"After the storm" - a leaf installation

I'm currently beavering away creating various pieces for a number of exhibitions-awards-shows. A couple of the pieces require many foldformed anodised aluminium leaves such as the stash in the photo below -about 20 'leaves' in an anodised cake pan below.

Barry Smith © Autumn leaves?

For each piece I'm doing I require about 100-120 of the leaves. Well I now have over 120 leaves so I thought I'd use them in a leaf installation I have been holding in my head for some time. At the moment the work has the working title of "After the storm" - a drift of leaves have been heaped in and around a rusted old milk bucket by the wind and rain. I took a few shots of the installation - a few are below. The installation is about 1m long, 500mm wide and 250mm high.

Barry Smith © After the storm - view 1

Barry Smith © After the storm - view 2

Barry Smith © After the storm - view 3

So that is what 120+ leaves looks like. Supporting the leaves is a heap of old metal offcuts - the bucket is normally one of the places I keep brass and copper offcuts - someday to be melted down.

Barry Smith © Leaves - cut, folded, hammered and unfolded

The photo of my bench shows the leaves in their different stages: recycled anodised aluminium lids being cut up; the rectangles of metal before folding; the folded leaf forms ready for beating; and the formed and unfolded leaves in the cake pan (later to be cut up for more leaves).

A few things for Friday

I'm not sure why I'm always surprised by what happens on a Friday but I am.

Today was an ordinary Friday really: walk, coffee at Monicas, paper and breakfast, coffee catch up with Ken, Noela and Caroline, shopping and mail and catch up with E-A and Carol, work-work, snake watching, finishing the COMA piece and progressing the big leaf - and now time for chilli con carne and bubbles.

Fiona Dempster © Tiny Temple Gong

As you can see from the photo above and below the Tiny Temple Gong for the next COMA exhibition ('making music') is complete.

Fiona Dempster © Tiny Temple Gong

Fiona Dempster © Tiny Temple Gong

Fiona gave me a hand to put a couple of bends in the big leaf after I had cleaned it with acid in preparation for curing.

Fiona Dempster © Putting bends in big leaf - cold forming - all about levers!!

Fiona Dempster © Putting bends in big leaf - cold forming - all about the foot work!!

Barry Smith © Elegant leaf bends!!!

And we had a Red Belly Black snake visiting - I will be a little more careful on the terraces.

Barry Smith © Snake like leaf bend?

Fiona Dempster © Red Belly Black pays a visit - photo taken with zoom!!!!!

A good ordinary creative Friday - for which I 'm grateful.

Now this is what I call a leaf...

There is a line in the original Crocodile Dundee movie where Mick Dundee is threatened by a knife wielding 'thug' - he counters this move by producing a huge knife and says something like - "now this is what I call a knife".

Barry Smith © Leaf Fragments

In the main I create reasonably small, even tiny, fold formed leaves.  But yesterday I worked with my brother Neil (below) to create the leaf above. Neil had come to spend a couple of days with Fiona and I by way of rest!!! A bit of creativity is always restful and uplifting I'm sure.

The stylised gum leaf measures about  3.3m long by 1m wide - quite big really.

Fiona Dempster © And the design discussion goes on...

The final design had input from Neil and Fiona who from time to time stood on the deck above to get a better perspective and give views about the lines and forms. The final design below emerged. I had to buy a sheet of rolled steel for this work as my recycled sheet metal pieces were too small. The sheet is 2.4mX1.2m. We used about 25 fine fibre cutting blades to cut the work out of the metal.

Fiona Dempster © The final design marked up ready to cut

This sculptural piece is destined for the Aspects Art Show in Goondiwindi. The work is called Leaf Fragments. Leaf Fragments is in fact three leaf forms: one big leaf form torn into four fragments; a smaller leaf falling out of the third fragment; and I have incorporated an earlier skeletal leaf I made to add an additional form and 3D aspect.

Barry Smith © Drop out leaf from Leaf Fragments

Barry Smith © Drop out leaf and negative space of tear lines in the leaf

Barry Smith © Leaf on leaf fragment

Below are some photos of the chalked up blued metal - part of the planning process captured by Fiona.

Fiona Dempster © Blue fragments 1

Fiona Dempster © Blue fragments 2

The piece still needs an acid treatment; holes for securing to the ground-grass exhibition area; more grinding; and a few bends here and there - but it is well on its way.

Barry Smith © The rusting (curing) process has begun

The negative space of the 'tears' in the leaf form stand out well against the black bitumen.

Portable personal peace shrine is completed

Fiona and I have been able to get into the studios again today - great feeling. So I have been able to finish the portable personal shrine (PPS) I started on Friday.

In the main it needed polishing; collecting and adding the bits that could be stored in the base section; and organising the binding material to keep it together if one took it travelling.

Barry Smith © PPS - unpacked ready for use

As you can see from the photo above I have made this shrine a portable personal peace shrine - with help from Fiona. The shrine's storage section holds many pieces:  Fiona 'donated' a piece of a burnt and encaustic page with the word "wonder" left behind; she also made a small scroll with the quote "peace is every step" on it; she bound a few of her sticks of incense with fine twine; she 'donated' some sari silk cord; I added an F she had written on a stone for me; a piece of EPNS I stamped with the word peace was added; a small candle holder was cut down to fit the storage space (it can be used for a candle or incense); and a natural clear quartz crystal has been included.

As you can see from the photos below the shrine can unpacked and set up when one has arrived at a place of contemplation-meditation; and then repacked when one is moving on in one's travels.

Barry Smith © PPS - sari silk plaited cord threaded through the storage section

Barry Smith © The wonder of silk and Fiona's word and work

Barry Smith © PPS - looking at the spread of contents of the shrine

Barry Smith © Packing up the PPS

Barry Smith © Raw silk 'wool' to hold the pieces in place during transit.

Barry Smith © PPS - packed and bound

Whilst I have made this portable personal shrine with a focus on peace - the owner of such a shrine could personalise their shrine by adding in the things that are important and sacred to them. As you can see from the unpacked and packed photos you can fit quite a number of objects and pieces in a small space (about 6X8cm) - and there was even a bit of room to spare. The stand is packed flat on the bottom of the storage area.

Given the contributions Fiona made to this test shrine I have gifted this first shrine to her - imperfections and all - though I think the slightly imperfect look suggests history and use.

Barry Smith © PPS - a sacred object?

Time permitting, I will create a series of these personal portable shrines for sale as I think they can bring positive energy and opportunities into the lives of owners of such pieces. All would be unique of course as the recycled materials available will often contribute to the form the PPS takes.

Portable shrine - work in process

Today, Friday, has been a balanced sort of day: a morning walk and coffee; some community work; art; acupuncture; weeding; and now a glass of bubbles - all is well.

Barry Smith © Portable personal shrine -- front - reflected sunlight and mountains

The art today took the form of starting on a portable personal shrine. As you can see from the photo above and the series below I have got a long way with it but have not finished polishing; lining; installing a few bits and pieces for the user; and adding the silk tie to hold it together when it is being transported.

Barry Smith © PPS - shrine and storage section

Barry Smith © PPS - front and back - plus 'stand'

Barry Smith © PPS - front - on timber

The shrine is 12.5cm high and 8.5cm wide  - the pointed bit is about a third of the whole piece; and the body is roughly a 8.5cm square. The back storage and shrine section is made from recycled copper; and the front from a left over piece of brass from one of my COMA pieces. You might see I found a flat steel object which I have adapted to be the 'stand' when setting up the shrine. The silver decorative pieces are from an EPNS fruit bowl I cut up ages ago. The piece has many hand formed copper and brass rivets. The holes punched in the storage area of the back is where the silk tie will be threaded through.

I hope to get the time to complete this piece over the weekend.

Amulet boxes, talismans, personal and portable shrines

My interest in objects that might assist us in contemplation, reflection and meditation has led me to create a number of different beaten, formed and assembled metal items including: meditation bowls; incense burners; and personal shrines.

Barry Smith © Personal shrine - to the moon

I think my interest in personal and portable shrines, amulet boxes and talismans began a few years ago when our friends Boris and Richard showed us an amulet box they had purchased - which still had the sacred and secret objects still in the box - still wrapped and preserved in their sacredness. On a recent visit B&R shared more insights into this area of Tibetan personal portable shrines and amulet boxes (gau).

Barry Smith © Sacred content of a small simple Tibetan gau 

Barry Smith © Aged, worn, simple and sacred gau

Barry Smith © Carved portable bone shrine with sacred words and symbols  - front

Barry Smith © Carved portable shrine with sacred words and symbols  - back

In our visit to NYC a household shrine and a portable shrine (below) were part of the exhibition in the Rubin Museum of Art which is dedicated to the art of the Himalayas including Tibet.

Barry Smith – Tibetan amulet box (gau) - Rubin Museum 

Recently I have been fascinated Stregata's work on amulets and talismans; Gaby's small portable shrine; and Mairedodd's talismans. And Mairedodd (MJ) gave us the gift of such a beautiful talismanic piece.  MJ's gift has many layers: the sacred tablet, the words stamped into the metal behind the tablet and words stamped onto the fabric. The piece has other symbols of spirit and enlightenment including the bell and the double ended crystal. And of course it has been personally crafted and energised by the giver.

Barry Smith © MJ's talisman gift - now above our work space

What I love about the portable personal shrines is that the owner can take them on journeys with them  - whether it be for pleasure, duty or business. Wherever they find themselves they can set up, and in some case open the shrine, and they have a small place of contemplation, reflection, mediation or prayer with them. They can create a sacred place wherever they are - in a room, a park, the woods, on a mountain trail, on the shores of the ocean etc. The portable shrine is a gateway to the inner self, a connection to hearth and kin and the spirit realm. The shrine can contain secret and sacred objects and messages (of spirit, love, peace, giving, enlightment) that are important to the owner and maybe have been given as wishes, prayers and protections for the owner. In themselves these portable personal shrines are unique personal and powerful.

Barry Smith © Wrapped contents of a portable shrine

So where is all this heading? I have been inspired by what has been shared with me and what I have seen to have a go at creating a small portable personal shrine.

A tiny tinkling temple gong

On Friday I made a mini temple gong that I thought would be part of my next COMA exhibition piece. However, Fiona and I decided that the gong I made did not allow for enough 'breathing' space around it if I set it into the back of the canvas - size prescribe by our fearless leader Ken Munsie.

So two possible options included mounting the mini temple gong on the front of the canvas; or making a small gong to fit the space in the back.  I decided I liked the first gong enough to want to keep it in our lives for a bit longer and therefore make a second one for the COMA exhibition.

Barry Smith © Tiny temple gong - Sunburst

As you can see from the photo above I have made a tiny gong (about 120-150mm in diameter) - I call this one "sunburst" - for the obvious reason.  Below are a couple of before and after (polishing) shots. The eyes tend to play tricks on me when I look at the back and front views in the rough - but I assure you that it is true.

Barry Smith © TT gong in the rough - back

Barry Smith © TT gong in the rough - front

Barry Smith © Polished - Sunburst

This tiny gong does not have the deep bass resonance of the earlier one; but still has a sweet tone when struck with a soft 'gonger'.

Music on Friday - mini temple gong

We have a new COMA art challenge from Coordinator Ken M - an exhibition titled 'making music' - to be interpreted in our own unique way as long as it fits on a 12X12inch canvass.

Barry Smith © Detail of centre of brass gong.

So you can see from the photo above (with me in the reflection) and below I spent my afternoon creating a mini temple gong from a flat piece of brass. I had to resort to new brass again as I did not have a recycled piece big enough for this work.

Barry Smith © 2500mm circle of .6mm brass

Barry Smith © Centre roughly beaten

Barry Smith © Gong from the back before polishing 

Barry Smith © Polished mini temple gong

Barry Smith © Polished mini temple gong

Barry Smith © Polished mini temple gong - rainbow patina

The gong is about 200mm in diameter. I had to anneal it about 10 times in the sequence of beating to get the shape and tone. The repeated annealing resulted in some nice rainbow patina. The final planishing beating on the centre hardened it and gave it the shine. But does it gong? Well we had to do the sound test. Fiona did a mini video with the iPhone.

I think it has turned out pretty well.