Pewter is a soft, mouldable, and versatile metal that can be bent into
any shape and design. And, as the artist
Sandy Griffiths explains, your basic rule of thumb is: “If it stands still long
enough, you can pewter it.” That’s how she introduces the craft in her DVD
tutorial, Pewter it. With her steady,
inspirational instructions, and the close-up camera work, this DVD works really
well as a hands-on workshop on how to master pewter.
Sandy’s approach is sensible, and can-do. You’ll want to jump in
straight away, but by sitting back and watching her first, you’re guaranteed to
make fewer mistakes by the time that you do get stuck in.
She’ll guide you through the three different pewtering techniques:
indented low relief, raised low relief, and high relief. Throughout the DVD, she
takes time to go through the tools and materials that you’ll need (which, as it
happens, are nearly all household items that are available from the
supermarket), as she uses them.
She also goes through the patina and polishing processes, showing you
how to antique and blacken designs, and how to affect silver or black colours
by adding textures with deep scratches and indentations. You’ll learn how to
apply “gold leaf” to the pewter. And then,
for the final lesson, my favourite bit: you’ll learn how to colour pewter with
glass stain. She shows you how to use your brush, how to mix your colours and
control their intensities, and how to create effects.
By the end of the DVD, you’ll really be itching to attack your own
pewter projects. Luckily, Sandy’s covered all eventualities and any potential
questions you might have, for example “How much pressure should I exert?”,
“Which tracing paper should I choose?”, and the all-important “What do I do if
I accidentally mess up?” You’d be all set, really.
Published by Metz Press
Review by Irene Walker
