Spring has come

Iron Plumb Blossom Spindle

The weather is warming and the plumb trees are in bloom, so I’m sharing pictures of my most recent spindle whorl.  Some time back I was given some antique iron with an interesting grain structure.  Mose wrought iron has a sort of fibrous texture throughout, however this iron has a structure of overlapping flat plates, a little like pine bark.  I found that when forged at a somewhat lower heat, and then etched, it creates a surface that resembles plumb or cherry petals floating on water.  It is otherwise quite soft and workable, so I decided to etch the bottom, and inlay plumb blossoms and leaves on the top with gold and silver, which stand out when the iron is darkened with green tea.

More spindle whorls

I have recently completed a few more inlayed spindle worls in a variety of interesting alloys and patinas. I plan to post images of a new one every few weeks until images of all of them are on line.

Shibuichi rose spindle

I forged and carved this spindle whorl from 20% silver shibuichi which I had water cast.  The seeds in the center of the rose are fine silver and the nunome wolly bear moth is fine gold.  The colors on the metal are achieved by cooking the whorl in a solution of copper salts, and then waxing the surface.  

Spindle Whorls

Recently I had the opportunity to take a class on Japanese patina  techniques.  I didn’t want to just make little swatches of colored metal, because I wanted to learn how to get good results on real metalwork with various textures, shapes and combinations of alloys.  I decided on making whorls for drop spindles, as they are small, functional, and can be made in more or less any combination of metals.  This whorl is an alloy of 5% silver and 95% copper, and inlayed with little silver raised dots.  On the other side I have inlayed a gold beetle.  I have posted images of all the spindles I made for the class on the metalwork page, in the Contemporary Work section of this site.  (See menu above)

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New Brooch

Having sold the disc brooch that I wore for over ten years, I decided to make a replacement.  This one is a bit larger, at 95 mm diameter, with many small silver bosses.  In the cut out areas I have carved stylized dogs chasing rabbits.  The central rosette, the four trefoil motifs, and the laurel leaves are 24K gold inlay.

Change of address

Please take note:  My mailing address is changing to:

Bill Dawson
2103 Harrison Ave. NW  Ste. 2.
P.M.B. #341 Olympia, WA 98502

My email, ‘phone number, and all other contact information will remain the same, so feel free to call, text, or email me.  I take the privacy of my customers very seriously, so do not use comment boxes on this website to place orders, as information there is public.  I will be keeping my old postal box for a couple months, so if you have already sent something there it will not be a problem.  

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Welcome

As you can see I am rebuilding my web site in a new format.  This should allow me to update my pages and change the site as need be.  It will also allow me to post more detailed pictures of my work, and keep everyone informed about shows and workshops, and other events that I will be a part of.  The site is still very much under construction, but please feel free to explore, and to come back in the future to see what new things I post in the coming weeks and months.

Thanks!

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