The Portland Engraving Project - Day 9

Day 9

Heading for home

Our guy is taking shape so we’ll do a little work on his head. This isn’t a portrait so ‘a face’ will suffice – big chin, small chin, frown or smile it’s up to you. Initial depths are forehead, cheek bone and chin. The smaller features will require some accuracy but try cut them in one go – a narrow wheel for the front of the nose fading back into the cheek bone depth; a really small rounded wheel to cut the lower lip, slightly wider flat to cut the upper one over it. Do the same with the eye, soft line for lower lid, heavier for upper leaving a raised ‘V’ which will become an eyeball. Use a ball shaped wheel to do the nostril and eye, job done.

Oops – what now?

That’s the ideal but usually something goes a little awry, in this case I’m too deep on the cheek and not enough on the upper lip; the eye isn’t great either and top of his skull is too high. What happens next is hard to catch photographically or put on paper – you just work at it until you get the depths correct and the features both located and finished correctly. Luckily there are some easy fixes here. Adding his hair resolves the skull issue; I considered a hat or a pair of shades. I’ll re-do his upper lip and eye as there’s glass to work with. Worst case scenario is having to deepen the pillar ‘behind’ him effectively erasing the finer features of this face and start again.  

Another common error is that you’ve slipped and left a mark outside the outline. The options are;

Polish out the slip using rough then fine polish depending on the severity of the slip. If you use the largest wheel possible and polish a larger area, if will not be noticeable. Small wheels will leave an ‘inclusion’ or distortion on the surface. Always polish into your work.

Re-engrave it with a wider wheel. It depends on the job but is it possible to ‘go big’ and incorporate the error into the image with either a slightly bigger wheel or by going deeper? If you’re confident enough to try again, go for it but ask yourself why you slipped in the first place?

Hide it - assess the damage and consider if adding to the engraving is a viable option. If it’s a deep chip, you may have no choice but to add something (appropriate) to the original image – be creative.

And Finally………

With his head sorted out, take a long hard look at the overall figure – are you happy with it? Are all the depths correct, the folds in the cloths, the feet & hands? If so, good job, if not, now’s the time to rectify them.

Today’s tip; Keep your powder and polish clean – contamination of either will lead to chips and/or scratches.

Meet the Engraver – the Apprentice

This guy has some skill and technical ability and is eager to learn. He needs to develop the patients, knowledge and vision to get to the next level. Right now he works to achieve a basic standard; he makes lots of little errors but learns from them. He’s not afraid to ask. His circle takes several cuts, doing a few degrees at a time; it has some corners, is more oval than round and has visible joints…… but it’s done and better than the last one.

Lesson – Stick with it, you’ll get there - it just takes time and experience

The Portland Engraving Project - Day 2

The Portland Engraving Project - Day 2

 

Visualise the finished piece

Before you even look at the glass you need to visualise the finished piece. Watch athletes doing their warm up - all of them are visualising the race ahead, right through to the finish. If you can visualise it in your head, no reason you can’t do it on the glass. Now look at your sketches and try to anticipate any problems that you may encounter. Get a feel for the weight, size and balance of the glass. Decide what to do first; plan your route to the end.

 

Relax – you can do this

This is a big job by any standard but it’s ‘doable’. Break it down to one figure at a time. It’s purely about being relaxed and being confident in your ability. If you make a mistake, generally it’s fixable. You can polish out slips, repair chips and go deeper/wider; who’s to say that (within reason) a nose isn’t that long or bicep that big?

 

Buzz off

Let’s start off with the outlines. You’ve already worked out a size to fit the figures around the glass and have them on (a few sheets of) tracing paper. If you rub the plasticine on the back of your tracing and tape it to the glass, positioning it carefully, you can re-draw the image with a point (a dried up ball-point); it will transfer an accurate but faint outline to the vase. Redraw the figures with a marker. If you are happy with them, you can now use a drill & diamond point (known around here as a buzzer) to leave a permanent outline. Stay inside the drawn lines; we’ll be carving them away later. I’m doing half (3 figures) to begin and the others later – it’s so the photographs will be clearer.

 

Today’s tip - Looking at your work from the back can help see depths better.

 

Meet the Engraver 1. Mr.Benchmark

When it comes to engraving, my colleague here is the benchmark on both time and quality.  He works competently and methodically through every job; no time wasting errors, just exactly what’s wanted engraved without flaw. He cuts a circle 10 degrees at a time, meticulously following the line, smoothly feeding the glass to the wheel, like an airplane touching down and taking off again.

Lesson – mastering technique takes practice but don’t be afraid try stuff.