Student created new pewter technique to help win awards at #PewterLive

A second year art student at the University Centre Hastings recently won two awards at the international design competition, Pewter Live, thanks to her innovative technique.

Estelle Burton, who studies on the BA (Hons) Designer Maker, won the Open Student Category, followed by the Best in Show for her ‘Lost To The Sea’ pieces at Pewter Live on Thursday 24th May.

Estelle was inspired by the sea and created four vessels that required her to bond the pewter directly with the glass, something that hadn’t successfully been done before. Each piece was unique and displayed collectively on a burnt plank from the old Hastings pier.

“The pieces are a celebration of the sea and my coastal home in Rye,” said Estelle. “Inspired by this ever-changing environment, specifically the physical impact of the waves, each one is completely unique.”

Estelle came out on top in a very competitive Open Student category that featured students from De Montfort University, Buckinghamshire New University, and Truro College, as well as beating a number of established artists to win the Best in Show category.

Estelle said: “I was delighted to have won the Student Open Category and the overall Best in Show at Pewter Live. To have been recognised at this level as a student is a real honour.”

“My sculptural vessels demonstrate an evolution of a functional form and are the result of six months design and testing to combine these two materials. Persistence finally paid off and allowed me to develop a technique which has never been achieved before. With the support of the Pewterers Guild I hope to develop this further and apply it to much larger scale objects as well as more wearable sculptural pieces.”

Estelle travelled to Pewters Guild in London, with fellow students Fern Beal, Mary Khan, and Rachel Barnard, who also took part in the competition.

HRH Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy KG GCVO, was the guest of honour and presented Estelle with her certificates and prizes at the award ceremony.

Ashley Heminway, Designer Maker subject leader, said: “The entries were of particularly high quality this year and we were against students from top universities all over the country. Our students produced unique designs and hand finished them to a very high quality. I am very proud of all of our students that entered and would like to congratulate Estelle on her winning entry.”