Kind of Strange

I need to do some fine tuning and seal the bone in clear wax, but for most intents and purposes this little experiment 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.

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 patiently hand bored holes. 

Sideview shot, showing the little swirls of silver wire capping either end.

Well pre-ordered at least.  It becomes available on May 22nd.

Coppr Clay at New Mexico Clay

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.

Just a very quick post to share the joy that is older texts available for free on Google Book Search.

The Goldsmith’s Handbook 

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 (go go gadget leatherworkers!) and still provide valid, valuable information.

Some fun topics to get you started:

subject: “Mythology”

subject: “Leather”

subject: “Crafts & Hobbies”

subject: “Art”

subject: “Science”

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)

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More beneath the cut…

(more…)

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.

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…

In an effort to get more familiar with basic sawing and riveting techniques, I’ve been trying my hand at some simple pendant designs. 

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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.

Seattle area artist Kim Graham has created a set of very cool digigrade leg extensions.  She’s currently working on a set of ‘steampunk satyr’ legs for the Seattle SteamCon.  I can’t wait to see the results.

Video of Kim walking in the leg extensions below:

Kim has a fantastic body of work on her gallery site that I recommend checking out.   If you live anywhere near Edmonds, WA, stop by the Semantic Gallery and you can see one of her sculptures (as well as the works of many other fine artists) in person. Kim also has a blog for one of her newer projects, the epic and fantastically fun Silk Mermaid. I can’t wait to see the finished piece!