Metalwork: Sinking a shallow bowl

Sinking is a method of creating a shallow bowl shape from a flat disk of metal, by hammering it against a dipped surface to shape it. I worked in concentric circles from near the edge to the centre, which stretches the metal in the middle and makes the dish shape.

this gives a good overall bowl shape, but leaves a very lumpy texture from the hammer.

once I was happy with the shape of my bowl and I had got it as deep as I wanted it, I started planishing it to create a smooth texture, but one which would still have hammer marks on. I used a round stake and  a flat, shiny hammer, which meant the marks it left were shiny and even.

I used the same method of concentric circles to do this, so it would be even and wouldn't be misshaped.

Metalwork: Vessels.

In our skills building phase, we learnt two different ways of making metal vessels, both hand raising and spinning. The first bowl I made was hand raised using a hammer and a stake. I found this quite difficult at first, because the disc of metal was still quite flat and it was hard to get the sides to come inwards without creating pleats or changing the shape of the bowl. I had to anneal the bowl several times while I was hammering it, because working with the metal makes it harder and more difficult to shape. 

 After looking at pottery shards, I started to think about how each of the shards had come from something, a pot or a plate, and I wanted to bring this theme into my metalwork as well as my ceramics. Using a piercing saw, I cut out an angular 'shard' shape from my copper bowl, and flattened it. I could then accurately copy the shape on to a piece of brass, which I reticulated to give it an interesting pattern and texture.

 I sewed this into the gap using wire, drilling small holes in both pieces to thread it though. I think this looks as if the bowl has been reconstructed from the shard, like an archaeologist would do.

I like the interesting idea of having a shard of metal. metal doesnt naturally shatter or crack, because it is malleable it would dent rather than break.

The next bowl I made was on the lathe, which gave it a very smooth surface, and a very regular shape because it was formed onto a block. I was pleased with how the bowl turned out, but I thought it was quite plain, and although I enjoyed the process, the outcome didn't really fit with my theme.

 For this reason, I decided to follow the same idea as my first bowl, but with a process more suited to the material. I first thought of hammering or dropping the bowl, and then trying to mend the bowl in an interesting way, but after some thought (and some encouragement from my metalwork tutor) I let one of my classmates take the bowl, with the instruction 'damage it, but don't destroy it' This was so I couldn't decide how to fix the bowl before I damaged it, as I would not know what the damage would be.

 A few minutes later, my bowl was returned, looking far less shiny and new than it had previously. He had used a micro welder to melt through the sides of the bowl, so there were now gaps in them, and also blobs of metal on the inside.

I did some quick sketches of ideas to decide how to mend the bowl, concentrating on decoration, not function.

 I then decided to hammer the middle part, in between the melted slits, to broaden it so the gaps were not as big. This also flattened the blobs of metal on the inside, some of them even fell off completely.

 I then did some more sketches of repairs I could do to make sure the pieces do not come apart.

I liked the idea of having round or oval bridges across the gaps, riveted in place on both sides, because this would be both decorative and unusual. I cut the ovals out of brass with a piercing saw, reticulated them, and drilled holes in both sides. I then used copper rivets to attach them to the bowl, doing one side of each oval before drilling the second hole in the bowl, so that they definitely lined up when I put the second rivets in.

 The rivets are quite noticeable on top of the brass, and I like the detail they create, which wouldn't be there had I soldered the pieces on. On the inside of the bowl, only a tiny amount of brass is visible through the gaps, and instead of the rivets contrasting the colour of the bowl, they add to the texture of where the copper was melted.

 I used powdered pumice stone and some liquid soap to give the surface a satin finish. I used a toothbrush to apply it, and followed the shape of the bowl where I could, so the brush marks went around the bowl and there were no harsh angular lines.

Stone setting (pottery setting)

One of the skills we are learning is stone setting, because stone setting can be very useful in jewellery making and fine metal work. For my project however, I felt this wasn't relevant  I used the same technique (inspired by Tania Covo) to set a piece of pottery onto a copper shape. First, I cut a teardrop shape from, and hammered it to give it texture. I then rolled out a strip of copper so that it was very thin and pliable, and cut a length that fitted around my pottery piece, but with a tiny gap. I then soldered the ends together, or rather, attempted to. My first attempt didn't work, because the copper was so thin it melted through when I heated it to solder it.

I tried again (with a lower  heat) and managed to solder it successfully. I then placed the ring onto the copper piece, and put two pieces of solder inside it, by the edges so that when I heated it, it melted and ran all the way round the ring to attach it firmly to the base. I also made a bail and soldered it onto the back of the pendant, before pickling it in the acid, then using pumice powder and a brush to give it a satin fnish.

The next stage was to set the piece of pottery in the setting I had made, and to do this I put the piece in, then used a small tool to push in the sides, to grip the piece.

 To finish it, I used a burnisher the to burnish the edges to make them shiny. I think this is a very interesting pendant, because although it is simple I think the copper contrasts well to the blue, and it is unique, no other piece of jewellery can have that piece of pottery in.

Metalwork continued

After our first day in the metal workshop, I researched the artist Junko Mori, who works with metal, and uses many different processes to add effects and textures to her works. I tried to put these textures into my own work. I used a hammer to get a similar effect to Mori's 'silver organism' but I have used copper instead of silver. I like all the tiny marks the hammer makes that add up to make the overall surface of the metal.

I also wanted to use wire to make structures similar to Mori's. First I cut small strips of wire, and hammered both ends of the wire flat, as Mori did in some of her sculptures. I attached these pieces of wire to my block of wood using a piece of tin plated steel and nails. I bent the wire into a curved, more organic shape. I like the tapering effect of the wire because they look like petals.

I also used loops of wire to make petal shapes, and hammered the edges to flatten just the outside edges of the loops. I like this effect because it makes the curves more definite. I attached this to the edge of my wooden block using staples. I positioned it so it hung off the sides, so it could be seen from the other sides and different angles.

Metalwork

In metalwork, we were testing out different processes to add textures and effects to sheet metal. First, I made a small wire flower and spot welded the centre. I then bent another piece of wire into a wave. I used these to press the pattern into a sheet of tin plated steel. I liked the impressions these made, and the metal stuck out on one side and was indented in on the other.

I then spot welded the wave onto the flower, and added leaves to create a whole flower. I liked this effect but I felt the wires were quite messy where they overlapped. I decided to put the flower through the metal roller to make it a more uniform width. I think this flower was very illustrative, and could be made into something such as a bookmark or a piece of jewellery. I did the same thing with a cat shape, and curved the tail around to make it more 3D.

   Next, I tried hammering a piece of wire, to flatten the end. This created a sort of tear-drop shape on the end of the wire. it also made the end shinier than the rest of the wire, as the hammer I used was very smooth and shiny and this transferred onto the wire.

I then used a hammer with a round end on a scrap piece of tin plated steel to add a texture. I think this looks like fish scales as the marks are round and overlapped. I like the texture this gives because it makes it almost glittery because of the way the light reflects in lots of directions.

   Next I put a piece of tin plate steel through the metal roller. I had it on a very thin setting, and this made it pleat and fold. Before I rolled it out, I drilled some holes in it, and these were elongated by the roller. I also hammered one end of my strip, which made small marks like dashes on one end of my strip. I think this made the whole strip look like a river.