The last day at The Museum

Today was the last of the 6 sessions of the Small Blessings http://pittrivers-amulets.blogspot.co.uk/ project, which I have been working on with a community group from Mind (Mental Health charity). It has been a wonderful project to work on, not only because it has been based at The Pitt Rivers Museum http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/ but also it has created a direct link to my own work.

We have explored different materials and techniques during the project, including mould making, clay and metal. It has been interesting discovering and learning all about the amulets collections and creating our own amulets, charms and votives.
One of the important aspects was the presentation of the finished pieces. At the start of the project we visited the conservation rooms at the museum and saw how the collections are cataloged, labelled and presented at the museum. We tried to keep our work along the same lines as to fit in with the rest of the displays.

I'm looking forward to eventually seeing the work displayed in one of the cases at the museum.

Hand writing labels

Finding inspiration for the descriptions

Labeling the casts

Numbering the objects

The group finishing off their artwork

The finished artwork

The artwork with the hand written labels

This one will be displayed in a box with a cushioned lining

The metal crimping on the labels really made a difference to the finished objects

Sheet metal

I wanted to see if I could use the sheet metal to create something similar to the amulets which I had seen at The Pitt Rivers. Particularly the ones which were of people and animals.

Metal amulets - Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford

The metal was easy to cut, using scissors. I used a copper hammer and a mini anvil to pound the metal. Not only did this flatten it but it also gave it a distressed, aged look and got rid of the severe scissor edge. I used different tools to etch, scratch and create patterns in the metal. Finally, I added oil paint with a sponge which gave the metal a burnished look and aged feel.

I made the following animal amulets and researched superstitions related to the animals:

Monkey
An amulet carried during exams or tests to allow the person the ability to think through complex problems.

Fish
Wise and knowledgeable. Given to a person by someone who as told them a secret and want them to be silenced.

Donkey
The hairs from a donkey's cross were cures for ailments. Worn in a charm around the neck to guard against whooping-cough,toothache, fits and to ease teething in babies; sometimes the hairs were eaten in a sandwich!

Crocodile
Crocodile blood cures eye problems and snakebites.

This technique was simple and I think it is something which would be good to try in the workshop at the museum.


Link to the Small Blessings blog  http://pittrivers-amulets.blogspot.co.uk/

Link to the Flickr page  http://www.flickr.com/photos/76253275@N03/sets/72157629496147470/

Photos to follow...

The Old Fire Station

Last summer myself and artist Rachel Barbaresi, were commission to design and create The opening artwork for The Old Fire Station in Oxford. Read more about The Old Fire Station here:

http://www.oldfirestation.info/

Here is our blog which documents the project from start to finish. We worked with a group of homeless people and based ourselves at The Botanic Gardens, Oxford.

http://artistsofs.blogspot.co.uk/