Damien Connolly & Jerry Fisher

[Jim Kelso]

Damien came up Sunday and brought this sweet Jerry Fisher .22 pistol. Jerry made it from scratch(including grips and fore) more than 30 years ago. I had seen the engraving mid-stream about two months ago and could see even then it was going to be a corker.

Damien's Arabesque scroll is a combination of sculpted and shaded giving splendid depth and dimension. All the gold is raised and sculpted. The wood will be carved. Damien spends massive amounts of time designing and laying the design out, as well as the engraving. The continuation and integrity of the design is impeccable, as is the workmanship, not to mention the use of "empty space". It all adds up to a very lively and satisfying art-work.

The tool shot shows two files Damien made from drill-rod for sculpting and a carbide burnisher for moving and polishing the gold.

I've added photos with truer color but can't seem to delete the yellower ones.

 

[BKJ]

Wow, what a gorgeous piece that is! I love the scroll work on it.

 

[Doc Mark]

What a magnificent sense of design! The understated gold accents are superb. I'd love to see more of his work.

 

[mitch]

daaaaaannnngggg..............

folks, THIS is what people mean when they say scrollwork should have "movement". one would swear you if you looked fast enough you could catch this blowing around.

 

[silverchip]

What a masterful miniature!!! and the tools are very cool!!!

 

[Weldon47]

That is...SWEEEET!!

Weldon

 

[rayf24]

That's some very sweet scratching excellent shadow work as well :bow:

 

[Marrinan]

He is quit an artist. I have collected all the photos of his work I can find. It is no wonder that he migrated up to the artist colony country of Jim, Winston, Colt, and many others. A remarkable job of design and execution. The fluidness is remarkable. Would love to see his works in person. Fred

 

[oiseau metal arts]

the mix of sculpted and shaded elements.....WOW!!! not much else to say.

 

[didyoung]

Super work....makes me wonder should i sharpen my tools or sell them

 

[Jim Kelso]

Thanks for all the comments guys.
I finally got the color right on the steel.

 

[mrthe]

Beautyfull work! very inspiring thank you for share.

 

[SamW]

I am MUCH impressed! And thanks for showing the tools.

 

[sam]

Engraving doesn't get any better than this. Masterfully designed and flawless execution. Damien's definitely one on the best of the best. Fabulous!!!

 

[monk]

so nice- how the gold weaves in & out of the scroll. also the gold casts a shadow, cool again. to me, a mastery of design/execution. the entire piece is just awesome ! thanks, jim- for sharing this.

 

[Dani Girl]

Jaw dropping, eyes widening, just wow. I've seen a lot of engraving in the last few years and this really blew me away. Beautiful work, design, execution. Very cool

 

[dimovengraving]

Beautiful style !
Stunning work !!

Thank you for sharing with us

 

[SamW]

One of the design elements I really like is the border which allows three different edges (outer, inner and the openings in the middle) from which to draw patterns thus opening up a lot more possibilities of design.

 

[Andy]

Like Sam said. "One of the best". Amazingly I've never heard of him. But I will be watching him now. This is the kind of work I want to do when I grow up!

 

[Marrinan]

Andy, He is from the land down under. Moved here about three years ago. Settled down the road from Winston Churchill in Vermont I think. Jim Kelso also ended up in the area from Washington state if memory serves me. He was first on the forum from the craftsmanship museum. Then he shared some of his gun work. He talked about moving to USA and we did not hear from him for several years. He's back with this new work-that's it in a nut shell. Have lots of pictures of his limited works which have been shared with others. Quit a wood carver as well. His step by step on a pair of grips is a can't miss. Fred

Sam, Maybe an interview would fill in my memory and other blanks? FM