Rustnstuff

Friday, February 14, 2014

Steampunk influenced business card holder

When I dropped off my Steampunk influenced earrings and pendants to Rosetta Books, Anne, the owner of Rosetta Books, asked that I bring in some business cards to promote the jewellery and my metal work art in general. A generous suggestion.

So I decided to make a Steampunk influenced business card holder. I like how it turned out; and now it sits on the coffee counter in Rosetta Books coffee spot.

I like it in particular given that it started out as pretty ordinary scrap metal as you can see from the photo below.

But after a bit of: cutting, drilling, putting threads into found metal objects and the base plate and threads on screws - the bits were ready for filing and polishing.

And of course after the polishing there is the assembly - though in the end I did not use all the bits I prepared as I did not want to overdo the overall design.

And as I small assemblage sculpture I hope it invites folk to take my business card and check out the website.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

An abundance of green and a spot of orange

Some folk up our way are having a little moan about the lack of rain this wet season. Fiona and I think the combination of a little rain now and then and sunshine has done wonders on the block. There is so much green and so much produce as you can see from the photos bellow.

I just say thanks for such abundance. And I think the spiders even like this weather - so many webs catching the misty rain.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Two hands of earrings

I managed to complete 10 pairs of earrings from the stash of bits I prepared on Friday: 5 pairs of riveted earrings; and 4 pairs of dangly-swinging earrings. I still had some pieces left and a number of other 'found' bits; but there were other things to do on the block - so I settled for 10.

The photo above shows the group of riveted earrings. And individual shots follow below.

The first photo below shows the group of dangly-swinging earrings; and also individual shots.

Quite a good outcome. These types of earrings are quite time consuming for me as they have multiple layers and some of the pieces are fairly small for my hands - especially when it comes to riveting. These earrings will head to Melbourne.

Friday, February 7, 2014

A tiny handful of metal

As you can see from the photo below - a day's work in the garage-studio can sometimes result in a tiny handful of metal slivers.

I was cutting up offcuts to make components for two types of earrings: riveted earrings; and swing earrings - both types have multiple pieces of metal. And of course given they are earrings and that there are multiple layers some of the pieces can be quite tiny. The pieces of metal range in length from about 12mm to 65 mm; and in width from about 3mm to 10mm. So after a couple of hours of designing 8-10 sets of earrings (in my head) and cutting pieces of metal to be riveted etc - I ended up with the stash below. It all looks pretty corroded and patinated at this stage.

This afternoon was given over to grinding edges smooth and polishing the pieces. So I now have a stash of reasonably polished pieces ready for assembling.

And of course as part of the cutting process one comes across a few other bits that call out to be cut and polished such as the ones in the photo below. I loved the brass petal forms.

The 60 wee pieces of metal held in my hand will be punched, riveted and assembled over the weekend - at least that is the plan.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Steampunk restock

Yesterday I finished adding embellishments (including rivets) and other watch bits to the Steampunk influenced earrings and pendants; and attached jump rings, ear wires and chains. They were ready to take to Rosetta Books which has a Steampunkish coffee machine and other Steampunk influenced odds and ends; and which is the only place I sell these pieces other than in my studio-gallery and online shops). So this morning Fiona and I dropped in for a coffee; and replaced and refreshed the Steampunk jewellery display (sale) board.

All pieces are made from antique and vintage wrist watch and pocket watch parts bought from an 'antique' market in New York.

This lot of pendants have their individual features; and are a bit lighter than my earlier pennants (responding to feedback).

The drops of the earrings are all about 30-40mm long - nice movement and shine without being too bulky.

The cogs on the last pair of earrings still rotate - cute. My display board in Rosetta's has 11 pieces. I've added 8 new pieces into the display today.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Art - 90% perspiration?

This past weekend has been great from an art perspective; although quite a lot of the time went into creating the right work environment and doing preliminary work such as: installing the roller press on the bench adjacent to Fiona's studio; relocating the blacksmith's vice down to the hot-work area; installing and testing our new guillotine; sorting the pocket watch pieces I bought in New York and dismantling, cutting and polishing some bits ready for Steampunk jewellery; and doing a prototype of a leaf form that will be part of one of my pieces for the Aspects art exhibition in Goondiwindi.

The roller press and guillotine bolted to the shed-studio work bench (where I also do polishing work).

The guillotine in action - it has a 300mm blade; but effectively cuts 265mm - heavy duty. This will make production work so much easier on the hands.

The blacksmith's vice joins the other vice on the hot area work bench.

Some of the pocket watches - cut and polished waiting for turning into simple Steampunk jewellery pieces.

And the prototype for a leaf form on a rusted steel rod

The weekend's art work does seem to support the notion that a fair amount of an artist's time is spent on art related activities; and not always the creation and finishing of pieces. I still enjoy the preparation etc processes.