2012 - A Good Year So Far....

Every year since leaving art school (2007) I  have optimistically said that this will be my year. Needless to say each year has been a relentless slog since then, with often grim times, wondering if things were ever going to go anywhere. It probably was  foolhardy and crazy to move back to my hometown of Assynt to set up my workshop, which is almost as remote and out of the loop as you can get my gut told me it was right. Miraculously it does actually feel like the picture is beginning to make sense and I`m glad to say that I`m finally getting a bit of a break.

Sunset From The New Croft and Future Studio

Without going on to sound too smug here, it was a great boost to get into Goldsmiths` Fair but I also got some more good news this year.... I was assigned a croft last month by a friend of the family who taught me how to dress make as a child and was leaving town. Basically the croft is an area of land to grow crops, have animals and also 2 buildings come along with too - one of which I will be converting into a new studio/shop and the other will be my house and hopefully with not with too much work involved. I`m hoping (probably too optimistically) to be moved in my next summer. There are a lot of people touring about these back roads in the summertime where these buildings are located, so hopefully I`ll get some traffic stumbling across my studio wanting a unique piece of jewellery. Will keep you posted on the development of this project.

House on the Left, Studio on Right (eventually)

Views out to sea from Studio

Fortnightly Focus

Every 2 weeks I will be presenting a new piece of work hot off the bench ready for immediate purchase. So keep watching for something brand spanking new every fortnight.

Today I present...

Spiky Flower Bracelet and Earrings

 

An absolutely stunning, lusciously enameled, bejeweled, classic flower bracelet. The piece is made up of 7 alternating in size silver flowers (2.4cm and 2cm) - individually they are composed of 2 layers of spiky petals. These have been enameled over multiple layers back and front - a delicious shade of dark cobalt blue. Dazzling White Topaz stones are used to give dramatic contrast.  Matching Earrings also available. Buy now: Bracelet £330, Buy now: Earrings £126 (or together for £400 for the next 2 weeks only) 

New Work

If you`ve seen my work over the past few years, you may have noticed that it has developed in different ways. I originally introduced colour to my work by using resins and cold enamels. These days, I`ve shifted mainly to hot vitreous enameling and I`m not looking back to be honest.

I love the depth of colour and glossiness that can be achieved from vitreous enamels and like the fact that this ground up glass is actually fused to the metal. I found that proper vitreous enamelers could be a bit snooty (rightly so) about my cold enamel work because it wasn`t "real" enamel. There is really a lot more skill with vitreous enamel as it takes time to figure out firing times as each enamel can reacts differently and even just applying the stuff is quite a skill.

Clustering has become a bit of a trend in recent times with many jewellers like Ruth Tomlinson, Polly wales, Katie Lees, Joanne Macfadyen to name a few that have explored this aesthetic in their work. I wanted to try my own interpretation of this by using clustering flowers. These have been achieved through cad design, rapid prototyping and casting, then stone set and enameled. See more at www.barbara-macleod.com

My Trip To Goldsmiths` Fair 2012



Goldsmiths` Fair is widely hailed as the premier show for independent designer/makers, showcasing the creme de la creme of both established and up and coming talent. So I was delighted to announce at the beginning of the year that my application to get into the Fair was successful! It came as a particular wanted boost as this year marked the final year that I was eligible to apply for a Graduate Stand - which means getting a free stand and £1500 bullion bursary. Not only that, but it was also the 30th anniversary year. So naturally these past 6 months leading up to the fair were certainly full of hard work and pressure to make sure I could bring my very best collection of work down. I`m glad to say that it was all more than worth it and a super time was had.

 

 

Goldsmiths` Fair

 It was lovely meeting all the other exhibitors -
 it`s a great mix of makers at different stages of their careers. The well established makers who have done the show many times are very supportive of new makers to the show like myself and were full of plenty handy hints and invaluable advice. Having moved away from cold enamel resins in my work to hot vitreous enameling, it was really helpful to have my stand next to an experienced and lovely enameler Tamara De Vries Winter. It was very enjoyable seeing the work in the flesh as well as meeting and chatting to the other makers I have long admired - Fred Rich, Marianne Anderson, Ruth Tomlinson to name but a few.



Snap Shot of My Stand

 With living so remotely in the north west Highlands of Scotland it`s great to get the chance to do a show that`s so worthwhile. It was nice getting the sleeper train down  from Inverness and back up with fellow Highalnder, mentor and former tutor ... the very talented Eileen Gatt who was also exhibiting at the Fair - for her this was her for 10th time. Eileen`s kind words of wisdom were very helpful indeed.

It seems no matter how many times people have done the show, many are making to the very last minute. I can certainly vouch for this as the 12 hour train journey down (which I can never get any sleep on anyway) was spent wet and drying and polishing. I`m sure the other passengers were delighted about this!! It was a mad pack up of all my bits and polishing debris when I realized we`d arrived in Euston and now it was to negotiate my 2 big brutes of suitcases across London to the hall.


Train Journey Finishing

 Items Which Sold Well From Far Left: Cluster Flower Ring, Lacy Onyx & Yellow Enamel Earrings, Flower Garland Necklace



I`m sure what you`re wanting to know if the experience translated into good solid, hard sales? Well I can honestly say that out of all the shows that I`ve done previously, nothing has come even close to this one - so I`ll leave the rest to your imagination.  I also secured a very exciting commission that I shall be revealing more about in the coming weeks which I`ll be working very hard on in the new year. Until the (hopeful) xmas rush comes in, I`m just finishing off orders that were placed at the Fair and getting everything updated.





Snap Shot of Stand

 So overall, It has just been a smashing experience! Not only with sales, but it`s the contacts you make too and of course it `s an honour to exhibit at such a high quality show, in the amazingly  plush and decadent surroundings of Goldsmiths` Hall. This was my FIFTH attempt at applying to get in and i can truly say that I`m glad it was this time and not before as I don`t think I would have been ready for it in order to really capitalise from the experience.





 







Welcome To My New Blog

The day has finally come - I`ve actually got round to doing a blog. This has been my intention for years - So welcome everyone. I have lots of exciting news that I look forward to sharing with you over the coming weeks and months. So stay watching y`all..