Crossroad burial

This window is based on the legal practice that suicides could not be buried on holy ground but instead would be buried at crossroads tied and with a steak thru the body. It was based upon the idea that they're spirit would be confined to a busy area and not allowed to pass on, as punishment for rejecting the gift of life. In particular this sign was inspired but the Ratcliffe highway murders of 1811 as this was a shockingly modern case of this punishment being enacted.

 The only suspect in Britain's first recorded serial killing took his own life in prison and feeling cheated by the execution not taking place the authorities  paraded him past the victims house and buried him at the nearby Ratcliffe highway cross roads. The body was discovered during modern roadworks.

The peice is set in a real roadsign frame found abandoned on the side of the Ratcliffe highway.

Hounds dicth

This piece is based on the story of an Anglo Saxon king who rose to kingship by ordering the assassination of the reigning monarch. The assassin returned to claim his reward for completing his mission but instead was fed to the royal hounds. The New king feared that if the assassin had killed a king before he would have no problem doing so again.   This tale gave its name to the area where the execution site called hounds ditch.

The fortune tellers of st Mary axe

The area around St Mary Axe and the gurkin was a notorious area for mystics and fortune tellers. The piece acts as a shop sign for these lost places that caused such fear and wonder in the people of london.

    

 

toffee hammered (suffrage window)

The window I started over a year ago now is almost complete. I have finally found an appropriate 1900's toffee hammer to be the finishing touch to this window about the more extreme aspects of the fight for women's votes. Window smashing was a key activity at the time with Westminster being targeted most often. To reflect this I smashed some of the panels in my window and will attach the hammer from the bottom. This with any luck will resemble a emergence call point. 

The smashed panels are coated in Matt cote to preserve they're structure.

 Before smashing

 Post smashing

Penny Dreadful (Exhibition sign)

The completed sign for my exhibition is ready in record time. Fitted in a steel frame which can be hung for underneath the Archive Gallery sign.

At its center the window holds a 1960's Britannia penny.

 The renovation of the gallery is almost complete and i have all the ideas i need to put a show together....only the hard graft  left to do.

The Black Dog fettered

 The progress of the Black Dog of Newgate. Two chains have been constructed and I still need to decide if the piece needs a third top chain of an even greater length. In the mean time I will clean and burnish the chains with patiana acid to sear the metal black.

Straight razor MkIII

 An idea I had many a year ago about making a functional stained glass sculpture is now in its third iteration. The piece themed to accompany a sweeny todd window is a straight (cut throat) razor. moving parts are the larges problem but being to thick to quit is yielding results finally.

 The piece is only a rough prototype and i plan to subject it to some punishing tests so i thought it warranted documenting before distruction. Later models with hopefully gain more delicacy, this is definitely still in a flint axes level of evolution.

 I cant seem to capture the beautiful internal pattern of the green glass on camera but its amazing. Its a nearly exstinted batch of glass, i think i might have to get some more.