The Portland Engraving Project - Update 12

The Portland Engraving Project - Update 12

With the first 3 figures finished except for detailing and polishing, we can briefly look at the other elements on this side before beginning the second half. I’ve replaced the Eros figure with a dove, recognised in modern society as a sign of peace and/or love and is far more plausible than an ‘angel’. It’s posed a bit like the Anhauser Bush eagle logo and was straightforward to do. It’s not terribly big so if it hadn’t worked out, I could have engraved Eros over it as per the original vase.  

You’ll see from the images that I have done some preliminary work on the handles. The mock-up image gives an idea of how they will appear; there’s a lot of figuring out to do on them - exactly how and where they attach has a bearing on the 2 faces that appear just below them. The handles aren’t exact replicas of the original and will not be attached to the neck of the vase – they are going from the shoulder of the vase to the rim. They won’t have a 90 degree bend either, as I’ve opted for a more subtle curved design.

As part of the plan to modernise the Vase and date it to 2014, the 2 faces under the handles provide an opportunity to engrave a ‘likeness’ of some individuals – we’re not talking portraits here, more of a resemblance to someone from popular culture. The original figures have long hair and beards (that are fashionable now) and are staring at the viewer. Anyone who knows me would be aware I’m a road racing fan, you know, the Isle of Mann TT etc. etc. so the first guy was an easy choice.........Guy Martin. He is a professional road racer, has long hair and ‘sideburns’; he has several TV series behind him (one called ‘How Britain Worked’ that focused on traditional hand crafts) that gives him a public profile so he fits the criteria. Remember, this ‘likeness’ is the result of about 2 or 3 hours work, is not a proper portrait and needs a little more ‘tweaking’ to finish. You’ll have to wait to find out who the other guy is! 

Looking at the other side now, there are 3 more figures and a lot of background items to do. The theory is that they were Achilles, Helen and Aphrodite, who had all passed into the afterlife and so appear on stone islands. On this vase they’ll appear to be ‘hanging-out’, just doing the stuff young adults do. We’ll work them exactly the same as the first side - draw the figures onto the glass, mark out the outlines with a diamond point and then stone out basic depths. Once you’ve done that it’s back to the copper wheels to get the detail, adding some modern clothing, hairstyles and technology in keeping with the updating.  

I got sidetracked with some other projects in the last few weeks and had hoped to have this piece finished today to coincide with the beginning my 30^th year engraving; the revised date is Thursday next in order to make the exhibition deadline so, no pressure!

The Portland Engraving Project - Day 10

The Portland Engraving Project - Day 10

One down, five to go….

Here’s our first figure finished. All the copper wheel work is done but he needs to be polished and some final detailing added. I won’t polish him until the other figures on this side are completed. The final detailing is to add his tattoos and a logo onto his t-shirt, stuff like that.

Light & shade – black & white

The polishing of your work is as important as the work itself. If you polish, or highlight the wrong area of your work, it can take from the piece. Use polishing wheels that are the same size as the copper wheels, going over the same cuts/depths. Using only large wheels will shine up the ridges rather than the depths. Remember, we’re playing with light here - excessive polishing of a single area will make it appear ‘dark’ or black in the context of the engraving palette.

 What now…

Over the coming days I’ll be working the other figures on this side to bring them to the same point - engraved but yet to be polished and detailed. We’ve covered pretty much all the issues you will encounter, drawing the figures, stoning them out, engraving the background and figures and any repairs. We’ve met engravers with different styles and had daily tips. The stuff we didn’t cover (yet) is how to make copper wheels or look at other engraving techniques – drill and stipple. The next update will be a week from today when I’d hope to have this side fully completed. A further update will cover the other figures and the addition of the handles. The last post will show the finished piece just prior to shipping to Morley College.

Today’s Tip - photograph, catalogue and note every piece you do – you’ll appreciate the information in the future.              

Meet the Engravers

If you’ve developed an interest in engraving and want to learn more, check out The Guild of Glass Engravers for info. There are courses in the UK (Morley College and North Lands Creative Glass); The Jiri Harcuba School are running a course in the coming weeks with Pavlina Cambalova; locally Eamonn Hartley is running a course in Waterford College of Further Education. There are lots of other weekend courses organised by professional engravers, you just have to search them out. I might even organise one myself!

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 7

Day 7                                                                                 

Let’s talk technique

So far, we’ve taken out big scoops of glass and shaped them to give the basis of our figures. They resemble the pencil sketch ‘bubble figures’ I mentioned earlier, recognisable and human figures but no real detail. All of this was done with stone or diamond wheels so we have depth and substance in our figures.

Just before we begin with copper there are 4 specific techniques we need to look at in detail.

1.Straight Cut – it’s often the case that one of your wheels will match perfectly the line you want to cut. For example you could engrave a rope on a sailboat with a sharp wheel; the metalwork on your Eiffel Tower engraving is perfectly suited to your favourite flat wheel – you just sharpen the wheel, charge it with slurry and engrave. 

2. Creating an edge – sometimes the image requires an edge to be carved like the shape of our sail, the side of a building or the ground. Prepare as wide a wheel as is workable in the given area; rather than present the glass flat to the wheel, angle it slightly so the edge/one side of the wheel cuts but the other side does not. The resulting cut is angled into the surface giving the edge on one side, trailing off on the other.

3.Shading – if you need to ‘colour in’ an area use as large and wide a wheel as possible. It should rotate slowly, be regularly re-charged with slurry and most importantly, move the glass in a circular motion. If you don’t, you’ll get an uneven finish with small ridges in it – not good.

4. Carving – If you carve a depth into the glass, most likely it will need to be shaped. Recoat the wheel with fresh slurry and ‘feel’ where it cuts/grinds. If you’re doing a pear shape for example start with a central vertical oval and then carve to the left and right, broadening out the bottom of the shape as desired. Allow the wheel time to carve but smoothen out the cuts so they become one – see shading above.

Earlier I mentioned how the wheel profile determines the cut profile; let’s revisit that. Imagine a (4 wheel drive) rally car turning hard on a gravelly surface and the tracks it will leave. As the back of the car swings out, the rear wheels spin and stones fly everywhere. The front wheels however are working differently. They also pull the stones under and spit them out the back, but they’re angled in the direction of travel. Now think about how this applies to copper and glass. Depending on how to present the glass to the wheel, you can determine how the waste glass/slurry mix exits. If you want to avoid chips along any edge/ridge you’re engraving, then present the glass so the waste material is drawn under the wheel and exits out into the engraving work, not onto clear glass. Mr.Havel, (Maestro in Crystal, ISBN 9781856079402) the original designer, engraver and sculptor in Waterford Crystal, to whom all of us ex-WC designers, engravers and sculptors owe our skills & livelihoods, in his best Czech-English described it thus “indaway out, not outdaway in”.  

Today’s tip; Wipe excess/waste slurry into your work, not out over clear glass – saves polishing scratches later.  

Meet the Engraver 5. Captain Slow

Our Captain Slow has a motto – steady ahead. He has huge technical knowledge and considerable skill but he works at his pace and won’t be rushed. He knows the finished piece is worth waiting for. He goes by the book, is technically perfect and the result shows it. He draws the circle on, measures it, prepares the wheel, cuts part of the line, checks it and then repeats the same actions to do the next section.

Lesson – steady progress pays, rushing will lead to errors.

Portland Engraving Project Day 6

                                                                                                                                                                      

 

Let’s get some background…..

Our three figures need a place to hang out and we’re going to do that with copper wheels. Today is about building on the foundations we’ve laid and adding detail. Best place to start is with the pillars – a couple of easy straight cuts. Start on the pillar furthest to the left – we’ll give this pillar some depth with stone/diamond but do the other entirely with copper later. Cut an upright edge on the left side first; now do the right side to give us the nearest/facing side of the pillar and shade/smoothen out the area in between. It’s ok if these cuts go through where the plinth and cap-stone will be. To get the perspective right and show the side of the pillar, we have to cut that 3rd edge and shade back from it. Using the same wheel cut a parallel line beside the right side of the pillar – it will automatically give the pillar a 3D look.

 

To do the plinth cut two edges, one vertical (the side) and one horizontal (the top) that should cut through the verticals of the pillar. You’ll notice where the two lines meet at 90 degrees in the corner, a small 45 degree ridge forms, a consequence of working with wheels that you won’t get with sandblasting – big clue there to spot the difference between the two. Get a really small wheel to soften it out.

The cap stone is dealt will in the same fashion. Cut edges and shade/colour in the area. I’ve only done half with the diamond as it should be shallower toward the furthest away end. Revisit the rest of the scene, using smaller wheels to add details, the smaller branches on the tree, the other stonework and ground. Once completed, you can put away the stone and diamond wheels, the water supply and tray and dry the place – we’re onto copper wheels at last.

 

Today’s Tip - Always ‘shade’ in a circular motion - it will give a smooth finish 

Meet the Engraver – Mr. I’m In The Wrong Job.

My colleague here has a problem – he’s a hugely talented artist but does not have the patience, the interest, the passion or will to stick with it. He hates the workshop environment, the repetitive nature of the work, the slow pace, it’s so mundane; putting ‘muck on pennies’ to ‘scratch glass’ is not for him.……...but he needs the money. There’s no style in his circle, it just done and he’s gone home.

Lesson – Engraving glass isn’t for everyone, but is immensely satisfying to a few.

The Portland Engraving Project - Day 5

Day 5

 

 

‘Next……..’

With our first figure ‘stoned out’, we can look at the next candidate. She is stretched out on a stone plinth in an awkward pose – head facing one way, body the other. In order to get the correct depth in her body, you need to remove some glass for the plinth she sits on, otherwise she’ll be ‘floating’ in the air. Use a flat profiled wheel to model the stonework , carving a depth for each stone (and consequently leaving a ridge between them). Well do the ground later.

Working to the same format, you need an initial depth in the torso and legs adding weight to the more prominent parts. Take some time to study her pose - her right knee is covered by clothes that suggest it should have significant depth. But her foot is visible. The creases and folds are misleading; yes, but while the knee is the deepest part of her leg, it should only be a little deeper as her lower leg must be connected to the foot. Draw her legs first to get the anatomy right, carve out the depths, worry about the clothes later.  

 

I’m omitting the snake and Cupid for now as they’re ‘different’ in my (modern) version.

 

The next guy is standing with one leg raised on a pedestal. Just like the lady needed a solid bed to lie on, he too needs some groundwork done. Since we have switched to doing background items, we can work on the architecture, trees and ground. The trees are straightforward - use a round profile wheel of the appropriate width first, reducing the size/width as you progress along the trunk/branches. Switching to a flat profiled wheel you can put some depth into the architectural stonework.

Finally, the ground should be deeper than anything that rests upon it. You need to angle the glass away from one side of your flat wheel, thereby cutting an edge (that’s the horizon) and a grey/shaded/matt area representing the (fore)ground. I am not saying it should be the deepest depth of all, just that you should cut it so it’s slightly deeper than the stonework, the tree trunk or feet. The tiny ridge you create will catch the light, appear as the ground/horizon and connect the 3 figures we’ve done.    

For photographic reasons we’ll focus on and finish these guys.

 

Today’s tip; Work with the rotation of the wheel like feeding cloth into a sewing machine, turning left/right a required as you go.

 

Meet the Engraver 4. Mr. Fix-it

This guy has mastered copper wheel engraving but likes to experiment when the boss isn’t looking. He always seems to have a ‘project’ on the side and they show really imaginative work. He has, but hates to use his polishing wheels to repair chips and slips, preferring instead to add a flourish that disguises the error. It’s creative. He does a circle in 4 or 5 sweeps, no perceptible joins or ‘corners’ in it. If he does go wide or slips he’ll repeat the cut with a wider wheel making sure to disguise the error.

Lesson – don’t panic if you make an error – perhaps it’s an opportunity!

The Portland Engraving Project - Day 3

The Portland Engraving project - Day 3

Let’s get stoned…..

We are now going to switch to stone or diamond wheels and begin to ‘stone out’ the image. You will need a (warm) water source feeding onto the wheel for lubrication and temperature control. You could begin with the background work (the ground, the architecture, vegetation, the environment etc.) or start on the figures. Either route is fine but personally, I’d stone out the figure’s depths first as it’s done under running water and can be messy; you’ll be able to see better if the area around your figures is still clear. There is no point in spending time doing a beautiful background if it’s going to be carved over.

We’re carving into the glass so the nearest thing to you will be the deepest. With lots of practice, you’ll begin to understand this illusion. So, imagine a rough pencil sketch with rounded shapes for the torso and limbs to get body proportions & position correct – it’s similar with stone and/or diamond wheels. They are used to get this initial depth in the body. Generally you would begin with the largest stone or diamond wheel, working down through the wheel sizes, getting more detail/definition as you go. However, we’re going to begin with the shallowest/furthest away part of the figure, in this case our guy’s left arm which will be the basis of all other depths ie. his orientation, limbs and ‘weight’. This is a safer approach as you will naturally have to go deeper with the rest of the body to get the depths right.

To make a point one of my teachers stoned out the furthest away leg on a training piece I was doing – he went so deep with it, I had to go waaaay deeper with the rest of the figure to get the (related) depths correct.

The first cut….

With this first cut you are trying to get some substance in the forearm but you do not need much depth in it. Your anatomical knowledge will tell you the (brachioradialis) muscle goes from the back of your elbow over your bicep tendon down to your wrist. By carving a little deeper where that muscle is, you will effectively engrave it. Your aiming to get a long cut that represents the whole forearm but is slightly deeper on the upper side near the elbow. 

All of the stone /diamond wheel work on the bodies will be with round profile wheels. The correct wheel would be well within the width of the arm outline, about 2/3’s of it is perfect while the diameter should be large enough to carve roughly half the length of the forearm.

Apply the same method to the upper arm, staying inside the lines and carving slightly deeper where the bicep muscle is. You should gently slide the wheel around a little to smoothen out any harsh lines made by the wheel when you did the muscle cut. All going well you should have some depth in the arm with a little muscle definition. We’ll return to it later with copper wheels to work it to a finish.

 

 

 

Today’s Tip – everyone appreciates a ‘good set of wheels’. Learn how to make them properly, sharpen regularly and they’ll serve you well.

 

Meet the Engraver 2. Leader of the pack

This guy is the Grand Master. His knowledge and experience are boundless; his confidence is rooted in his ability, he’s good. His wheels run perfectly, his bench is tidy, his mind is clear and focused on his work. In fact he’s so comfortable and relaxed, he’s sitting sideways at the bench with one leg tucked under the other, yoga style. He cuts the circle 90 degrees at a time in a fluid motion of his fingers and wrists; it’s smooth and even with no start or stop marks………..perfect.

Lesson; Chill out – with confidence in your ability and good wheels you will do this.   

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.