Cutting large leaf forms

 

A sheet of Corten steel I ordered about 4 weeks ago was finally delivered on Tuesday - see below - the sheet is 2.4m long and 1.2m wide.

I was able to start the process of sketching the three large leaf forms in the concept drawing below onto the sheet of steel. 

The first of the leaf forms dropped out after quite a bit of work with the side grinder - see opening photo. 

Some process photos follow. Sketching the shapes on the steel.

Cutting with the side grinder. I used quite a few half used disks I had saved as they can be manoeuvred around corners better when cutting out leaf forms - but as the third photo shows I was left with lots of unusable bits.

The three leaf forms. The longest leaf form is 1.8m long and .4m wide.

The negative spaces in the steel.

The next tasks include: cutting the surplus off the sheet to allow the negative spaces to be a sculptural piece in its own right; grind all the rough edges off the leaf forms and leaf form negative spaces; and bend the leaf forms to create a 3D form.

Pouring a village

I cut a cottage form into a 50mm cube of graphite. The goal was to pour a small number of cottages that could become a small refection of stone cottages that were built by Highland families after they were cleared from their lands.

The photo above shows 7 that I have poured - maybe enough for a small post-clearance village? The original cast is shown in the photo below.

When I was removing the original cast from the mould, the mould developed a small crack. I did further work on the mould to make it easier to remove the cast cottage. But a chip broke off the mould when I did the first cast of the 7 in the opening photo. Not to be deterred I worked out that I could hold the chip in with a clamp - but needed to get the clamp off quickly as the graphite heated up and wanted to melt the plastic jaws of the clamp.

Still I managed to get my 7 cottages poured; and have kept the mould!!!

As I was pouring pewter recycled from Selangor beer mugs (lead free pewter) I decided I'd pour a few more hull forms - I like the rainbow colours on some.

I still need to trim the excess metal off the castings; and give some a wee grind.

A surprising start to the day

 

The start to the day was quite strange. We have been having hot dry days so who would have thought that we would start the day in the mist. However, by the time I started my walk the mist was burning off and the bees and blossoms were in action.

I was fascinated by how the bees were piling into the magnolia flower and tumbling around in the small flower fragments held by the petals - see above and below.

Now back to the mist - gentle lit day that was gradually penetrated  by soft sunlight.

A few sunlit blossoms and a cobweb.

And a visit to G's orchid house.

Memorial garden

 

The bench seat and 'word-posts' have finally been installed in the grief garden (memorial garden). The short walk to 'rest-reflect-renew' is in the garden on the boundary of the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre.

The bench seat (see opening photo) is positioned to taken in the view of the trees and small creek. Over time the trees behind it will offer even more tranquility to folk who want to pause to remember a loved one who has died.

The posts with etched aluminium words are positioned near the 'bridges' and follow the path to the bench seat.

Next week Graham and I will plant some of his swamp orchids near the posts and bench seat; and also give the etched plates a bit of a clean. Some heart plates are yet to be attached to the tops of the pasts.

Rushed and rudimentary

 

I didn't have buckets loads of time for the shed-workshop today; and I probably was aiming to overachieve!!! Anyway I set myself a few tasks: testing to see how well some pewter I bought from and op-shop would melt; and see if I could carve a wee cottage into a graphite block; and on the very outside see if I could do a pour of the cottage.

From the photo above (bit out of focus) you can see I carved and poured a very rudimentary pewter cottage. A few process photos follow.

I had bought a number of Selangor Pewter mugs from an op-shop -  so I did a melt and a couple of pours while I was carving the graphite to see how easily it melted and poured - see below.

One thing I learnt about the pewter ids that it tends to bind to the graphite a bit. The graphite mould might work well if I take the time to smooth a few edges etc in the carving - but that is for next week I think. The cottage is about 32mm long, 20mm high and 19mm wide.

Celebrating memories

 

Today Fiona and I spent the day travelling to and from Brisbane to celebrate the 90th birthday of a friend. It was a day grand day of honouring our friend and sharing memories.

This prompted me to share some older photos that I keep on my phone as they hold memories; and I enjoy the experience of occasionally rediscovering them.

The oldest image is from 11 years ago - hard yo believe that I have been taking iPhone photos for that long. Hope you enjoyed my wander down photo memory lane.