Award winning Magpies

In April 2012 I decided to make some more sculpture, and seteled on making a piece fit to enter into a competition ( no pressure there then!!) I came up with the concept of two magpies together.

 Now that I had developed a process I was able to make great progress. I started with full sized sketches, then the wire models. . . .

 It was soon evident that these two had real character!

The work continued onto the metal version

Here seen before the wings were added

The cheeky pair!

Details on the tail feathers

 This is what it looks like when iv been creating all day and have about finnished and its very late . . Blood, sweat and tears. . .

 Here with their pal the Buffalo Brownie Baby.

The finnished piece, perched elegently on a branch.

As these guys has great character a new owner soon came forward and all that was left to do before they flew off to their new home was to enter them into the "Mercia Marina Art Competition" Which was run at Willingotn Arts Festival were I was also exhibiting.

AND I WON!

I was so excited and pleased!

One very happy Blacksmith!

Amazing Buffalo

Me and James thought that the Buffalo head project went so well that we had to develope the head into a whole Buffalo sculpture! This was a lot more challenging as the whole piece was to be 3D and there are no designs at all for the rest of its body.

A lot of initial sketch work was done and we decided on a skellington feel for the piece.

for this I used a new teqhnique to make a wire model first. This has proven to be an extremely worthwhile thing to do. I was able to easily change and try out ideas in a full sized mock up.

I then made the individual pieces and used the wire model as a template. see below

You can see below how the final piece was copied from the wire model

Several months later he was ready and I was so proud!

This is my favourate angle of the Buffalo, from the back. you can really see the attention to detail as well as his beautiful curves.

Tail detail

Bailey the Greyhound

This theme of 3D heads exploded as I made a fully 3D wall mounted head of a Greyhound, My best Friends Grey hound and Claymills Mascot, Bailey.

The new 3D design has worked really well

I was so surprised when taking photos of the head and Bailey they it actually looks like him. I seam to be developing this nack to unconsciously create the character in the piece of work!

Bailey any his owner are very pleased with the piece!

The snow ball effect. . .

I was soon contacted after the Buffalo project by a lady that had seen the Buffalo head, asking me to make one in they style of a Highland cow!

Amazed and excited I started to think that this is going to turn itno a range. . . . .

The full sized sketch

Making of the individual pieces

how to fit the pieces together?

The arm hurting task of forging the horns before and after.

The welding has begun

Befor I attatched the hair I though, what if we made this different and gave it a more 3D quality that the Buffalo head? And what a difference this made, this was a theam I then continued into my other pieces. . . .

The finnished piece! and stunning it was too!

My tasty big break

When at a craft fair at Christmas I had the opportunity to meet a wonderful curious fellow names James.

He ran he own business too, making Brownies, Buffalo Brownies. After tasting these delights he noticed my Stag antlers and ideas were forming in his head, and we said what about a stag antler style of his Logo?

Naturally we both got over excited, ate more brownies and did some sketches.

This was the existing logo, So work began. . . . .

The Initial sketch

Making all the individual pieces

The detail of the joining of the parts

All welded together!

One VERY proud Blacksmith

One beautiful finished piece.

http://www.buffalobrownies.com/

Stag Antlers

One of my more comercial wall Art pieces were my beautiful Stag Antlers. They are ever popilor especialy following a piece in "Country Homes and Interiours Magazine"

This statement piece seemed to go well with my other ranges and helped expand my portfolio, as well as been a memorable piece within my stalls.

Something for the garden. . .

My first opportunity to be expressive was when I was invited to join an exhibition by Blacksmiths up and own the U.K and simply make a piece "For the garden"
The cogs started to whirl and I decided that I needed to make a piece that would make me stand out from the crowd, something to define me as a Blacksmith surrounded by many other established smiths.

I then decided, in true Hayley style, to make a garden gate, in the shape of a Custard Cream biscuit. .

"Custard" then came with me to my shows and cause quite a stir! people thought he would make a wonderful coffee table, wall hanging or even a bed head!
I loved the chance I had been given to be this creative and looked for more opportunities to do the same.

My journey to making sculptures

At first the business was very focused on creating bespoke pieces of hand forged metalwork that were both functional and artistic.

This is one of my very first craft shows. The ranges expanded and I also go the odd commission but I always had the feeling there was something missing.

I listened to my customers and started to get more artistic and less functional within my pieces, this brought me on an organic journey to where I am currently of making the functional and artistic pieces here www.foreverforged.co.uk as well as branching out into making the sculptures that I love.

My Introduction to Blacksmithing

In between school and starting 6th Form I was given the opportunity to be part of a group called "REAP" They were doing a brilliant job of promoting dying crafts and put on taster sessions for young adults. These included such traditions as hedge laying, dry stone walling and of course Blacksmihting.

And guess what? I fell in love.

It defiantly wasn't easy and I didn't seam to have any sort of flair or gift, I couldn't even pick my sandwich up at dinner time as my arm ached so much!

Amongst other things I made this abstract birdcage

But I was hooked.

So I spent all my time looking to get work experience with Blacksmiths and I did so even whilst at University studying Design Technology. Whilst in my final year at University I signed up to a Business mentoring scheme set up for people looking to start their own business. SO whilst doing my Dissertation I was planning my website, doing business plans and looking for premises.

At my final degree show my website had just gone live and in my own head I had already left University. On the cusp of a great adventure. . . .

In the Beginning. . .

Way back when I was about 16, I created my frist sculpture. It is still there placed majesticly within gthe rolling hills of Derbyshire.

We had a special village picnic and unvailing day.I had made the piece for my final Art project at school.  Little did I know back then this would turn into a full career. . . 

This sculpture was created without me having any idea of what a Blacksmith was, but obviously the spark was there.. . .

Hello, And welcome to the secret world of an Artist Blacksmith.
I am always asked about my creative process when creating my sculptures and I wish to share this with you. Here I hope to detail my inspirations and process that goes on unknown behind the scenes.

x Hayley x