David is a bell founder, artist and educator who places the beautiful alchemy of melting metal at the heart of his studio practice. In 2012 he started Bristol-based travelling foundry Ore + Ingot, sharing and teaching metal casting and taking commissions. He specialises in bell casting and is one of only a handful of bell casters still active in the country. He has bells in the Royal household of His Royal Highness the Prince Of Wales, amongst other places.
As an educator and technician David has worked at the Royal College of Art, running the foundry. Internationally he has run courses and workshops across European universities sharing knowledge of metal casting.
In keeping with his aim to preserve traditional arts in contemporary practice, David used his QEST Scholarship to question the folklore of bell founding, researching how different alloys and casting techniques affect harmonics.
Portrait image by Asia Werbel for the John Smedley 235 campaign.
