Root Craft

Whilst wondering through Rome, I happened upon this man, busking on the pathway in a very unusual way. He was carving the most exquisite small scale sculptures from carrots.

In one sense i was awed by his skill and craftsmanship. the objects he had produced with nothing but a small selection of sharp knives and toothpicks were astounding. But this, raised lots of questions; why was such a skilled artisan busking on the footpath? Is the demand for woodcarving so low in Europe that the craft has been reduced to a street curiosity, no matter how amazing? Or was he an artist or crafts person who simply enjoyed what he does so much that he feels he has to reach a wider audience  with his works? 

Unfortunately I'll never know.

Don't know your ring size?

Copy and past this URl into your browser to find out your ring size.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_size

Just measure the inside diameter (in millimetres) of a ring you already own and compare it to to the closest figure on the chart. With this handy little bit of info you'll be able to order a ring from your jeweller in your size every time.

The Lava Flow

This is the moment when the bronze objects from the previous post were created in spectacular fashion.

Poured from one seriously hot crucible...

The violence which is required to make beautiful metal objects never ceases to make me wonder about this apparent dichotomy. We so often think that beauty is effortless, painless and perfect. But so much of what we consider beautiful in jewellery is created through extreme circumstances. This is usually achieved by either human or nature though pressures and temperatures which our organic bodies couldn't possible withstand. The amazing physical qualities of the materials which smiths and jewellers use everyday is a source of wonder which keeps me coming back for more.

In my experience as a gold and silversmith I have found that the pieces which have taken the most struggle are the ones of which I am most proud.

When Clouds become Mountains

The soft pink wax 'clouds' from the Waxen Clouds and Caverns post (all the way back in Feb) have now been cast in bronze.

Now heavy both in weight and with surface oxide these small objects now appear much more like rocky crags than soft, sunset clouds.

Or perhaps the lava flows which have solidified upon contact with the ocean at each such catastrophic seaside event.

Is this the rib of some hither-to undiscovered dinosaur with with a degenerative bone disease? The real reason why T-rex and his mates collapsed into extinction?

18 Carats of ingot

This is my first gold perchase.



This shot gives you a better idea of the scale of my first gold perchase, heheh.



Fortunately my mum had some old gold jewellery she nolonger wares and was happy for me to add this to my 2g of 24ct gold. I then balanced out the mix with some fresh copper and fine silver in order to keep the alloy at 18ct.



And there it is freshly poured, shinny and beautiful straight out of the ingot mould. Now I just have to decide what to do with it...

Soul Sustenance

One of my most recent pieces, is this brooch which has its origins in the pomegranate fruit.

Whilst doing a project on survival I decided that both physical and spiritual sustenance were needed for survival. I chose the pomegranate for its links with Buddha. The legend has it that whilst fasting and meditating during his quest for enlightenment Buddha would eat only one seed from the pomegranate tree under which he sat.

This brooch is a charm of sorts. A physical reminder for the wearer that one's survival is dependant a balanced diet of physical food and spiritual and mental good health.

Easy Patina's

If you would like start using some patina's in you work, but can't find any recipes? Well, head to the resources page Brynmorgen Press website featured below.

http://www.brynmorgen.com/resources.html

There you will find some great easy patina recipes to get you started.

Enjoy!

A Coat of Colour

Here it is, the finished necklace with double pendant.

Sterling silver, leather, cast, fabricated, painted, varnished, oxidised

True Alchemy

The contrast between a wax model and the same piece after it has been reborn in metal is always remarkable. Some of the qualities us in the wax which seduced us as maker are forever lost except in memory: the soft luminous quality wax has under lights, its delicateness and minuscule weight.

These qualities are replaced by the more robust qualities of the metal. The weight increases by at least a factor of 10. It becomes durable and hard, reflecting the light back at its source and away from its self rather than letting light permeate its form.

The preciousness of the ephemeral is replaced by the value in the enduring.

Flow-forms in Caverns

Blue injection wax, Pink dental wax, Soot.

Waxen Clouds & Caverns

These are images of my recent play with wax.

They show examples of two very immediate techniques for working with wax: Water Casting and Dipping.

Water casting requires the maker to let go of the end result and allow the materials to take over most of the formation process. The experience is wonderfully liberating.

Dipping is done by melting a pot of wax and repeatedly immersing an object/form into the bath in order to build up layers of wax around it, creating a shell of wax. Almost anything can be dipped in this fashion, but a mouldable substance such as clay is superb, and gives the maker control over the shapes and forms being dipped and also the ability to remove the 'master shape' without destroying the wax.

Combining the two processes has yielded some very exiting results with lots of potential, but most importantly was also immensely FUN.

That late night Call

1:37am.
The phone rings, sharp and insistent with the kind of urgency only a telephone has.

"Hello?" I answer drowsily, eyes still closed.
A strange voice echos back to me from the other end of the line.
"Listen very carefully to what I am about to say. Write down every detail. This is of the utmost importance."
I open my eyes.
A strange compulsion to follow the strange voice's instructions overrides my incredulity. I pick up a sketch pad with white paper and pencil.
The voice quick and urgent whispering like a nervous conspirator expecting to be discovered at any moment. The other begins to describe something, this object of utmost importance.
Dutifully I take notes, and make a quick sketch.



" Now," says the mysterious voice. "Draw what I have told you. Leave out nothing. Disguise it as a life drawing study. Today at 8:51am, go to the post office and mail it to the address on the envelope that is waiting for you."



As if on cue, the doorbell rings. Startled, I sit bolt upright in bed with alarm. I gather my wits and rush to the door and throw it wide.
Nothing, no-one.
The night is silent, still.
I look down, as if scripted in a film.
Lying there, innocuous and yet strangely sinister, a yellow document envelope...
An international address is typed on a white sticker. The dot over the 'i' is missing in each case.

With a sense of foreboding, I go back to my bedroom and begin to draw.

2:04am...

In the Corner...

Whilst wandering the Melbourne environment, rubbings of interesting textures were made. These textures were then recreated through drawing them within the spaces created by over lapping circles.

From these drawings the textures where then brought back into three dimensions through the use of collage and perspective drawing. The outcomes of the collages are pictured below.

In some cases, the negative spaces was enhanced by cutting away areas of the page.

Next a corner within the room was selected (in this case the curve created by the back-rest and leg of a chair) and recreated in thick cardboard joined together with masking tape.

returning the the texture collages for inspiration, a second 3D element was created. The form is made from wax and the same thick cardboard. It takes the shape reminiscent of a caterpillar with exceedingly well defined dorsal segments.

As can bee seen, the creature has been placed inside the reproduced corner, lurking almost out of sight.

This placement evokes a slightly paranoid feeling. the same feeling induced by the memory of groping around in the dark for the light switch, only to discover instead something unexpected, hairy and oddly squishy, something scarily unidentifiable and.....Alive.