whimsy

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, well not much like the Iowa Christmases I remember. This is Florida after all. Mostly it's the calendar that's reminding me of the season. Once again I've left the making of the wife's present to the last possible days. Well not really I have done most of the form exploration all ready. It's that I didn't make up my mind what to make until
yesterday. I wasn't positive about it until this morning. The first two courses of raising are done on this piece. I type as I anneal, both the body and the metal that will become the spout. I've a general form in mind, Short and stout, some of the detail, here is the handle here is the spout. I think this teapot should have a lid. I'm not sure of a whistle, we'll see. For this piece I've produced a 16 gauge pure copper 7" disk.. The plan is to incorporate some fold forming into this raised form... Much more later.. Boy do I have some work to do! It'll be fun, a bit of whimsy, I say confidently as I head back to the stake.

I got a new hammer!

In so many ways my new hammer is just another hammer. Yup a wooden handle with a metal head, two faces to keep polished. It's a Peddington, made in Germany. It's a #375 46 to be exact. I only mention this because some of my friends are hammer elitists. I confess to being somewhat of a tool collector, snob myself so I fit right in. What impressed me greatly was that the local jewelry supply store had my hammer, right on the dusty shelf hidden amongst a bunch of stuff I'd never look twice at. I'll never want a case opening pliers, a crystal press or a mechanical watch cleaning machine. There seemed to be a spotlight on that hammer coming from an invisible source. Maybe I imagined it. Maybe it was just the flicker from the fluorescent lights. I picked it up said, " Mine." Well the store didn't have the saw blades I came in for, were out of the drill bits I needed, no longer stocked silver solder, and didn't carry Batterns flux. None of that seemed to matter, much. Did you know liver of sulphur is a controlled item, requires hazardous shipping? I held my new hammer proudly, as I accepted the news that I wasn't going to find any of this product either. No problem. They didn't have any of the things I needed, just a hammer that I wanted. Needs and wants get confusing anyway. I get amused sometimes by stores offering employment as mystery shoppers, for me shopping for tools in the local shops is mystery shopping. Sure I know what I need to shop for but it will be a mystery what I get back to the bench with! Back at the bench it was time to celebrate. Much like the time I went shopping for a new crucible and came home with a new rolling mill. The above are the result of the celebration. " Five small copper bowls"

Paten, with Patina

It's curious to note that the root word for patina is paten, Latin for plate. Today I bring you a paten with patina. Visitors to my work often ask if the color on the larger pieces is a patina. It's not a word we use everyday, and it's not a concept our technologically advanced society often pauses long enough to appreciate. Perhaps the poets do a better job of explaining it than metal smiths do. The face of a sailor could be said to have a patina. The surface of an antique piece of wooden furniture might possess a patina. The brass railing, beside a marble staircase, leading up the steps to a public building, has developed a patina. Thousands of hands have rubbed some surfaces smooth, satin, polished and left other areas untouched, weathered. Just as the repeated dusting's, cleanings and touching have given the surface of a wooden table character over time, given it a glow, or luster. The face of the sailor shows the effects of his environment over the years. A patina has much to tell us about the passing of time and the evidences of that time passing. It's not something that's applied. Patina is all about developing character.

A sneek preview

Here's a sneak preview for you. These candle sticks are coming along nicely. They bring together two of the areas of my work, for the first time. The wire work or braiding and fold forming.
The pieces are just stacked together for this pic. Since this pic the ferrules have been shaped to fit, the candle holding pipe has received a drip cup of 12 gauge (thick stuff), and the fabricating
(silver soldering) is done. They are in the pickle now. Final cleaning, prep for a patina and the threaded rod, custom washers and nuts that holds each together are all that remain to be done.
A patina hasn't been chosen as of yet. I'm leaning towards a Roycroft approach. Plan is to do a demo of this piece, complete with process shots. Brad

Just a few new pieces

A bouquet of fold formed copper

While I'm busy working on my suntan.

Copper Hibiscus

Much of the work I do features a technique called fold forming. These copper hibiscus come from the research in this technique. It's almost impossible not to see a hibiscus in bloom here in Florida. It won't matter which day you come here, We'll be able to find one in bloom. You just have to listen for them! They seem to celebrate the warm breeze. They almost scream "Look at me"