Rustnstuff: Bells

Showing posts with label Bells. Show all posts

Friday, August 28, 2020

Peace bell in a rainforest

A number of people have asked what has happened to our Japanese peace bell that hung at our house and was gonged for people, events (joyful and sad) and anniversaries.

Our friends Sue and Steve have become the caretakers of the bell. We ceremoniously farewelled the bell from 601 and it was moved to our friends house in a small rainforest on the range. The photos below show the removal of the bell.

Sue and Steve commissioned the building of a beautiful new tori-like structure - they then created a zen like gavel and rock setting for the tori and bell - below. When gonging the bell one looks out into the rainforest and sends vibes through the forest.

Fiona and I attended Sue and Steve's place where we all gonged the bell for peace and other matters in its new setting to establish it in its new setting.

The bell will still be gonged for people, events and occasions. In fact we visited the bell to gong it on ANZAC Day and Hiroshima Day for peace; and asked Sue and Steve to gong it on the anniversary of Jane's death.

The spirit and message of the bell continues.

Friday, May 15, 2015

For family on Friday

On my art to do list I have had a couple of art tasks to do for my brother and his wife: to turn three special vintage, but rusty, hammers into an assemblage: and to finish the small 'temple' bell I was making out of a small but thick walled aluminium gas cylinder.

We caught up for a couple of hours some weeks back and I made a commitment to myself that when the next art gap appeared I would do these tasks. We had discussed the form for the hammer assemblage - tripod in shape. Today was the day. I need Fiona's hands and eye and blutack to get the arrangement right; and to drill the holes for the bolt to hold it all together.

The hammers were given a bit of straightening, good grind-clean; and then polish with metal polish and timber oil.

They were bolted together with a threaded rod and self locking nuts. The whole arrangement was set on a scrap of Camphor Laurel that was cut to size, sanded and polished with eco oil. The hammers have had one hole drilled in the handle of each - so they can be dis-assembled and used. The bolt and nuts have a degree of play in it so the hammers can be moved a bit to take on the tripod shape; and then lock in place and stand with no other fixture.

The bell was given a good grind to remove the thick blue paint - though I have left a few hints here and there - part of its history as are the stamped numbers etc. The threaded and drilled brass hanging arrangement was cut down and given more of a grind. And I covered visible brass thread with string; and added a white rope for hanging the whole thing up.

I have an old Japanese wooden metal working mallet - I'm thinking that could be the gong. I tested the mallet on the bell - it has a good resonance - bit crisp but that is the aluminium.

Now to make arrangements to deliver the pieces. But for now that is enough - Fiona suggests bubbles are the go for this Friday night.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Bell at the end of a working weekend

Whilst Fiona has been in NZ I took the opportunity to sand and paint her folks back and entry decks. Big job but the outcome looks good.

But I scheduled in a couple of hours today to start a project that has been in the back of my mind for quite a long time - to make a bell from a discarded gas cylinder. Fortunately I picked up such a cylinder from a garage sale a little while ago. The cylinder was about 600mm long and 180mm in diameter. I checked it had no remaining gas, took the value out, and half filled it with water before I started to cut it with my side grinder and thin cutting blade - wanted to make sure there was no chance of explosions.

It took a bit of cutting. I have done some rudimentary grinding, made a brass hanging top and a hook. I hung it on the bell deck - it is tiny compared to our Japanese Peace (temple) bell. And I gave it a test gong. Bit soft and a bit tinny but it works. Not sure if the video will work - but blogger won't let me delete it either.

Still quite a bit of work to be done on the bell; but it was good to have done a little creative work just for its own sake.

Below are some before and after photos of the decks.

I think I should sleep well tonight.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Meditation 'bells'

Back in early January I made a suspended meditation bell from an old thick walled goblet and other bits.

This weekend I have made a series of three meditation bells or gongs from the gongs of old clocks. These rods in these gongs are tuned rods - beautiful mellow gong sounds. Each of the gongs required a slightly different assemblage approach - though in all I have used the same thick recycled brass plate base cut to the same rectangular size. The strikers for ringing the 'bells' are made from rods out of mini pump push rods.

There is a four rod bell-gong - with a downward angle.

A three rod bell-gong (was 5 rods but two were damagd) on a single metal rod post.

And a two rod bell-gong - I made a special brass bracket to hold the wrought iron base of this bell-gong.

In my mind all these bell-gongs are small assemblage table sculptural pieces. The four rod bell-gong is my favourite - I like both the form and sound of this meditation bell-gong.

I have been making a few different pieces lately in preparation for our 601 mvr Open Studio weekend on 14-15 June - only three weeks away. I want to have a range of things in our studio-gallery to show visitors the variety in my work.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Bell and bling

I said to Fiona that this morning I was just going to do something in the studio that had no planning to it and i would do it just for the sake of creating. When we caught up with Mary Jane in New Jersey We talked about recycling wine goblet that had thick walls and very hard metal under the silver plate. So I decided to create a small sculptural assemblage bell stand and bell from some of bits and pieces and a goblet.

And so the bell and bell stand below were born. And yes the bell does chime - I made a small video but it would not upload.

I think this bell would be excellent to use to start and end a meditation period. The bell is about 6mm in diameter and 80mm high; and the stand is about 180-200 mm high. The base is solid brass plate but is separate to the stand; the bell is held on piece of new brass rod; and the gonger is made from and old brass pump plunger.

And I did get time to put the finishing touches to the spirals and leaf forms I made yesterday - lovely bit of bling.