Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Antique Copper & Brass Findings


I have been so busy with RL I haven't had much time for miniatures. Though I have finished several galvanized French Flower buckets.

I have found so many wonderful brass and copper findings lately. I have a lot of ideas about how I would like to use them. Any ideas you might have would be welcome. I think we all have had lots of uses for findings.



The copper pheasants and chicks are just 38 X 30mm. They detail is just incredible. Which will be greatly enhanced/defined once they have been oxidized and buffed. I can think of many ways to use this piece. The simplest of which would just be framing it.. The copper is pretty heavy, unlike other stampings I have seen. Which makes forming it a bit risky because hammering on it might damage the higher raised areas. I still may sweat solder it to a piece of brass and try forming it into cane/umbrella stand. That would be great next to a front door of a country house. 

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The brass dragons drinking out of the fountain are 110mm long. Wonderful I thought for a pediment of a house. They would have to be painted to look like they were carved stone or plaster. They could be used over a double door too. 


I wish I had been able to get two of these copper pieces so I could have soldered them together. It would have required cutting off and replacing the bottom.  It will still make a nice wall planter. Perhaps in a green patina. 
 

16 comments:

  1. They are wonderful Catherine....a fabulous find! With your imagination and skill you will certainly not be short of ideas. I shall look forward to seeing them reinvented.


    "Happy Birthday" for Friday. X

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    1. Thank you Linda! I can't wait to start on the pheasants. I just love that image. ;-)

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  2. Wow these are really beautiful! I don't have any ideas for you as yours far surpass anything I could think of, but very inspirational just the same :)

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    1. Hi Linda,
      I can never resist the antique ones. I have too hold myself back or i would have buckets full of these things.

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    1. Hi Claude,
      I wish I could claim them as my work. Still, I am happy to incorporate them into mine.

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  4. Hello Catherine,
    Those copper pieces are just beautiful. I love the detail in the dragons. Great find and I cannot wait to see how you use them in your amazing miniatures.
    Big hug
    Giac

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  5. These are lovely Catherine - I don't think that your creative mind needs much help in deciding how to use them. My mother used to have lots of brass and copper plaques at a the time when people did not mind cleaning and polishing them. However, I think that today they are possibly lacquered and require no polish. The only idea I could think of was to use it as a firescreen for the first piece.

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    1. Hi Rosemary,
      Thank you! I would be in big trouble if I minded polishing around here. I usually take all the laquer off anything that comes through my door.
      You are right, the pheasant plaque would make a great insert for a fire screen!

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  6. Gorgeous! I love your dragons! Wouldn't they be great under a family crest?

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  7. What interesting things! This is something very unusual and beautiful. Hugs, Julia

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  8. Hi Catherine
    Your new metal items are Fantastic, but what came to mind was your making a mold of them so that rather than paint over them you could experiment with their castings. If they are small enough you could use that 2 part mold putty and make their castings from fimo, that way you could make as many of them as required.

    elizabeth

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    1. Hi Elizabeth,
      Thank you!
      A very good idea for pieces I might prefer to paint, like the dragons. :-)

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