I design and make jewellery and eyeglasses. Started this in 1979. The hand-tech process I generally use often starts by melting up scrap metal from previous jobs, hammering it and rolling sheet, drawing wire, sawing out shapes, and so on until the work and my hands get progessively cleaner.
I stumbled into this occupation, a mix of artist and jeweller, and naturally inherited some but not all of the ways of the proper jewellers, with their dirty gold, their blood diamonds, and who know what chemicals. I rejected much of that fairly early on, but I might have a few more yet to correct.
I make eyeglass frames from silver and gold, and I make them to fit the customer. It's one of the things I do as a jeweller, so I consider them to be body adornment and I use the same materials and technology as my other jewellery. Custom eyeglass making is a very exacting task which enjoy but I do have to take my time over, and I need to have my ordinary jewellery-making, which is quite rough by comparison, going on at the same time for light relief from the exactitude.
I'm inspired by simple 17th and 18th century silver frames. The way some these are just sawn out of a big chunk of sterling reveals my low-tech leanings. In the world of eyeglasses I'm an anacronism: compared with nearly 100% of eyeglasses available today my eyeglass frames might have been made in the 18th century.
Brian commented on the discussion: by Brian Adam
Brian commented on the discussion: by Brian Adam
Brian is doing this action: Recycle plastic, glass and paper at work and home.
Recycle plastic, glass and paper at work and home.. Doing this since in July 2010.
