Silversmithing in Scotland
Silversmithing Course with the Cromarty Arts Trust from Cromarty Arts Trust on Vimeo.
Ndidi Ekubia's next Silver Raising Workshop at the Stables, Cromarty, May 19th - 21st 2017
In this 3-day hands on workshop in the beautiful Highland town of Cromarty, you will learn how to create your own wine cup or mini vase under the expert tuition of silversmith Ndidi Ekubia.
You will learn hand raising techniques, use specialist tools and create your very own piece working initially in copper. Ndidi is a contemporary silversmith who has been creating stunning silverware from London since 1998.
Through her use of traditional hand-raising techniques and inspirations from her African heritage, Ndidi’s statement pieces take on fluid and sensual forms with both a sculptural and functional identity.
Workshop places cost £315 per person (in 2016; prices still to be confirmed for 2017) which includes all the tools you will need and copper to make a small item. Having learned the basic skills participants have the opportunity to make a small piece in silver for which there is an optional additional cost of (estimate) £120 to buy the silver. Numbers on this workshop are strictly limited so early booking is advisable.
Lunch and daily refreshments provided.
To book a place on the workshop and for details of accommodation available at the Old Brewery, Cromarty please contact us.
Workshop tutor Ndidi Ekubia
Order and Chaos - Ndidi’s inspirations stem from the patterns of everyday life: from the cityscape of London through to organic natural forms. In turn her artistic landscape has been determined by the bold African shapes, textiles, food and passionate family conversation of her childhood.
The pieces are made using traditional silversmithing techniques that require the beating of sheet metal over steel and wooden forms. This process allows her to explore the resistance and strength of silver sheet with specialist hammers. The process of creating these rich sensual forms is a rhythmical, mesmerising scene of tools pushing the metal to its limit, emphasising the fluid vitally of each form. Each piece exposes an emotional response to the material, each one a unique blend of order and chaos.
Ndidi's work spans domestic and museum settings: she was selected for the Museum of Arts and Design, New York’s ‘Global Africa Project’ in 2010, following on from her success as a featured artist in the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York’s major exhibition ‘Rococo – The Continuing Curve 1730-2008’. Her work is currently touring major galleries and museums in the US in the exhibition The Tool at Hand organized by the Chipstone Foundation.
Each year she participates in a busy schedule of shows in Europe, often including Goldsmiths’ Fair, COLLECT, PAD London, TEFAF Maastricht and Masterpiece, and she has also shown work at Sotheby’s, Garrard and Asprey. She is currently represented by Adrian Sassoon and De Vroomen in London and Styles Silver of Hungerford. The Victoria and Albert Museum has recently purchased a piece from Ndidi for their Silver Collection.
Ndidi is a Senior Fellow and Trustee of the Bishopsland Educational Trust and a Freeman of The Goldsmiths’ Company.
