Portland Engraving Project

Portland Engraving Project - Update 13

It’s finished and on it’s way to London. Over the last 6 weeks I’ve worked on this project, planning it, writing the updates, photographing the piece and actually engraving it (and some other smaller jobs in between), finally it’s done. You can view a short video clip of it here http://youtu.be/o6vp9mpIKIw  . We set out to educate and inform people about copper wheel engraving and how a piece like this is done, the time involved and the thought that goes into it. The subject was the Portland Vase, an iconic ceramic piece that Wedgwood adopted as their own and features 6 figures from ancient mythology. Many people have done their version of it as the imagery is beautifully ornate but no one (to my knowledge) had dared to modernise it, to take the same figures and re-tell the story in 2014.

The vase is generally seen as having 2 separate stories – one side is love story, the other a depiction of the afterlife or heaven, where the inhabitants are relaxed in a carefree environment. These are everyday themes that you would still come across today and so, should easily withstand modernising.

Who’s who……

Let’s look at the individuals and the changes made to them;

The first figure is Phelis, tip-toeing into the afterlife/scene to greet his girlfriend Thetis. The modern equivalent is a casually dressed guy in a t-shirt and jeans with tattoos, Dr.Dre headphones and offering a hi-5 to his girl.Thetis is posed facing her boyfriend and away from Poseidon, who wanted to marry her; she’s seen reciprocating the hi-5 while clutching her snakeskin handbag (formerly a serpent). Her clothes are street-style - boots, shorts, t-shirt and styled with costume jewellery. Her hair is in a pony-tail with shades also holding it in place. Poseidon is the third figure on this side. His pose is suggestive of a more mature figure, almost father-like assessing his daughter’s suitor. He now wears a 3-piece suit, with one hand in a pocket, the other holding a mobile as he reads texts (or is perhaps looking up the new boyfriend’s facebook page!).   The background alterations are minimal - a dove flies over the couple replacing the Eros figure of the original, the architecture and foliage remains.

Rotating the vase to the opposite side there are three more figures, all seated on rocky pedestals – a reference to them having passed into the afterlife. The first figure, thought to be Achilles sits with his body facing away but his head turned to the others. He’s now dressed in jeans and logoed t-shirt and has a baseball hat, goatie beard and key-chain. Next to him is Helen, sporting a short jacket, jodhpurs and knee-high boots. She’s dropped her Vaio laptop bag to pose for the camera. Her friend, Aphrodite is about to take a group ‘selfie’, capturing herself and her friends. She’s dressed in a mini skirt and layered t-shirts with a short, cropped hairstyle. Her t-shirt is printed with ‘MMXIV’, that’s 2014 in roman numerals. 

I mentioned previously that the faces below the handles presented an opportunity to introduce some people from popular culture. These aren’t portraits as such, just a ‘likeness’ of these individuals done with a combination of diamond point and copper wheel – 3 hrs max. The first guy is Guy Martin, professional road racer and TV documentary maker. The other face is that of actor, comedian and Hollywood icon Robin Williams, who first came to light in Mork & Mindy and went on to a stellar career on stage and screen but sadly died earlier this year. I’ve used an image of him with a beard in keeping with the original faces.

So far we haven’t mentioned the base. It’s been verified by the experts that the base on the original was added at a later date – perhaps to salvage the vase after an accident. Its composition, both in the engraving of the Paris figure and the substance used differs from the rest of the vase. In keeping with the modernising idea and engraving individuals (who I hope are recognisable) I spent some time choosing who to replace Paris with. I’m not particularly religious but The Dalai Lama is a fitting choice on many levels – not only is he posed and dressed similarly to Paris, but being a spiritual person pays homage to the original vase’s spiritual subjects. His simple lifestyle contrasts with the modern figures/version I’ve done; you could broaden that comparison out to include the handcraft versus the hi-tech/mass-produced debate.  

 

Just to cover some outstanding items, I’ve ‘detailed’ the figures with a combination of polishing, diamond point and vibro (a fine carbide point with hammer action) to finish them. The logos on their t-shirts for example are done with a delicate touch of the diamond or vibro as it’s effectively an ink transfer you’re engraving. I shaped out the handles, engraved some ferns onto them and bonded them into place. They are flush with the top of the rim and sit on the shoulder of the vase just above the 2 faces. I didn’t do a great job photographing or videoing it – it’s raw to say the least but I was rushing to make the courier; you’ll get the idea despite the backdrop and background noise. The finished piece will be part of the Guild of Glass Engravers exhibition in Morley College, London opening on October 8^th. If/when it’s sold I will be forwarding an SD card with 200+ images of it in work, 2 short videos and these updates to the new owner. 

Ta-dah……….

So, after hours of drawing, engraving and polishing you’ve washed your piece and it looks well. Look closely though, are there any fine scratches you missed? Have you signed and dated it? Are you photographing it? Should you make a rubbing of it for your records in case you are commissioned to make another? Does it need a plinth? Have you considered the presentation and sourced packaging and a box – nothing will drag your work down as much as delivering it in a tatty shoe box. Now, get it delivered and get paid.

Congratulations………now it’s finished.

 

 

The Portland Engraving Project - Day 8

Day 8

What!

We’ve stoned out our figures, we’ve added some background detail and examined several techniques and styles so it’s time get working on our figures. Working to the principle that the deepest is the nearest our first guy is the perfect starting point.

Our friend here is now wearing a T-shirt, pants & soft shoes and has ear-phones around his neck and been to the barbers, which will outrage purists but I did say it would be modernised! Draw the clothes on the glass. You’ll notice that your pen/pencil has to follow the contours of the depths; your wheels will have to do the same. You can start anywhere but it’s advisable to go with the larger wheels first and work down to the smaller ones - work the whole figure rather than focus on one area.

 

Let’s iron this out….

Take a crease in the t-shirt and examine it; folds and creases in clothes usually run from an extremity (an elbow or knee for example) and fade out gently. You should carve them the same way, starting with a strong definite line and then smoothen out the end as the tension in the cloth eases. It’s important to draw and get the line of them correct as they help re-enforce the figure’s posture.

 

The sleeves present a new challenge – they are wider than the arm. Use your copper wheel to cut the end of the sleeve and smoothen out the muscle it covers. Again the depth will add to the image but the lines you cut for the end of the sleeve and then the folds and creases in it will ‘dress’ the guy. Engraving the clothes means that a lot of the muscle definition will be covered or softened but the depth in the figure remains. In some cases it is necessary to remove a ridge altogether; a good example being a skirt where the legs underneath will be obscured but you have to stone out the depths of the anatomy first to make it look right. Similarly, take care when doing things like the neckline on a t-shirt as it may traverse several contours and depths so accuracy is vital. 

I’ve referenced accuracy in draughtsmanship a lot with clothes, this next part being critical. If you have to engrave a sleeve that’s foreshortened and the internal part is visible you need to use very small wheels to carve the arcs at the top and bottom. They will underpin the illusion that it’s a hollow, tube like form that surrounds the arm. Do the arm first, then cut the sleeve deeper with the internal area last - it only needs subtle shading. 

Today’s tip - The abrasive will eat into the glass and your wheels – file them often to restore profile

Meet the engraver 6 Mr.Techno

Mr. Techno is a master of the engraving craft and doesn’t really feel challenged by this work anymore - he’s looking at the future for a faster way. He wonders how he could marry his is love of computers and new technology to his engraving knowledge. He’d do a circle using computer generated artwork, a mask and sandblaster as it’s faster and can be replicated thousands of times – it makes him popular with accountants and marketing guys.

Lesson – Technology is great but you should respect the integrity of the craft.     

The Portland Engraving project - Day 4

Day 4

Into the deep…….

With the arm already stoned out, we now have a depth to work from. All the other depths in his body will relate to it. The shoulder will have to be deeper than the arm, the torso too and from that to the head via the neck and down into the legs and so on. You need to take a lot of glass out to give the torso depth and substance - use a large wheel with rounded profile. Because our guy is turned slightly, we need to go a little deeper on his right side, the side that is closer to us. Onto this initial depth we’ll model out a rib-cage, six-pack, pelvis and hips, later adding pecks, collar bones etc. until we have a workable body. You can draw these on the ‘grey’ glass now with a hard pencil (3H). Remember, all the depths are related – the nearer shoulder (his right) should be deeper.

In terms of initial modelling with diamond/stone wheels, his legs present our first real hurdle. Let’s focus on his left leg which is further away and therefore should be shallower. It needs to be fully modelled out before we start the other leg. Just as we carved the muscle depths in the arm, the same idea applies to the leg. The upper thigh and calf muscles are more prominent and should have some definition/depth. The same wheel should suffice to carve out the substance of the leg. The right leg, when cut deeper than the left will appear to be in front of the left. Carve out an initial depth then add muscle definition.  Using whatever stone or diamond wheels you have continue to add substance, weight, depth, definition or detail to the figure until your happy with it.

‘Cut the shape - shape the cut’

The profile of any wheel determines what shape cut it will make; rounded profile = rounded cut, flat profile = flat cut; it’s not rocket science! Let’s look at that round wheel for a second. What if I was to feed the glass under the wheel at an angle? The resulting cut would be more of an oval profile rather than the rounded shape the wheel actually is. We’ve moved from carving according to the wheel profile to the wheel silhouette……..read that again. Now, think about the form you are trying to engrave and ‘cut the shape’. Sliding and manoeuvring the wheel around within that cut will shape it. If you can grasp that, go straight to the top of the class.  

Stone the body, engrave the clothes

Consider this, no matter how well you engrave clothes, they will never ‘hang’ properly if there isn’t a body underneath. Getting the right depths into a figure will make dressing it far easier. Getting the wrong depths will make it look like the clothes are still on the hanger! When you are doing folds and creases in material, your wheel will have to follow the contours of the depths. 

Today’s Tip - Use the plasticine to make a cast of your work – it can help to see your depths. 

 

Meet the Engraver 3. Mr. Shallow

This guy is a talented and knowledgeable Engraver; he’s worked out every trick and shortcut you can imagine. He can do but avoids ‘depths’ (which is the cornerstone of intaglio engraving). If he engraved a footballer for example, the ball would be more like a dinner-plate than sphere, perfectly round but ‘flat’. He finishes the circle first, it’s done in 4/5 swift arcs and is round but is almost a shadow. 

Lessons – if it’s worth doing, then do it properly. Commitment (read depth) is key.