by Phillip Rees
My grandfather was a blacksmith and although we didn’t manage to complete the forge he was building in the old air raid shelter at the bottom of the garden, metal and fire has always fascinated me.
Metal has many of the qualities of textiles. It can be woven, coloured, shaped and stitched. I use metal from very fine gold leaf to hard copper, copper, brass and stainless-steel mesh and wires.
Although somewhat unpredictable, colouring metal by heating it gives amazing effects. A piece of copper may be shaped or textured before or after heating. Moving the piece in a flame allows colours to develop and move across it. Different metals develop different colour ranges. I also use alcohol inks.
My current work links these interests and an appreciation of the stone structures in Abbey gardens. Bury St Edmunds. Flint is the main stone in the Abbey ruins and I’ve been forming fabric and metal around this to create 3D shapes that will be presented together.
