Critique request Celtic High Cross

[RyanColyar]

I'd appreciate any constructive criticism on this work. It's on hand fabricated argentum sterling silver (35mm x 14mm). The hare is in honor of St. Melangell if you were wondering.

 

[John B.]

Hello Ryan. Good try.

It's easy to see that you have put in a lot of thought and effort into the Cross.
But as always, the Devil is in the details.

The border around the lower, long segment of the cross could have used a little more work and better layout.
It is notably thinner than the other border segments where the Oak leaves touch it, on the left side of the picture.

The borders and flair cuts surrounding the four holes in the upper section of the cross could use some better layout and cutting..
All of these borders do not do not continue to follow the symmetry of the holes.
And in many cases; their widths do not match each other where they meet adjacent similar segments, or appear and continue from beneath the upper cross borders.

I feel sure that you know that the Hare and the branch and leaves need some more study and detail shading.

A very nice design overall and I hope this helps you.
But please take a little better care of the details on the next one.

Best wishes. John B.

Ryan and Cafe readers.
Please note that my above posted critique was made and based upon the original posted pictures.
It DOES NOT APPLY to the later added pictures of the cross shown with a chain and posed over a mottled black patterned background

 

[Grayson]

It is lovely. Thank you for alerting me to that wonderful story!

 

[Dani Girl]

I love it. My first thoughts for critique were that sanding after engraving is ok (I know a contested subject, but the deformation around cuts that catches the light bothers me as does surafce scuffing); and that the branch stems looked a bit thick compared to the leaves hanging off them, but if this is smaller than it looks then perhaps that just looks right.

Would you have wanted to shade anything more or sculpt the engraving if able?
Do you feel it's close to what you wanted to achieve?

I love the rabbit and the foliage softens the overall piece really nicely

 

[mtlctr]

I'd appreciate any constructive criticism on this work. It's on hand fabricated argentum sterling silver (35mm x 14mm). The hare is in honor of St. Melangell if you were wondering.
View attachment 52330
View attachment 52331

Looks great as is. The leaves look like leaves. It’s a simple straight forward design that works for me. Kent

 

[RyanColyar]

I love it. My first thoughts for critique were that sanding after engraving is ok (I know a contested subject, but the deformation around cuts that catches the light bothers me as does surafce scuffing); and that the branch stems looked a bit thick compared to the leaves hanging off them, but if this is smaller than it looks then perhaps that just looks right.

Would you have wanted to shade anything more or sculpt the engraving if able?
Do you feel it's close to what you wanted to achieve?

I love the rabbit and the foliage softens the overall piece really nicely

Thanks. It's 14 x 35mm. So it's pretty small.
Yes, I find that those deformations irritating as well. I'm going to post another picture. There's some reflection in the first two.
I'm generally happy with it. There's always something that could be better. I appreciate everyone's input.

I love it. My first thoughts for critique were that sanding after engraving is ok (I know a contested subject, but the deformation around cuts that catches the light bothers me as does surafce scuffing); and that the branch stems looked a bit thick compared to the leaves hanging off them, but if this is smaller than it looks then perhaps that just looks right.

Would you have wanted to shade anything more or sculpt the engraving if able?
Do you feel it's close to what you wanted to achieve?

I love the rabbit and the foliage softens the overall piece really nicely

 

[RyanColyar]

Looks great as is. The leaves look like leaves. It’s a simple straight forward design that works for me. Kent

Thank you sir.

 

[RyanColyar]

Hello Ryan. Good try.

It's easy to see that you have put in a lot of thought and effort into the Cross.
But as always, the Devil is in the details.

The border around the lower, long segment of the cross could have used a little more work and better layout.
It is notably thinner than the other border segments where the Oak leaves touch it, on the left side of the picture.

The borders and flair cuts surrounding the four holes in the upper section of the cross could use some better layout and cutting..
All of these borders do not do not continue to follow the symmetry of the holes.
And in many cases; their widths do not match each other where they meet adjacent similar segments, or appear and continue from beneath the upper cross borders.

I feel sure that you know that the Hare and the branch and leaves need some more study and detail shading.

A very nice design overall and I hope this helps you.
But please take a little better care of the details on the next one.

Best wishes. John B.

Thank you for the feedback. Much appreciated.

 

[RyanColyar]

It is lovely. Thank you for alerting me to that wonderful story!

I'm glad you found it edifying. Thank you.

 

[BenTurner]

Looks great! I think you have a really nice composition with the rabbit and the tree. There is a good balance of negative space there.

 

[KevinCunningham]

Since you asked for critique and it’s what I would consider the greatest form of love from an artist to an artist:

I like the design and layout. The stipple texture is nice too.

I agree that the borders look sloppy along with the squareness of the whole piece in general. It looks a little banana’d and the piercings seem to be different sizes. I enjoy seeing the imperfections and variations that are inescapable with hand work but a little more time laying out scribing and measuring with dividers before you get out the jeweler’s saw and gravers will pay dividends getting you that ‘perfectly imperfect’ look instead of crooked or rushed.

I think I would also like some shading on the rabbit and leaves, but those are more stylistic choices than errors. I’d really like to see the rabbit’s back not jammed into the border though, maybe a tail for him too!

Overall it’s a neat piece but you seem to have the skill to pull off a much nicer treatment with a little more planning and prep beforehand. I’ve certainly ‘winged it’ then spent hours finishing a piece that haunts me because I didn’t take 30 mins in the beginning to line up some details.

Thanks for posting for us to see and please don’t be afraid to rip up my critique request posts- it’s probably the best thing we can do for each other and I’m a beginner myself.

 

[RyanColyar]

Since you asked for critique and it’s what I would consider the greatest form of love from an artist to an artist:

I like the design and layout. The stipple texture is nice too.

I agree that the borders look sloppy along with the squareness of the whole piece in general. It looks a little banana’d and the piercings seem to be different sizes. I enjoy seeing the imperfections and variations that are inescapable with hand work but a little more time laying out scribing and measuring with dividers before you get out the jeweler’s saw and gravers will pay dividends getting you that ‘perfectly imperfect’ look instead of crooked or rushed.

I think I would also like some shading on the rabbit and leaves, but those are more stylistic choices than errors. I’d really like to see the rabbit’s back not jammed into the border though, maybe a tail for him too!

Overall it’s a neat piece but you seem to have the skill to pull off a much nicer treatment with a little more planning and prep beforehand. I’ve certainly ‘winged it’ then spent hours finishing a piece that haunts me because I didn’t take 30 mins in the beginning to line up some details.

Thanks for posting for us to see and please don’t be afraid to rip up my critique request posts- it’s probably the best thing we can do for each other and I’m a beginner myself.

Thank you for taking the time to give me some feedback. I appreciate it. I added another picture. There are some shading lines on the rabbit. I'm having trouble capturing them in the pictures. Regarding dividers, do you have a recommendation when working at this scale? This piece is 14x35mm (the whole piece, not just the rabbit and leaves). I'm not very happy with how my dividers perform for laying out fine detail at this scale. Also, do you do anything to avoid marring with the dividers? For instance, in the center when making a circle, or on the outside edge when marking a border.

 

[gcmeleak]

It looks great. Now you have. Reached a critical point in your engraving career. Now the real work begins.

 

[KevinCunningham]

Thank you for taking the time to give me some feedback. I appreciate it. I added another picture. There are some shading lines on the rabbit. I'm having trouble capturing them in the pictures. Regarding dividers, do you have a recommendation when working at this scale? This piece is 14x35mm (the whole piece, not just the rabbit and leaves). I'm not very happy with how my dividers perform for laying out fine detail at this scale. Also, do you do anything to avoid marring with the dividers? For instance, in the center when making a circle, or on the outside edge when marking a border.

Circles I use a slightly dulled scribe and a plastic circle template. For the edges I have an ancient starrett set of dividers and one leg is a hair longer than the other- I try to drag that one around the outside. It’s not an exact science, but it works better than eyeballing the line. Those are also slightly dulled so they don’t scratch as much but still mark

 

[Aventuraal]

Try a set of hermaphrodite calipers; you can find them on E-Bay, although not smaller than 4".

 

[mtlctr]

i like the rustic look, piece like this has more charm as is than the engraving correctness approach imo.

 

[Marcus Hunt]

Sanding after engraving is a definite no-no. It’s totally unnecessary if you’ve cut properly. ”Finishers“ in the gunmaking factories often used to do it as a matter of course and would totally b*gger up the engraving. i’ve seen some of my own work destroyed and I had to take a deep breath and walk away telling myself “You’ve been paid…” ALWAYS prepare your surface PRIOR to engraving. High end gunmakers in Europe and good engravers in the USA will always prepare their surfaces first.

Getting on to your piece though, the rabbit/hare and the tree and leaves are stylised so you choose how to portray that. In things like the Book of Kells they aren’t going for realism. It’s something you have to decide on and personally, I think you’ve done a good job and over shading would take away from the rustic/naive feel.

What lets it down big time though is, just as others have pointed out, the borders. Celtic/Anglo-Saxon art looks so simple but the thing that lets most modern interpretations of it down is wandering lines. Things you can get away with with scrollwork will leap out at you with celtic knotwork and art. Those borders need to be exactly the same throughout the piece with lines running parallel to the edge. It’s not easy to do so use a narrow graver like a 90 degree which will help alleviate lines wandering in and out if you don’t use the same constant pressure.

Apart from those two things I think you’ve done a cracking job. And even as it is there’s a rustic charm about it that I really like. Well done and thanks for sharing.

ps, to anyone who wants to try their hand at Anglo-Saxon/Celtic art, I always direct them to study the Sutton Hoo belt buckle. The sheer craftsmanship, considering the tool they had at the the time, beggars belief!

 

[RyanColyar]

Sanding after engraving is a definite no-no. It’s totally unnecessary if you’ve cut properly. ”Finishers“ in the gunmaking factories often used to do it as a matter of course and would totally b*gger up the engraving. i’ve seen some of my own work destroyed and I had to take a deep breath and walk away telling myself “You’ve been paid…” ALWAYS prepare your surface PRIOR to engraving. High end gunmakers in Europe and good engravers in the USA will always prepare their surfaces first.

Getting on to your piece though, the rabbit/hare and the tree and leaves are stylised so you choose how to portray that. In things like the Book of Kells they aren’t going for realism. It’s something you have to decide on and personally, I think you’ve done a good job and over shading would take away from the rustic/naive feel.

What lets it down big time though is, just as others have pointed out, the borders. Celtic/Anglo-Saxon art looks so simple but the thing that lets most modern interpretations of it down is wandering lines. Things you can get away with with scrollwork will leap out at you with celtic knotwork and art. Those borders need to be exactly the same throughout the piece with lines running parallel to the edge. It’s not easy to do so use a narrow graver like a 90 degree which will help alleviate lines wandering in and out if you don’t use the same constant pressure.

Apart from those two things I think you’ve done a cracking job. And even as it is there’s a rustic charm about it that I really like. Well done and thanks for sharing.

ps, to anyone who wants to try their hand at Anglo-Saxon/Celtic art, I always direct them to study the Sutton Hoo belt buckle. The sheer craftsmanship, considering the tool they had at the the time, beggars belief!

Thank you for the input, much appreciated

 

[ElementalBreakdown]

Overall very inviting and attractive, I would be proud of most of it. I like to see stricter symmetry as well, borders and holes as well as holes and dots.
I would have liked to see some additional repetition of this symmetry throughout. On religious pieces, golden ratios seem to always work or look good.
Love the rabbit though his neck is a bit long I can see you will eventually perfect it.