Wasteland Sovereign
I recently took part in a post-apocalyptic tarot card project photoshoot. You can see me in the bone mask as a set of twins here:
http://www.shotinthedarkphotography.com/art/Tarot/Cards/queenofpent.jpg
A few days before the photoshoot the artist in charge asked whether or not any of the participants had a ‘bone crown’. I didn’t at the time, but the idea picked at my brain as something I could create.
I somewhat obsessively buy very worn, aged leather belts whenever I find them at the thrift store. There’s a certain aesthetic and tactile feel in well worn leather that you just can’t replicate with any ease. or regularity. One of these would serve as the base… Within days I was commited to the idea and started poring through my random supply trunk to see what else could be used.
On top of that, I hand sawed, bent and shaped a large, brass coated door hinge I picked up at Home Depot. I’ve been eyeing those for future projects for ages and was far too excited to finally have a reason to get one. Once in the right shape and size, it was coated in stain, which took many days to dry. Once dry, the surface was scuffed up with a brass brush and paper towels. From there, the hinge was secured to the leather strap using some generic brass rivets, and a set of snaps added to the back in order to allow for size adjusting.
An opossum skull, tusks and pheasant feathers were bound to the crown using faux sinew and patience. A set of three chains on each side were added. Pearls and crystals were strung using sterling wire to hopefully add a small amount of regality and a bit of out-of-place elegance.
The result: (click for larger)
While the aesthetic did not fit and the piece was not able to be used for this particular project, I will certainly get plenty of use out of it in the future. The weekend exercise was great and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
One day I will learn to take progress photos as I go along. That day is not today!
No commentsWisdom Tooth Ring
Photos of the recently finished wisdom tooth ring posted previously. It was created as a gift for a dental hygienist friend of mine from one of the four wisdom teeth I had removed several years ago.
I wanted to create something of a ‘rot’ effect on the sterling silver, without going too far with the concept. I really need to try creating a light box for photos, but for now the natural sunlight and backdrop of my patio herbs will have to suffice.
No commentsMend – Just about done
I need to do some fine tuning and seal the bone in clear wax, but for most intents and purposes this little guy is just about done.
The hoop at the top is a single piece of sterling wire, which protrudes out in a small nub on the right hand side of the piece. This stabilizes the piece as a whole and prevents it from wiggling around. I’m not 100% sold on the small pearl I added to the top, but I’m leaning towards keeping it on there as it balances things out a bit.
Mend
Not a lot to say about this one just yet, but here’s a couple of very early shots.
The bone was split down the middle with a jeweler’s saw with a very fine blade. The curve in the cut is intentional, meant to look more organic and fluid than a simple fracture. Two pearls have been strung through the center using very fine gauge silver wire and meticulously hand bored holes.
Sideview shot, showing the little swirls of silver wire capping either end.
2 commentsCopper Clay on the way
Well pre-ordered at least. It becomes available on May 22nd.
I can’t wait to play around with this new material and see how it reacts. The firing instructions are a bit different than Bronz clay, but approximately the same shrinkage rates (20%). Now to see how workable it is. Very excited, to say the least!
Some basic information is provided in the PDF from NMclay.
No commentsFree Old Texts
Just a very quick post to share the joy that is older texts available for free on Google Book Search.
This is just one example. Give it a go, sometimes you can find some great stuff up there. While the knowledge on some topics is dated, others such as metalsmithing have remained relatively constant for hundreds or thousands of years and still provide valid, valuable information.
Some fun topics to get you started:
No commentsBox for a friend
This little project was made as a gift for a friend.
I did not build the base object, the box, but embellished it and resurfaced it. The original box was an old, early 1900s toolbox that I found at a nearby antique & miscellaneous junk shop. Aside from the keyhole and hidden hinges, the original box had no ornamentation. The red & black wash was applied to the top and insides of the box as part of the initial steps in this project. (the inside was undecorated, the top had been written on with black permanent marker at some point)
{Click image to embiggen}
More beneath the cut…
1 commentTooth Ring
Created for a dental hygienist friend of mine:
One of my wee wisdom teeth, removed several years back. Still need to finish polishing it up and apply the patina. Bezeling that thing was a hell of a challenge.
No commentsWorkbench!
So a while back I decided that I was going to get rid of my dining room table. I love that table. It’s a fantastic (and disturbingly heavy) slate top table full of rich oranges, reds and browns.
Unfortunately the only thing I ever really used the table for was as a place to make things on. This was not particularly good for the life of said fantastic table. Once I drilled a very small divet into it when I misjudged the consistancy of a piece of wood I was working with. That was when I knew the table needed to go and a real workbench needed to come in.
Enter my new (used) workbench:
The top was a bit beat up and peeling, so I scraped it down, sanded it, cleaned it up and then added the new workbench top constructed by my partner on top of the existing surface. Now to start using it…
No commentsTree Pendant
In an effort to get more familiar with basic sawing and riveting techniques, I’ve been trying my hand at some simple pendant designs.
{click image for larger version}
Simple design of copper riveted to a very thin gauge sheet of sterling silver. I attempted to hide the rivets and was only partially successful. Still, I’m happy with the way this experiment turned out. For the next attempt I’ll try and plan the design of the tree out a bit more, rather than freehanding(freesawing?) it directly as I go along.
No comments