Black Japanning

Someone was asking me what Black Japanning was, and here is a nice example of a printing press that has been japanned and nicely restored, with all the details picked out in colour ( ie not a "biffer").
This one is at the Warnambool maritime museum.

DN at New Mociun Store

MOCIUN store is open!
Really like those vitrines and tables.
Caitlin has a great eye and makes tasty wearables, so I was really happy when she asked me to send jewelry for her new store...
Note: If you loved my Sunrise Ring, definitely head over to Mociun and grab one before they all get snaffled... there aren't many and I cant keep up!

MOCIUN

224 Wythe Ave

Brooklyn NY

Open Wed-Sun 12-8pm

Closed Mon Tues

More Something

More little guessing games drawn on the iPhone with a finger.

"PINGPONG"

"SHAVE"

"CIGAR"

"DUEL"

"YEARBOOK"

"LAKE"

(a bit obscure, but you should have got that one KP)

"BOOT"

"TOMB"

Love Laughs At Locks

A Pressing Matter

Why is it so hard to find a Fly press these days?( aka "screw press") It is as if someone is secretly stockpiling them. Here are some that got away: (they are ugly biffers, true, but I would black japan them and they would look "boss")

Oh well... but hey—listen, I really really want one of these for my next body of work, so if you see one for sale please tell me!
So what does this thing do anyway, you ask?
Basically it applies a lot of force (several tonnes) to whatever you place in the "throat".
In my case, I want to shape metal; punch out shapes, impress designs and so on. A bit like minting coins.
Certainly you can use hammers for this-I tried doing these tasks with a sledge hammer, to get the amount of force required, but this tends to be a bit wild and inaccurate.(well, the way I do it anyway). Ancient people had ways of controlling the blow, and I may revisit these.

These are illustrations of coin production by hand-striking. I think that the historical illustration is a bit inaccurate here, and 'updated' versions just copy the older ones. (I would bet that the child on the right would be the one holding the die, while the striker delivered a dead-on perpendicular blow.)

Still, the fly press delivers a very measured blow.
Here are some amazing old examples (far more massive than I need);

Looks like you needed a lot of men to operate the things.

Look at this beautiful one:

Finally, a coin with an impression of a coining press. 

Drawn

"TACO"

"PARTYHAT"

"ESCAPE"

"BEATLES"

"BLANKET"

Thanks everyone who is playing Draw Something with me!

I'm getting the hang of it.

(Maybe "Partyhat" guy should get together with 

"Blanket" girl? They look so sad...)

Greek Foot

You may have noticed in my previous post; "Clam", that my foot has a longer second toe.
 There are a few names for this, depending on how you feel about it; morton's toe, huguenot toe, and the somewhat derogatory Neanderthal Foot and metatarsus atavicus. I, however, am choosing to put on a brave face and align myself with the more flattering term 'Greek Foot'. This long second toe was considered the ideal proportion in classical sculpture. The Colossus of Constantine,  Liberty and David all have Greek Foot.
So I'm in edified company?  

Clam

 A little clam shell...

Foot for scale

Apparently, these animals make pearls too.

But they are not pretty!

The Pearl of Lao Tzu is a very big example, it is not a nacreous (silvery and irridescent) pearl- they call it porcelaneous I think- so it looks like a blob of pizza dough, or a an alien brain.

Take it away!

Lost

I made these earrings- and then I was washing them, and one fell down the drain!
I cant believe it. Down the widest slot. Man.
And it wont come out of the s-trap because it is too big.
Not that anyone would want it now.
Oh well, lets sing Robbie Nevil's 'Cest la Vie'
I need a saxophone solo.

Finito

Finished native gold rings, in the Proven Goodness style.
Quite simple- but its all about the texture, folks.
I make hammers with specially textured faces, then tap all over the surface, about one million times. 

Discoveries

1.So; sticky tape does make biro more awesome.

2.If you are gargling, you dont have to make that ar-r-r-r-r-r-r noise, just do it silently. Who knew?
Try it yourself.

Surfaced

My work was featured in Surface Magazine. Hey, there's me! Boy, that is a goofy picture of me.
(Thanks to Kate Nicholson for the article)

Little Elefant