This month we met a lovely lady named Sophie. Sophie has a local business called “Sadlers Woodhouse” that specializes in pyrography art!
So what is pyrography art? The word comes from the Greek “pur” (fire) and “graphos” (writing), meaning writing with fire. In modern practice, this is more drawing than writing, with some artists creating truly fantastic pieces of art.
The exact origins of pyrography are unknown, as wood doesn’t survive well over thousands of years. Some believe its origins pre-date history, where cavemen would use charred sticks, to mark and burn the wood.
The practice of pyrography however can be traced back as far as the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), where it was known as Fire Needle Embroidery.
Pyrography is an ever changing art form, as it is always being reinvented with new tools, techniques, materials and styles. With pyrography art, there is no set style, it’s open to personal interpretation.
While some artists stick to a traditional approach, others are bending the boundaries with their own unique styles, by incorporating paints, wood oils and stains.
What on earth does pyrography have to do with Hungerforad Arcade Antiques & Collectibles you say? Well! Sophie was after a tea strainer of all things to use as a new type of tool in her wood burning trade. You can see more of Sophie’s fantastic work via the below links:
We recently had a visit from a wonderful young man named Kobi Patrick! Kobi is a talented 10 year old who has taken up the skillful and challenging art of Ventriloquism! Kobi has been practicing for 4 years now and is always looking to improve.
On this occasion, Kobi visited us here at the Arcade in search of some new tools for the job! In particular for a suitable “dummy” to help perform his act. After a good hunt in the arcade, Kobi found what he was looking for from one of our stall holders, Sarah Jane (unit 32s). A new sidekick for his show!
We wish all the best to Kobi and his ventriloquist career ahead, who knows, Britain’s Got Talent could be round the corner!
Many thanks for visiting us and hope to see you again soon Kobi!
My name is Jacque and my obsession is all about the glow! I am of course talking about Uranium and Vaseline glass collecting which i have been amassing for the past 3 – 4 years. I have 2 units here at the Arcade (109 & K), with good intentions to sell the Uranium glass to spread the love of glowing glass! At the moment I only have a small collection on offer and am failing miserably as most pieces I acquire stay at home on my shelves
Uranium glass can actually be dated back to Roman times (79AD), but it had its heyday from the 1880’s to the 1920 – 30’s when it enjoyed its greatest popularity with the likes of James Powell Whitefriars Company producing many types of decorative Uranium glass.
To get glass to glow, uranium oxide is usually added to a glass mix before melting or colouration, it can be as low as 2% or as high as 25% uranium added, with the colour range generally from yellow to green, though it can also be found in amber / blue glass. The fun of uranium is when you shine UV light on to it and see it become fluorescent and really does become a thing of beauty. If you are worried about collecting, most pieces are considered harmless and not very radio active
It became very popular in North America in the early 20th Century and was extensively produced into tableware and household items for everyday use, for example, Depression glass was low cost or distributed free around the time of the great depression. WW2 stopped production in America of uranium glass because it was classed as a strategic material needed for the Manhattan Project. It never regained the heights of popularity from the late 19th – early 20th century but was still produced right up until the 2000’s.
Vaseline glass can also be another type of UV reactive glass, at the end of the 19th century glassmakers developed more opaque types of decorative glass by added certain minerals including Iron Oxide. This gave glass the appearance of petroleum jelly, which gave rise to the name Vaseline glass
Other types of UV reactive glass to look out for are:
Custard Glass – opaque or semi opaque pale yellow
Jadite Glass – opaque or semi opaque pale green
Burmese Glass – opaque shades pink to yellow
Names to look out for when hunting out the glow (remember to carry a UV torch with you)
Hungerford Arcade has Coronation fever! We are pulling out all the stops to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla this coming Saturday 6th May 2023.
Jane Elliman of unit 12, who is a very talented artist, has produced a wonderful display for our window. We have bunting galore and several stall holders have decorated their units. Martin Smith of Countryside Books has very kindly lent us this historic God Save the King flag from the Coronation of the King’s grandfather, George VI.
It is well worth a visit to see the window display. There are vintage tins, crowns and other memorabilia from previous coronations as well as Jane’s original artwork in homage to the King.
Jane has had the inspired idea of covering plant supports in the shape of crowns with tinsel. We have a particularly spectacular example opposite the front door. These will be for sale, as usual when the festivities are over.
A vintage tin from our beloved late Queen’s Coronation.
Ian Spuffard has produced this display in his unit 125A
We are open with our usual hours throughout the weekend. Do come and visit as the Arcade is looking amazing.
This week we had a visit from Carol Atkins who works at AAW Control Systems Limited in Newbury. Carol came to us in search of a gift for one of the electrical engineers who is now retiring after 19 years of service at AWW!
After a good look around the Arcade, Carol and Vanessa discovered a fantastic pocket watch in unit 18 (Sarah Allison).
The watch is a beautiful example of a Birmingham 1908 Silver Waltham Full Hunter Pocket Watch as pictured. We are delighted that Carol chose to come to us in search of a gift and feel her choice is most fitting of a retirement present.
Click here to see more about AWW Control Systems Ltd.
We just want to say Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful ladies out there from all of us at Hungerford Arcade. We have dressed our window to celebrate this occasion and wish you all a fabulous day this Sunday.
Here at the Arcade one of our dealers (Brenda Neal Unit 4) has a stunning sculpture by Carole Danyluk, Carole was raised and educated in Alberta and now calls British Columbia home. Her lifetime interest in the fine arts led her to a Bachelors of Art from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Art Education from the University of Calgary. She has also studied architectural drawing at NAIT.
“The thing that makes bronze different from other media is the degree of commitment and responsibility that goes with it. You have to be willing to work hard and willing to surrender sometimes. Bronze is pretty much forever.” — Carole Danyluk
Carole Danyluk’s extraordinary background has enhanced her Wildlife Bronze in marvellous ways. From art teacher, to Published Wildlife Photographer, Carole deeply knows how to capture life-like qualities, accuracy and detail in bronze.
Carole’s unique style departs from the stoic formal images so typically seen in bronze, rather portraying the animals as they really are in nature. Amazingly, her lively sculptures really appear to be in play or caught in the middle of a scratch – you feel as though you’ve truly stumbled across the creature in the wild.
Using the ancient Lost-Wax Technique, it’s incredible Carole made such a radical switch from photography to the unruly and unforgiving medium which is bronze. However, her elegant suspension and precise detail exemplifies the daring but worthy switch.
The laborious complex casting process is 125 individual steps for a single piece of a bronze addition. Once one piece is completed, Carole amazingly repeats the entire process again. The sheer hours and effort for a bronze series is extraordinary. After casting, the original clay model is photographed being split in two, guaranteeing no further additions to a series.
As a female in a male dominated medium, Danyluk brings a unique maternal, whimsical and tender quality to her pieces. She successfully captures the personality of the animal in her work. In addition, her masterful patina work, all done with acid and blow torch, portrays vivid colours typically unseen in the medium.
Carole’s distinctive sculptures are collected by and sought after by individuals from around the world.
This month we were approached by Helen Findlay from Hungerford Primary School with a wonderful idea and small request. Helen asked if we would be interested in loaning a variety of antique or vintage items that could be used in a staff meeting some educational fun!
The idea was to have approximately 20 or so items that would be hidden from the staff in pillow cases so they couldn’t see what the item was. Firstly the staff had to try and guess what the item was or what it could be simply through feeling it in the pillow case.
We supplied a mixture of objects for the staff to use. Some were easy to guess and some not so easy! Anything from heavy Victorian Irons, Stoneware Hot Water Bottles and Copper Bed Pans to Vintage Horse Chogs, Ale Warmers and even a Victorian game of Quoits!
The Bed Pan being too large for a pillow case was therefore described in detail by Dave Mayer (Headmaster) to Matt Lambert (Year 4 Teacher). The idea being that Matt had to draw the item without seeing it based on the description given, then guess what the item was.
It sounds like a lot of fun was had and what a great idea for something different to do for a staff meeting.
We are delighted to have been part of this at the Hungerford Arcade and very much look forward to doing it again in the future, well done Hungerford Primary!
You can see more on Hungerford Primary School here.
We have this beautiful Native American Navajo sand picture signed by Gilbert Yazzie currently available from one of our stall holder (Chula, Unit 22). Sand paintings, as created by Native American Navajo Indians, were not made to be an “art object,” but rather were made as part of an elaborate healing ritual or ceremony.
The artist, or in the Navajo context, the medicine man, would use naturally colored grains of sand, and pour them by hand to create these elaborate “paintings.” After the medicine man completed the sand painting, the person who needed the healing was asked to sit on top of the sand painting (scroll down to see a picture of this).
The belief was that the sand painting provided a portal so that the healing spirits could come through the painting and heal the patient.
After removing the illness from the person, the healing spirits returned to the sand painting, and therefore the illness was believed to have been transferred over to – or was now contained within – the sand painting itself.
So once the healing ceremony was over, the painting was destroyed in order to destroy the illness as well. While one can find “sand paintings” that can be purchased as art works, they were clearly made to be art works for sale, since the paintings in healing ceremonies were destroyed as part of the ritual.
We wish all the best to Kobi and his ventriloquist career ahead, who knows, Britain’s Got Talent could be round the corner! 
“The thing that makes bronze different from other media is the degree of commitment and responsibility that goes with it. You have to be willing to work hard and willing to surrender sometimes. Bronze is pretty much forever.” — Carole Danyluk
Carole Danyluk’s extraordinary background has enhanced her Wildlife Bronze in marvellous ways. From art teacher, to Published Wildlife Photographer, Carole deeply knows how to capture life-like qualities, accuracy and detail in bronze.
Carole’s unique style departs from the stoic formal images so typically seen in bronze, rather portraying the animals as they really are in nature. Amazingly, her lively sculptures really appear to be in play or caught in the middle of a scratch – you feel as though you’ve truly stumbled across the creature in the wild.
Using the ancient Lost-Wax Technique, it’s incredible Carole made such a radical switch from photography to the unruly and unforgiving medium which is bronze. However, her elegant suspension and precise detail exemplifies the daring but worthy switch.
The laborious complex casting process is 125 individual steps for a single piece of a bronze addition. Once one piece is completed, Carole amazingly repeats the entire process again. The sheer hours and effort for a bronze series is extraordinary. After casting, the original clay model is photographed being split in two, guaranteeing no further additions to a series.
This month we were approached by Helen Findlay from Hungerford Primary School with a wonderful idea and small request. Helen asked if we would be interested in loaning a variety of antique or vintage items that could be used in a staff meeting some educational fun! 
It sounds like a lot of fun was had and what a great idea for something different to do for a staff meeting.
