Rustnstuff

Friday, December 14, 2012

A little glitter and tinkle for Christmas

An elderly friend-neighbour asked if I could make a selection of earrings; and bring them over to her place so she could make a selection for Christmas gifts for her granddaughters.

I have made a number of different types. My earring consultant (Fiona) said I might consider making some layered pieces - so that had a bit of movement and tinkle. So as well as finishing off the long slender leaf-forms and making a riveted pair; I have made a few sets with 2 or 3 layers of metal (copper, brass, EPNS).

The micro leaf-forms also made a return - I made a set that dangles and tinkles. These leaf-forms are about 12-15mm long.

The layered earrings encouraged me to make a layered pendant.

Fiona and I will visit our friend in the next couple of days to let her make her selection. The rest of the earrings will go into the 'shop' for Christmas. Most of the photos in this post were taken by Fiona as many of my macro shots were a tad blurry; and as you can see from Fiona's blog she has the steady hand for the detailed photos.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

On the cutting floor - metal that is

Over the last six months I have been the lucky recipient of quiet a few copper boilers; and was lucky to purchase a big stash of smallish silver plated EPNS trays from a couple of 'collectables - antiques' (read junk) stores.

I have cut some of the EPNS for projects as I have gone along; but I decided I needed to sort out the garage-studio and also sort out my metal. So I had a cutting day. As well as cutting up the 3 copper boilers; I sliced and diced about 10 trays; sweated handles and stands off 6-8 bowls and goblets; chopped up a brass tissue box cover; and cut down a sugar and milk set.

A few photos of the outcome.

And part of the 'cutting floor.

I also did a bit of annealing or brass and copper goblet bowls. I was so taken with the colours coming off a pewter lined copper goblet I just had to take a few shots with camera (Canon IXUS 100 IS) in one hand and torch in the other. None of the photos are doctored. Photos taken on dusk so the colours showed up a little better.

I now have no excuses for getting into a bit of production.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Gifts and giving

Over the last month there has been a reasonable amount of action on my online 'shop'. The lead up to Christmas has meant that a few folk look for something a little different and unique to give.

I have mentioned before that I am always pleasantly surprised that Daily Words sets (inspirational words and small shallow bowl) are popular with people. I like that. It means the recipients get to receive the gift on a daily basis; and the gift adds to or gives an uplifting dimension to their lives each day they use the words.

I had a request for two sets of Daily Words including another set of Italian words. One of the things I like about the requests and the personal choice of words is that as I make the pieces I can think of the person requesting the gift and just add a little extra touch of energy into the metal as I beat and polish it.

Below are a few photos of the bowls and words. Yes - I made 4 bowls just to give me some choice. And given the highly polished nature of the bowls it was impossible to keep the reflection of me, roof of the shed and the sky out of the photos.

And talking about gifts. I had another large copper laundry boiler given to me. The boiler has a biggish hole in the bottom so no good as a cauldron - but the metal is good for me; and I'm sure Fiona will be wanting the bits with patina.

I now have three copper boilers; so I think I need to have a cutting day this week. I will make a couple of pieces for the person who gave me the copper. The giving in the world always gives me a lift.

Friday, December 7, 2012

A tree of peace and healing

We are back home on the mountain and it is Friday. It was a great relaxing trip; but I am also happy to be back on the mountain. Whilst the morning has been filled with community meetings and catch ups; Fiona and I have managed to spend the afternoon in the 'studio'.

I was motivated to have a go at making a wire tree. Quite some time ago SZQ and I had discussed creating a collaborative peace tree using hand made metal leaves for September 2013. In a couple of recent blog posts SZQ indicated that her husband is in the middle of a serious health crisis. I thought making a my tree of Peace and Healing could not only give me the opportunity to make a small trial version of a peace tree; but could act as a way of sending healing energy to SZQ and her husband.

In addition to that I was talking to Fiona's dad about community and Christmas and he indicated that his church was doing a series of community fundraising Christmas trees as part of their commitment to the community. I thought if I made the Tree of Peace and Healing maybe it could also be added to the series.

Any way as you can see from the photos below I have made quite a good start on the tree.

There are 25 lengths of 4mm thick steel wire in the bundle. Lengths vary from 1.2-2m. As you can see I made a broom of wire first; and then began the plaiting process to create 'branches' and 'twigs'. The 'trunk' of the tree is about 30mm in diameter - reasonably substantial. The plaiting has created a very strong structure. The tree has 5 'branches'. On the central wire I secured a hollow metal thread from an old brass lamp. The tree is bolted into the base. The base is a heavy weight base recycled from a broken floor lamp. The plaiting process was done cold - required quite a bit of hand strength - good to have the vice to keep it all stable.

I will continue to add foldformed anodised aluminium leaves. Initially I will add 25 leaves - one for each length of wire. I will see how that looks - I want it to have a spare autumn look about it.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Of stones, wood, a few leaves and a little rust

Images I will always carry in my mind about NZ are: that it is a place of stone and timber; and these are tumbled, and formed into new shapes by a fairly harsh environment – wind, snow and rain; and metal rusts and timber erodes.

In this post I just wanted to share a small number of stone, rust, wood, water and leaf images I experienced.

The small stone cairn below was made by Fiona and I just after I had slipped on wet rocks attempting to take a great photo of some rusted metal submerged in the sea water, partially covered by sand and stones. The attempt seemed worth the risk at the time; but after a good soaking and a cold breeze I was not so sure. The iPhone took a quick dunk but at least in the short term has recovered. I ended up with a few bruises – but as they say in the classics we must suffer for our art!!!!

I don’t think I will ever stop appreciating the beauty that nature creates as it tumbles and hones both natural and manmade artefacts.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

A few panoramic views

Landscapes are very hard to capture in a reasonably size and resolution with the iPhone. I have been playing with the Stitch app on my iPhone in an attempt to capture some of broad majesty of what Fiona and I are experiencing as we travel the south of NZ.

I thought I might share a few of these panoramic photos - not necessarily in chronological order.

Some I stitched after the event; but I an now using the photo capture facility of the app to actually take the photos and immediately create the panorama. Gives much better control over the overlap; and cropping immediately gives better outcomes.