A wooden plenishing hammer, a disc of pewter and nimble fingers helped blind veteran, Penny Melville-Brown, turn a basic piece of pewter metal into a simple bowl at the Mettle Studios in Sussex: www.fleurgrenier.co.uk. Add a trio of offset bee-shapes cast in the metal and the resulting wobbly bowl echoes their flight.
Pewter is an excellent tactile creative medium for those with little or no sight. Basic bowls are easy and the metal can be masked with wax or simple stickers before electrical etching to give more texture. With painstaking care, Penny also creates models that are moulded in rubber and then, with help, cast in the molten pewter.
True to her “Baking Blind” cooking demonstrations and writing, she has also created a range of pewter cake decorations including her latest sliced Christmas cake design, crackers, piles of wrapped gifts and even a tiny tree with its seasonal star. Details of her speaking and cooking activities at www.pennymelvillebrown.com.