A long, long time ago …

… in a galaxy far away a young padawan artisan studied hard in a workshop to hone his skills in a variety of set disciplines.

Well, when I say ‘a long, long time ago’ I mean a few decades although that does feel like a long, long time ago to me now. The galaxy in question is actually the one in which we all live … but I’m sure it’s far away from something.

A short pre-history …

The padawan was, of course, me. This was back in the days when IT was barely a twinkle in the eye of the curriculum and teachers would happily administer a cuff to the back of the head – usually with a large book* – if they felt so inclined (whether the pupil in question deserved it or not). This was also a time before the craft subjects were all combined under the universal DT (Design Technology) banner. When taking my options I could choose to do woodwork or I could choose to take metalwork – they were entire subjects in their own right.

I opted away from metalwork. The whole thought of working with metals seemed too much like hard work to me at the time. The metal was too cold, too sharp, and too uncooperative when I tried to work it. The alternative, on the other hand, seemed infinitely more attractive and so it was I opted to serve the forces of wood.

See what I did there?! 🙂

So I’m not entirely sure where my newfound enthusiasm for working with bronze has come from however I do know when it began … it was ignited by attending my first workshop a couple of years ago which was a casual day casting a bronze knife – I’ll share more about that in due course but I love the idea that the metal can be easily cast into practically any shape or form I want (up to a point) and beautifully finished. I have also developed a mild interest in Bronze Age casting techniques and the artefacts our ancestors produced during that period. Which is ironic really because I took an instant dislike to history whilst at school and opted away from it entirely. It’s funny how you change as you get older.

* You’d better prey it wasn’t the complete works of Shakespeare