Sarah Padday

Sarah wrote about her time at Newark for her Special Award application:

During my time at Newark I have become increasingly interested in old instruments. I began to take every opportunity possible to look at examples of great old instruments, regularly visiting London auctions, alongside meeting players as well as makers to understand their perspective on these instruments. Some of these makers included Roger Hansell, Andrea Frandsen, Patrick Robin, and Alex Breton and  John Dilworth.

I have dedicated much of my time outside of school to experimenting with varnish making and pigment making. Having started to research and study this area, the more time I spent in copying the more I began to understand the amount of information (besides measurements) that is needed to imitate them with any justice and what originated from an interest in imitation grew to one in restoration. Following my attempts at copying, I began to develop an understanding of the information that these instruments impart about the makers and the methods they employed. The importance of preserving these became a new interest for me and I have since directed my focus to learn as much as possible about the art of restoration and conservation.

RAB Award 2018: funding to buy Stradivari Varnish by Brigitte Brandmair and Peter Greiner

I would like to thank the RAB trust for their generous award given to me so that I was able to purchase the book ‘Stradivari Varnish’ by Brigitte Brandmair and Peter Greiner. My interest in this book grew as I began to explore and experiment with various methods and recipes of varnish and pigment making. This book provides an outstanding analysis of Stradivarius’ varnish with countless amounts of information which will continue to inspire long after school on how to achieve a varnish that matches that used on great Italian instruments.

I am extremely grateful towards the RAB trust and those involved that have given me the privilege to own this amazing book.