Experimenting with form and metal

©2019 Barry Smith - Two leaves made from silver-plated brass placemat with a strong design stamped on it; and with stems that have to seam at the back

I have a commission which requires me to make leaves that can stand upright in a seed shaped aperture in a piece of timber. The leaf needs to be able to have its own stem which can be glued into a hole in the bottom of the aperture. I set about experimenting with metal and how I would incorporate a stem into the design. The metal and stem of choice are incorporated into the leaves above.

Following are a few photos of the process.

©2019 Barry Smith - An adjustment to my usual leaf forms - stems sections added to the leaf.

©2019 Barry Smith - Hammered and ready for opening

©2019 Barry Smith - In the rough - stem section opened with the leaf

Stems with metal curved to the front which required brass rod to be included; and stems with the metal curved to the back which do not require brass rods.

©2019 Barry Smith - Two silver-plated brass leaf forms with the stem seam at the back; one copper leaf with join at the front and brass rod; and one silver-plated brass leaf with seam at the front and brass rod insert.

Final five leaf forms with three different metal and two different stem designs.

©2019 Barry Smith - The experiment enable a choice to be made about metal quality and stem design. The bottom leaf form is the look I'm going for.

Now all I need to do is make about 12 leaves so I can choose the best 9.