Monthly Archives: July 2012

Leftovers

Posted on Tuesday, 31 July, 2012 | 1 Comment

I have some scrap brass left in the studio and some scrap ideas as well. I may have to throw them all in the etching tank yet. These would both be 1-1/2″ square.

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Posted in pilgrim badges, sketchbook

Pilgrim’s badges

Posted on Monday, 30 July, 2012 | 2 Comments

I’ve been doing a little research on Medieval pilgrim’s badges. A lowly pewter badge can serve both as a reminder of a meaningful journey and as a powerful talisman. All this, and still affordable for the adventurous peasant.

13th century pilgrim badge. 1″ high by 1.25″ wide. Pewter. From Pewter Sellers.

Pilgrim badge from Amiens cathedral.
From BBC’s A History of the World.

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Posted in image research, inspiration, pilgrim badges

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Poetry: Liberty Brass by Edward Hirsch

Posted on Sunday, 29 July, 2012 | Leave a comment

I was sitting across from the rotating sign
For the Liberty Brass Turning Company

Automatic Screw Machine Products

And brooding about our fathers
Always on the make to make more money

Screw Machine Products Automatic

Tender wounded brassy unsystematic
Free American men obsessing about margins

Machine Products Automatic Screw

Selling every day of their God-damned lives
To some Liberty Brass Turning Company

Products Automatic Screw Machine

Until they were screwed into boxes
And planted in plots paid and unpaid

Automatic Screw Machine Products

(From the March 15, 2010 issue of The New Yorker.)

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Quotation: Thomas Aquinus

Posted on Saturday, 28 July, 2012 | Leave a comment

“Because philosophy arises from awe, a philosopher is bound in his way to be a lover of myths and poetic fables. Poets and philosophers are alike in being big with wonder.”

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How I spent my summer vacation

Posted on Friday, 27 July, 2012 | Leave a comment

I’ve long wanted to do more “how to” videos. It just so happens that many of the things I know “how to” do are really weird and likely useful to no one but me. Nonetheless, the video was almost as much fun to make as the brass wire rope.

Best of all, check out my super-sophisticated iPhone camera mount. A steady-cam it’s not.

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Posted in idle angels, making

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At the angel spa

Posted on Thursday, 26 July, 2012 | Leave a comment

Hanging out by the cupric chloride jacuzzi after an indulgent 20 minute etch.

A lacquer thinner rub down for toner exfoliation.

Relaxing with friends.

A quick dip in phosphoric acid for a really dark tan.

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One angel and a big mess

Posted on Wednesday, 25 July, 2012 | 3 Comments

The Vigilante: Patina and wax applied. Lacking only suspension wire.

The state of my studio on July 25, 2012

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Posted in idle angels, making

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Perfect toner transfer

Posted on Tuesday, 24 July, 2012 | 2 Comments

Never in my years of working with Press-n-Peel Blue have I ever had such a perfect transfer (both front and back). And this was my first try using new methods and equipment. I’ll be posting my notes with additional images later on.

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to imbibe a rather large glass of my Father’s Day port.

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Posted in idle angels, making

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Courage from Verdun’s lion

Posted on Monday, 23 July, 2012 | 2 Comments

The last few days I have become rather obsessed on exactly how I plan to put the final finish on the Idle Angels. Which abrasive? On a wheel or by hand? How fine? Perhaps a buffing wheel?

Before this I have obsessed over getting the illustrations “perfect” and laying out the resists perfectly and organizing the studio. I know my self well enough to realize that all these little obsessions and productive procrastinations are really manifestations of fear. Some of this fear is justified in that the materials are expensive and my time is extremely limited. I also know that I’ve reached the limit of what I can plan for without taking some risks.

But returning to the question of finish, today I received courage from two master craftsmen.

The first is Tim McCreight’s simple advice from The Complete Metalsmith: An Illustrated Handbook:

“Keep in mind that there is no universal “right” finish. You can stop at any point that complements the piece.”

The second dose of courage came from Nicholas of Verdun and a close-up image from his famous altar. Seeing the directional scratches in this masterwork (there is no work of art that I regard more highly) gave me the fortitude to stop planning and start making.

A lion’s head. Close-up from the panel &Noah’s Ark of the Verdun Altar. The full plaque can be seen at the Lessing Photo Archive.

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Posted in art hero, craft, inspiration, making

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Quotation: Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862)

Posted on Sunday, 22 July, 2012 | 5 Comments

“I am sure that I never read any memorable news in a newspaper. If we read of one man robbed, or murdered, or killed by accident, or on house burned or one vessel wrecked… we need never read another. One is enough. If you are acquainted with the principle, what do you care for a myriad instances and applications? To a philosopher, all news as it is called, is gossip….”

from Walden, 1854

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Quotation: Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626)

Posted on Saturday, 21 July, 2012 | Leave a comment

“The human understanding is like a false mirror, which, receiving rays irregularly, distorts and discolors the nature of things by mingling its own nature with it”

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Eric Gill (again)

Posted on Friday, 20 July, 2012 | Leave a comment

Another Eric Gill from The King James Bible: Its History and Influence. How could I not love this?

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Posted in art hero, image research, inspiration

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