I live by the sea and walk my dog on the beach. The silhouettes of people, dogs and birds in the fading evening light lifts my heart. These little pewter people, measuring from 4cm (child) to 6.5cm (grown up), are hand cast in pewter out of moulds I have made from plywood.  They stand, walk or run on driftwood I have collected locally, washed, dried, microwaved, and sanded flat on one side.

I cast my pewter into moulds made from small pieces of birch plywood that fit together like a puzzle.  The best thing about casting pewter in wood is that no two castings come out the same. Depending on the temperature of the pewter, the temperature of the mould, the temperature in the workshop, the age of the mould, the size of the mould, how large the cup of tea in my hand is, the pewter behaves differently each time. Sometimes when you take a piece out of the mould you have a creamy smooth finish, sometimes you see every last tiny fibre of the wood grain, and sometimes you find you have a lovely feathering like winter frost on a cold window. That’s the one I’m always aiming for.  And sometimes it doesn’t work at all and then you just melt it down again.  I use very high-tech equipment for casting pewter – a soup ladle and an old camping stove. An old desert spoon and a bit of coat hanger are also essential kit. There’s a little reel about it here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/2275554806113273

 A note on caring for pewter: Pewter can be cleaned with liquid soap and warm water, or if very dirty with a little whitening toothpaste and warm water. Dry it and buff it to a shine with a soft cloth.

Often my little scenes contain a gull. I’m very fond of gulls (see my Lies About Birds Seagull) The stillness that comes to the souls of dogs and walkers in a fading evening light moves the gentle hearts of gulls, regularly tossed as they are by salt winds and sea fury.  Gulls are poetical creatures of dreaminess and romance. Except when there are chips.

But not everything has a gull, sometimes a star is more appropriate.

And sometimes a balloon, or a kite.

And sometimes people fall in love and forget about the dog… and the gull.

And sometimes a reindeer gets involved, because as we all know, a reindeer is for life, not just for Christmas.

If you have seen something that you like the look of, or would like to talk to me about making something especially for you, drop me a line through my contact page or message me via facebook.

Some of my most popular characters can be found here: The People (dogs and cats)