✹ Pewter live competition
14th June 2021
To be frank with you, during this almost-over-lockdown in London I have near to nothing progress. Not much practice let alone the research. I have some idea of cause but to bring that into life, might be something I need to put much more energy into than I used to do. But before this blog will turn into bitter complaining longhand, I have some accomplishment I would like to share and reflect on - the Pewter live competition.




This time after trying to submit 2 art pieces but ended up making only one piece, my pewter fan won the first running up for the student entry, it was my honour and some grateful hope for me to continue this project further after this.

Looking back in the process, if I were asked which step I would like to retake, as I mentioned before in the previous blog after finishing this piece if I know the quality of this material better, I would be able to work with it more properly. Because pewter is heavier than other metal (comparing with the same mass) making it with 2 layers was not the best idea. Also, I think the best quality of pewter, which some may see as a weakness, is its softness. The pewter sheet is bendable, so it’s not suitable for the requirement of the fan for residence ability. Though it may seem to be a downside of the material at the same time, its softness provides me with the opportunity to work with it more freely. I can use my dermal tool to adjust, cut and sand it easier than other metal, so it’s a good and bad side.




Lastly, the most important quality that I expected to emphasise - shininess. I found, even though pewter can be as shiny, according to the book I read, as silver but it also easily scratch from its softness. With my design, the cutout was mostly scratch from the beginning and it requires a polishing machine to erase that off. I can not access the tool at that moment so it came out unclean. Though, I really appreciate the hardworking of the photographer and the staff that set up my final work and shot it perfectly without a flaw.





On the there side of the story, what I think works well with this time is that plasma laser cut on metal. It can speed up the process and provide accuracy to the overall pattern. Metal polishing cream works well also, with more time I could shiny it into the maximum reflective ability. Overall, I think, as I mentioned before, it’s a good start. I wonder what would it be for another metal like silver, brass or aluminium.

See this project on online exhibition here ; https://pewterlive.co.uk/Thanapond-Sukthana