ARTIST ENGRAVED QUEEN'S PORTRAIT ON PINHEAD

An artist who engraved a minute picture of the Queen on a pinhead said he used Botox and pills to help him keep still.

Graham Short, from Birmingham, carried out the engraving to mark the Jubilee celebrations later this year.

He said it took 90 attempts over nine months to engrave the portrait on the 2mm wide pin.

To carry out the intricate work, he said he had courses of Botox around his eyes to keep them "rigid" as well as taking tablets to slow his heart rate.

Other minute work he has completed includes engraving the entire Lord's Prayer on a pinhead and the first chapter of the Koran on a 2mm platinum pin.

He said he swims 10,000m a day to achieve a "low resting pulse rate" and to be "perfectly still" when working under a powerful microscope.

He also does his etching between midnight and 05:00 to avoid any traffic vibrations.

Mr Short, who lives in Bournville and has had an engraving business in the Jewellery Quarter area of Birmingham since 1974, hopes his latest work will go on display.

To read the complete article, see:
Artist uses Botox to help engrave Queen portrait on pinhead (www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-17906467)

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