Harry Stokes fist-pumped the air when he learned he’d won our annual card contest. Run with the Hand Engravers Association, it featured blue engraved dunes and sky, with gold engraving wording and stars.
His Christmas card two-colour design featuring the elements of the celestial night sky, captured the eyes of the judges this year.
The competition is a yearly collaboration with between Baddeley Brothers and the Hand Engravers’ Association, and the topic is to design a festive greetings card.
Harry said: “I was elated to find out the work had gone down well. I was walking into town and fist-pumped the air when I read the email, kind of like Jack Black would in School of Rock. There wasn’t anyone around to witness thankfully.
“I’ve been hand engraving for the past five years. I’ve always been drawn to illustration, particularly line drawing.
“All of my favourite artists, like Alfred Wainwright for example, seemed to be able to conjure the image out of a simple set of black lines on white paper.
“When I discovered hand engraving, it offered me a fineness of line I couldn’t achieve in paper. There’s an additional dimension added by working into a metal surface, the light can work for you and bring certain details out only when viewed from certain angles.
“That level of interaction is magic, because you’ve taken an already beautiful image and then brought it to life.
Harry has won several awards with Goldsmiths Craft and Design Council for engraving, chasing and silversmithing.
The prize is to have the winning design printed and to be there to witness the printing process. Harry added: “It was a bit surreal really. My work has always been relatively small in scale, and I’d never considered how it would feel to see the cutting not only translated into ink, but also grow in number. I love using traditional techniques and machinery so it was wonderful to appreciate the thought that goes into the process of printing.
Careful testing and fine tuning
“Jon, who was printing from my plates, was making all sorts of little adjustments and nudges to the setup. We tend to think of printing as a purely mechanical process, but watching the staff at Baddeley Brothers work you realise this isn’t the case. The machines are huge and indelicate, you can imagine the mess they make if it wasn’t for the operator carefully testing and fine tuning the pressure balance for each individual step.
“During our tour it was like Jon was in dialogue with the press, constantly weighing up different factors according the needs of the work. The final touch was setting the alignment guides, which he did one tap at a time to create the smallest movements before the printing began.
On whether he would recommend engraving as a craft, he explained: “Illustrative engraving demands patience and study, and it’s certainly not for everyone. If you can accept those relatively unforgiving ‘gate keepers’, then this entire world opens up.
“There are so many avenues to explore and ideas to experiment with, and it has staggering scope and versatility in terms of the effects that can be achieved. Anyone who ventures into engraving will create a style distinct to them, their own balance of depth, fineness and illustrative techniques.
“I think most people who struggle with engraving tend to be unwilling to accept that half the process happens before the cutting. The layout and drawings are inseparable from engraving, and the more time spent getting good results on paper, the more satisfying the results in metal. “
