![Miriam Hanid crystalline](http://miriamhanid.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Crystalline-header-1.jpg)
What is Hand Engraving?
A technique which I love for its unique effect is hand engraving. I find it fascinating that evidence of hand engraving has been found as far back as the Middle Stone age around 60,000 BC, in the form of banding on ostrich eggshells.
![Miriam Hanid Acacia Tumbler](http://miriamhanid.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Acacia-Grey_rs-297x300.jpg)
Hand engraving on metal is a skill which can take patience and persistence to learn, but by achieving a certain amount of control over holding and pushing a graver (engraving tool) and thus using it expressively, it can speak volumes through its light catching qualities.
Sharp steel gravers cut and polished at precise angles can create a vast array of effects when used in different ways to cut the surface of the metal. Fine lines which are barely visible and deeply chiselled grooves both play a part in my work and I enjoy using engraving in conjunction with chasing to create differences in the way the metal captures reflections.
I was initially introduced to engraving by Malcolm Appleby, who is renowned for his work, as part of my post-graduate course at Bishopsland Educational Trust. Having spent a period of 5 days at Malcolm’s workshop I was inspired by his enthusiastic and original approach to the use of engraving, and his sheer skill as well as attention to detail.
Embarking on a journey into engraving I spent hours practising in my first workshop and started to gain control over the tool, creating a body of work in silver using basic line techniques. The Mandelbrot Bowl and Crystalline Centrepiece were among this collection, and sparked a still present enthusiasm for engraving in my broad visual language. This often extends to using engraving in its own right as well as for enhancing my chased work. I particularly like to focus on using this technique in a non-traditional way, to convey a particular texture or effect, rather than to create a narrative which is often how it is used.
![Miriam Hanid curly-wood-grain-print](http://miriamhanid.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Curly-Wood-Grain-print-300x296.jpg)
See more examples of hand engraved silver pieces in the gallery, or read about a special engraved commission for The Queen here.