Saturday, January 4, 2014

CANTO I. In-Progress - Part 3.

Here we go - I'm taking this through to completion...



I'd like to mount a tiny gemstone into the body of the mirror - this small steel pocket watch gear will become the bezel, and so is annealed in preparation.

  
The hole is drilled...


...and the gear riveted into place with a tiny amethyst on either end.



Now a sharp left turn here as I develop a hanging mechanism for the left side of the pendant. The old glass and brass pin is netted in waxed linen thread and two 'selvagee straps' are created. These are tiny cousins to the sailors' rope rings used for various tasks aboard a vessel. I like the visual shock of a softer material harnessing all the metal and glass.

   
A recent find of a trove of very old glass costume drop beads comes into play here, as I crimp them into the long lengths of 1940's elastic cord that will act as the hanging material.


The other end will have a clasp of sorts (a feature certainly not needed, due to the long cord, but one I like to incorporate when feasible).


The cords are riveted into the keys.


Final connections are made. The key and waxed linen talk to each other, each speaking their own language.


The last of the glass beads are affixed, and the piece is complete.

This has closed out my 2013 and set the stage for more exploration in the coming months.

For CANTO I purchasing information:


For the complete set of images of CANTO I:
 

Thank you for coming along for the ride!
 

2 comments:

  1. Certainly could not resist the ride! I don't know what to say... You have one surprise after the other and the result is an amazing work of art! Just stunning!

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    1. Thanks so much, Carol! It's exciting for me to have the process laid out for you to share...

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