A shortish post, despite a busy week with the (almost) full compliment of staff back at the School of Jewellery and preparing for the new intake of students. I can't quite believe that it is a whole year since I started there. What a whirlwind!

I have written before of my friend, Carrie Fertig (…

I would never have imagined in January of this year that I would end up in such a different situation from the one I was in...



January

A busy month, making up work for…

The main event this week has been completing my watch and chain for the ACJ exhibition "Sleight of Hand". The last element to be completed was the fitting of a glass to the 1838 silver watch-case which was…

SO, it is 2015 and I've not made a post for almost a month, which is most remiss. First of all, I wish everyone a happy and successful 2015 and hope that we can overcome what has not, generally, been a particularly…

At last the terrible weather and 'flu have abated and we've had a few decent days which, along with light for my bike ride to and from work, always raises my spirits!



I've finally completed the Verdura-inspired cuffs…

I don't know what has happened over the last few months but there seems to be an unstoppable maelstrom of creative energy centred over Scotland. Perhaps it is the fact that I've become more active in the creative culture around me but I feel that there is something amazing brewing here and I am not exactly sure what it is. Everywhere I go, I'm surrounded by people who are not only sparking with ideas but who spark ideas in me. There is a creative synergy which is driving everyone to new…

It has to be said that this is the longest it has ever taken me to bring my blog up-to-date. It is amazing how much I was hampered by not being able to reliably edit photographs and upload them due to the terrible internet connectivity…

Waa!

My wonderful, indispensible, reliable, cheerful, friendly, unflappable workshop technician, Fiona, is leaving on Thursday. She's found a better-paid job with more promotional prospects and she'll be superb. The students will all miss her and they arranged a lunch for her today, which was great fun.…

By Saturday, I had the programme sorted: I wanted to hear the talk about "Mr Imagination" at 4pm, had to meet a friend for lunch at 1pm and knew that I wanted to see a bit more of the city and the amazing architecture of the place. 

One of the things I love about American city architecture is the way that…

Day 2 - Friday 2nd November

An early start for me today as I wanted to have a look around the area around the hotel, Chicago's "Magnificent Mile" of very expensive brand-name shops. The first people I encountered were these unlikely fellows: 

Chicago has a LOT of homelessness and I was particularly…

I'll get to the robots in a moment. First of all, my class at the SCC... There isn't much to say about the class at the SCC as we weren't really making projects, more exploring techniques through making samples and finding ways of problem-solving for processes which the people in the class used. As such, I have no photographs of work to show. What I do have is a photograph of all the people involved:

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As a bit of a precursor to an online exhibition I'm organising on Crafthaus about contemporary craft in Scotland, glass-artist Jeff Zimmer, an American who is representing Scotland at SOFA, has just posted images of the works he is exhibiting there. Hauntingly beautiful.

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Still not really settled since returning to Scotland. From getting in on Friday, I had to go to work for half a day and then headed off to again to Edinburgh, from where I've just returned, having enjoyed the festival madness there. In short, went to see the Yogyakarta Court Gamelan, which was phenomenal, the David Mach show at the City Art Gallery and wandered around the High Street and the West End Craft fair.

I also met with a friend of mine who works on the Tattoo and got my…