16 May 2012

Johnny

So... I got a press!
5 tons of pressure.
200 kgs of cast iron.
And 200kgs of thanks goes to my Dad, who helped me transport it, man I wished I had photographed that, it was crazy and Dad was wearing this red zizzou beanie- you know, for capers such as this one. 
(+ thanks also to kindly neighbour Adrian for extra muscle.)

Quite a biffer, I think I will paint it almost-black.
Potential names:
"Johnny" ( because its a John Heine, and I think this is my favourite so far)
"Stampy"
"Squishy"
"Biff"
"Trogdor"
"Menhir"
OR
"Brain Surgeon"
"The Butterfly"
"Spiderweb"
"Snowflake"
okay, yeah its turning into a dad-joke...

Im starting to get used to its hulking presence already, like the proverbial elephant in the room.
Now I've got to knuckle down and get some dies made. 

9 May 2012

Further Adventures With Wholemeal Gold

More wedding rings being made from native gold nuggets, in the Goodness style. Here, the ring is unjoined. It starts off pretty rugged.


When you have a specified width, height, profile and circumference to meet, and you are achieving this just by hammering, you have to pay attention. Gold is very malleable, but its not like clay- once you've stretched it, you can't really shrink it back. It may come across as if Im just feeling my way through the whole task, but in fact, Im constantly checking and measuring with a vernier calliper. 

You will notice the spots... these are naturally occurring inclusions of other minerals, present in the unrefined nuggets. I recently described this to a groom-to-be as "like real vanilla seeds in an awesome ice-cream". Basically, you won't find this in a shop. Folks are really responding to this material and process- thanks for giving me the privilege of making them for you. I genuinely feel moved when I make these, its not an ordinary task for me.