the Farm". Speaking of books...Hay Festival is starting soon. It's always a great line-up, and well worth a visit. If you need accommodation, we have four large, beautiful rooms available and always cook up a lovely breakfast.

But now it's raining, so it's hard to think about festivals. When it comes to bad weather, it is Tweksbury in Gloucestershire that usually catches the national eye, after the memorable floods of 2007. But on Tuesday, it was our corner of the map that made the BBC evening news after a little drama on the school bus. On it's trip over Stockley Hill into the Golden Valley, the school bus got stuck in waist-deep flood water from the River Dore. Trapped fast in the rushing water, the mini bus had no option but to wait for rescue. An hour and a half later, the fire department did manage to tow them out...and the school declared a "rain day"....almost as exciting as snow!

Today, climbing up Merbach Hill  to Neal's Yard Creamery we got some stunning views of the swollen River Wye. The Wye can be quite an ominous river, even when it's not high, although still considered quite "user friendly" (voted England's best river & getting a few mentions in the book and tv programme Wild Swimming).

Anyway the trip up Merbach was for the creamery's whey. The pigs just love whey...whey and slops and new hay ...happy pigs. It all makes me wish we could get some Nubian goats....

Gilding the Montagu's & a Rooster from the past

Well, the rooster is cleaned and ready for shipping, commissioned as a present from husband to wife on her birthday. This design is based on the very first motif Gordon and I created as "Greens Weathervanes". At the start of our business, the focus was on designs dripping with detail. Taking out the patterns for something produced over 15 years ago is always a beautiful thing. The drawing and patterns fall out of the envelope like pressed autumn leaves...brittle with age and use. All the patterns from this era are in a similar state, scribbled with notations, delicately folded, yellowing and in some cases held together with tape. Nonetheless carefully packed away and stored for the future. These early designs, the peacock, Alice's White rabbit, the croquet players and this rooster, are the foundations of our business; they planted the seed.

The Montagu's harrier hawk is also from this period. Today is the start of the gilding of this dramatic bird in flight. Like the rooster, the Montagu's was commissioned by a husband and wife...but, this time for a double celebration; their wedding anniversary and the birth of their son.

Pigs Herding Sheep

Well I guess this article sort of answers my question about "Can pigs herd sheep?"
http://bitspiecesoflife.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/real-life-babe-pig-herds-sheep.html
Not that it's an example of a farmer using pigs to herd sheep...only that the owner feels her pig could learn.

Making Talons

I have been working on a large Montagu's Harrier Hawk. Most of today was spent making legs and talons. The legs are bronzed copper, and the talons are forged brass. Brazing the different metals together can be very frustrating, as each metal behaves differently under heat. In  the simplest terms, brass is brittle and bronze is elastic. More importantly, when too hot neither the brass or bronze will accept the brazing rod. It's like coaxing a stubborn child. If you linger too long, the brass crawls back on itself like curdled milk, whereas the surface of the bronze gets a sort of glazed skin whilst underneath the metal is actually so mushy it usually slumps with the weight of itself.
As the Montagu's is now nearly done, I have left a small hole in the head of the bird, for adding  weight for ballast. The talons and legs still need some fine tuning, and the wings and tail need edging, but it's very close. This stage of construction is a bit of a marathon, with the torches constantly on, and a lot of upside-down brazing and strange, difficult crevices to get the tip of the torch into. Knocking off at 4pm is an absolute necessity when the work gets this intense. So, we have taken to letting the pigs out for a run in the big field every afternoon. They absolutely love the open space  & are terribly funny to watch running full pelt with their ears flopping and legs kicked out. Well, funny for us...the sheep aren't of the same opinion. I am sure Trixie (who is the trickster of the three) chases them for the thrill, she even chased the cat today. She has the disconcerting habit of trying to up-end you. The cows find it all a fine distraction from grazing, and  come crowding to the fence to enjoy the show. The pheasant and his harem just find it annoying.

Someone mentioned farmers using pigs to herd sheep. Is that possible?

The Montagu's

No acetylene today, so no playing with fire. Sourcing acetylene gas has been a real problem since the BOC accident in Bristol a year and a half ago.  I wish the suppliers were better at keeping the customer "in the loop". We changed over from BOC to Airgas last year after finding pre-ordering and waiting (and waiting!) for acetylene nearly shut us down. But we went to exchange our empty cylinder this morning, to be told there is none to be had...anywhere. Oh dear, not again! To get some idea of the rumours surrounding both the BOC accident and the current supply shortage, check out this forum http://www.ukwelder.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t10597.html
It would be dreadful if acetylene was phased out, as propane proved a huge frustration when I demonstrated at Art in Action last year. Like baking a cake with a hair dryer.

So today was a day of chiselling and shaping on the block. Above are the finished halves of the head, beak and right thigh of a large Montagu's Harrier Hawk. I love the heat patina...that splash of orange and pink and red.

Gordon, on the other hand, has been burning paint off a window today. All in preparation for our imminent studio move. We have nearly sourced all the windows for the granary, even if they are a bit of a mish-mash.