Lily Smith

A collection of chalices that do not work as intended. This is symbolic of my relationship with religion and being raised catholic. It's the idea of something that looks like it can be drunk from, but when used it is difficult and frustrating, not working as it should. Catholicism was presented to me as an answer and the only way to live, yet it did not serve it's intended purpose, instead it became a difficult and frustrating experience.

In exploring ways to make my chalices I found the process of metal spinning. This is when a flat disc of metal is spun on a lathe and formed over a wooden chuck. This process started as a way of making just the bases to my chalices but soon took over my project. I fell in love with the process and wanted to push myself to learn as much as possible. I started spinning simple shapes with aluminium and moved onto working with brass and copper, which involve an added layer on annealing while spinning. I then started making more complex chucks that challenged me. This all built up to eventually spinning silver, which I never expected to be able to do at the start of this project. The silver chalice does work as intended and is therefore symbolic of hope amidst all the frustration. 

I also incorporated the processes of casting and woodturning into the chalices to add variation and detail.