Micro-engraver Graham Short from Birmingham, known as “Hands of a Genius,” goes to extreme lengths to create his little works of art, which have won him renowned clientele such as Ronnie Barker, Stephen Fry, Uri Geller, and even Kim Kardashian.
Three evenings per week, between midnight and 5 a.m., micro-engraver Graham Short can be found in his home workshop, performing his intricate, one-of-a-kind work away from the potentially ruinous daytime traffic noise.
The 76-year-old from Birmingham, who is renowned for his microscopic artworks, goes to great lengths to ensure optimal conditions, from his handcrafted tools to his peaceful surroundings, and that he is in peak physical and mental condition to execute his carvings.
His unique technique includes not only keeping nocturnal hours – limited to just three nights per week “because of my age now as I feel weary – if I were younger it would be every night” – but also taking heart-slowing beta blockers to remain as stable as possible. He uses Botox to prevent blinking and jerks. (More on this to come.)
Most of his pieces take approximately three months to produce, with his smallest lettering measuring just six microns (six-thousandths of a millimeter). “This is the size of a red blood cell,” he explains. Human hair is around 100 microns thick.
Timing, patience, and calm are indispensable.
Recent works by Short include a miniature likeness of Marilyn Monroe created by punching 2,300 tiny holes into a £5 note and what is said to be the world’s smallest nativity scene engraved on a speck of gold inside the eye of a needle.
He claims that a young girl told him, “You are so cool!” when she saw the Christmas scene on display at St. Laurence Church in Northfield, Birmingham. “There was screeching,” he reports. “I felt it was great that a 76-year-old was finally cool,”
You may also recall that the artist made waves in 2016 when he put four of the then-new £5 notes bearing miniature pictures of author Jane Austen into circulation.
After spending one in England, one in Wales, one in Scotland, and one in Northern Ireland, art experts believed that the notes may be worth up to £50,000 to the lucky finders; while three were found, the England fiver spent in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, has yet to be found. In 2018, he accomplished a similar achievement using banknotes portraying the footballer Harry Kane.
His work has landed him clients such as Ronnie Barker, Stephen Fry, Uri Geller, and even Kim Kardashian.
If a truck passes a few blocks away, I can feel it.
After leaving school at the age of 15, Short began his career at a printworks in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, where his early duties included preparing tea and emptying mousetraps.
After completing his apprenticeship, he began engraving letterheads, which eventually led to his working for Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Buckingham Palace, and Downing Street.
When hand-engraved stationery fell out of favor, he resorted to a skill he had gained as an apprentice in the shop, where he and his coworkers would compete to complete the smallest engravings.
His first micro-artwork, a pin depicting the Lord’s Prayer, was exhibited approximately fifteen years ago; since then, his miniature works have made him a star in his area. But it all demands a tremendous amount of commitment and persistence.
“I work at night to avoid the traffic’s vibrations,” he explains, describing his creative process. “I work through a medical microscope so strong that I could feel a truck passing a few blocks away…
“I am continually looking for techniques to remain perfectly still. Recently, I’ve begun wrapping a leather strap over my elbow; the other end is wrapped around a heavy press next to me, and I pull as hard as I can against it; this keeps my hand tight.
Of course, if I’m not ready to engrave, which occurs frequently, I have to rest because my arm hurts, and then I begin again. But as long as I remain immobile, I am all right. Thankfully, I’m not shaking at my age.”
A five-hour nighttime working window permits only seven or eight cuts for the smallest lettering. “I must wait till the appropriate time,” he says. “That gives me a completed capital E and letter F. It is truly slow, but if I gain a little weight I can move faster.”
According to him, the Nativity scene took approximately forty hours to complete. “They take an average of three months to complete, primarily because I slip and must repolish and begin again. They seldom run smoothly from beginning to end.”
It’s a question that he’s frequently asked: how does he handle the frustration he feels when he makes a mistake? Strangely enough, it does not worry me. I anticipate that to occur. It is an integral aspect of the work.”
Botox and working between heartbeats deemed “hilarious”
Short then discusses botox, stating that he has received the procedure regularly for more than a decade. As he describes his recent encounter, he laughs.
“Oh my goodness, people were laughing at me at the church,” he recounts of his trip to display his nativity scene. “They inserted too much Botox around my left eye merely two weeks after the procedure. The left side of my face was solid and I was unable to laugh; I could only smile with one side; my smile was asymmetrical. They found it to be humorous.”
As a practice most commonly linked with anti-aging, I’m puzzled as to why a 60-year-old decided to undergo surgery.
“While I was being interviewed on television, a surgeon friend was observing me,” he explains. He observed that I was blinking faster than I should have, and remarked, “That’s not good for your work.”
Now, Short has Botox injections every three months, which “keeps my eyes extremely stiff.”
In addition, he takes magnesium, potassium, and beta blockers. I consume them like candy, but when I’m working, I wear a stethoscope to listen to my heart. Within half an hour of taking the pills, my heart rate reduces to approximately 20 beats per minute. This is when I attempt to work, between heartbeats.”
There should certainly be a “don’t attempt this at home” disclaimer at this point, but the artist maintains he is fit as a fiddle. “I’m so healthy that it’s incredible. I am a swimmer, and every day I swim up to 10,000 meters in two sessions.
Several years ago, I was the European champion for my age group in the 200-meter butterfly and the record-holder for the 1,500-meter front crawl. Therefore, I am very fit for my age.”
Shortly thereafter, he says, “I realize I go to extremes. I can do no more; I’ve reached my limit.”
Kim Kardashian, Stephen Fry, and the incarcerated Catch Me If You Can con man
Even if there are other micro-artists in the world, Short feels he is the only engraver who does the work he does. It has altered his lifestyle. “I’ve met so many fascinating people, and I now give speeches across the country. I have many humorous stories to relate about the affluent and famous with whom I’ve worked.”
Ronnie Barker purchased a paper clip with a Shakespeare quotation inscribed on it, he says. He has also worked for Stephen Fry and is currently friends with Uri Geller. One former manager even asked him to engrave a compass for Kardashian after the birth of her daughter North West, he adds.
The American fraudster Frank Abagnale, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can, also contacted the FBI.
Short states, “He sent me an email 10 years ago.” “It stated, ‘Had I your skill when I was younger, I would have never been detected.’ I stayed in contact with him and informed him of my intentions six years ago when the new £5 notes were introduced. He advised, “Do not touch it. It is the Bank Act of 1928. You will face charges for defacing the notes.'”
Short took a gamble, and everything worked out well. The police have never been on patrol.
