Lots of Flowers

As you can see I have been busy.

 

There are a few things I would rather do then make flowers. Like spend the day with my tax man or go for a colonoscopy. The entire time I kept thinking of dear Elizabeth making that garden all around her house. How did you survive that I wondered?  http://studioeminiatures.blogspot.com/  I survived by listening to one of the Outlander audio books. Good thing it has 47 disks!

 

Still, I have to admit miniature flowers have loads of charm. I am going to have to work on the color combinations.  I wanted some sort of setting for the French flower buckets, watering cans I made. I am hoping to start making those to sell next year. And yes... this project will have walls. ;-O

 

I think a cat popping out of a bigger flower pot might be fun next.

 

My First Assignment in Metals Class in Art School

This was the first project I made in a metals class in art school. The assignment was to fabricate something in metal. Using forming and soldering techniques.  I chose to make a 1: 12 scale teapot on a stand.

The stand was made of sterling silver square wire because I needed that gauge and sterling was all I had. The flower cup holder was cut out of a dapped piece of sterling with a jewelers saw. Then the stand was oxidized to make it look like wrought iron.

The body of the teapot is in brass and was made of two dapped pieces soldered together. I wanted a tapered hollow spout and the only way I knew to make it at that time was to electroform it. I made a wax interior shape and painted a conductor on it. Then literally grew copper over the wax. Once I had enough copper on the wax I was able to melt out the wax and solder the spout on the brass pot. Everything brass had to be gold plated. The burner was made out of telescoping tubes and sheet brass. The wood knob and handle are ebony.

My father gave me the life size version of this piece for my birthday. For Christmas I gave him back the miniature I made of it.

More 40 years later this first project makes me cringe a bit. I made five of these pieces. Dearing and Tracy (miniature dealers from the 1970's)  sold the other four for me.