the mask.

here it is near done.

engaugement rings

From DEE AND ZEE research for the future

so here are what i call the 5,000 stroke rings.
in order to make our wedding rings i had intended to make a two-part mold with cuttlefish(like a squid) shells that i had collected from skerries beach after several storms. as it happens using just propane i couldn't get silver to a sufficient pouring heat for a complex mold. as i sat and rethunk what to do i realised that the silver would pour but only into a simple form. so i cut out a simple long ingot mold in a piece of hardwood. after several tries and several small spills i was able to get the pour right and using just plain old sterling silver i was able to create an ingot that i could use to form up some wire from.
so then i got the silver shot i had bought and the additional pieces of zee's family gold that was to be added to the mix. don't ask me about ratios. it is purely a symbolic addition of family history to the mix. reading about precious metal alloys i came across the mix of silver and gold known as Electrum. this has long been used as a symbolic and sacred metal so it is fitting that for such a special set of rings we should have a unique mix of family history and a unique mix that no other humans shall ever have, sure isn't that life! i had to reforge the ingot three times due to the gold not mixing appropriately the first two times and causing splitting in the wire as i annealled(releasing the bonds of tension in the metal crystals when forced into a particular shape) and hammered it down to the right gauge wire for the rings.
once i had got a good mix it was easy enough to form the wire with careful hammering and care. it took a while and was done around all the other things that were happening on a daily basis but once i had the wire down to the right gauge i was ready to form up the rings.
reading up on the formulae for getting the right lengths out of particular thicknesses of metal i calculated(zee calculated, i'm maths terrible me) the length needed to make the size rings that fit each of us. and ting! ting! ting! fwoosh! ting! ting! ting! fwoosh! i had made two wedding bands! just filing excess thickness off and polishing with tripoli and rouge to do. didn't take long in the end! haaa!

From 16 Jul 2011

and so then the engagement ring.
zee had a nice dark sapphire that she had bought and shunning the specialness of diamonds(we had after all the most special of metals unlike any other in the universe!) i began to make a setting for the sapphire to fit in. i had already made a test ring from the electrum so i used this as a base for the engagement ring. cutting out a patch for the setting to sit in i made up a thicker setting to fit around the gem and soldered it into place then began to make the first setting i had ever made. using all the right burrs to make a seat for the gem i got it all into the right shape and placed the gem into it. i did it a bit backwards as i should have made the setting as finished as i could before setting the stone, oops! anyway, i carefully pressed all of the settings edge around the gem and burnished the edge down to a nice tight fit. then began the final filing and the finished ring. this took ages due to my mistake of setting the stone so early. but eventually it all got polished up and fully finished!

From DEE AND ZEE research for the future

i felt so happy to have created such a special group of rings and it was extremely fulfilling.
so how do you present an engagement ring? why place it in a box of course!
and so i made a nice simple two-tone stone box for the engagement ring to fit in.

From DEE AND ZEE research for the future

we went up to fourknocks to watch the sunrise one morning. and as we stood atop the old passage tomb waiting for the sun to burn through the clouds i did what any young knight might do and bent my knee to my lady.
(she said yes)

From DEE AND ZEE research for the future

sunday night art

did a small lino cut drawing. painted, washed and scratched lino.
inspired by the old video for A-ha's "hunting high and low" from the image of a man transforming into a hawk as he jumps from a cliff.
as you know i love folk tales and myths and legends and all that. i also love all kinds of ethnographic items such as transformation masks for shaman and this piece reminds me of all those kinds of things.

"HUNTING HIGH AND LOW"
2011

a big ragworm.

i found a most unusual worm on the beach today. after going for a walk along the lowest tide point as the tide was out real low, spring tide i guess, i hadn't found anything of interest and then just as i was going to the white wall about a three feet from the it i saw this massive worm on the beach. typical to find something when you've stopped looking but also very wonderful. it was wrapped between a few rocks on the sand and looked dead. i decided to pick it up. using a few rocks i dug into the surrounding sand and picked it up. suddenly, it came to life. a few sickly wriggles but definitely still here. i brought it down to the watery sand that was well out of its reach and put it down in the water. it charged up and began flinging its hundreds of millipede-like flipper/legs. then it calmed down again. figuring it may still be too close to the shore i picked it up once more and brought it further out on the beach. then once setting it down on the shore again i dug out a nice hole in the water filled sand and once it had filled up i placed the worm down in it. not too much movement this time but then it began to get busy. it started slowly digging its head in the sand and by inches and with short rests it began to disappear into the sand. as it was doing this i also noticed that the sand around it was becoming stuck together as if by some sort of snail slime and was leaving a trail as the body dug into the sand.

it was a grennish blue on top and bluish white underneath. with a head like a sea mouse.
as near as i can figure it was a ragworm about a foot long. the only description of one that big and bluish green is this one---

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nereis_vexillosa
though it seems to live mostly around america.

so here is a video that i took with my phone just after i had put it in the water the first time.
i also put my hand in the shot to show how big the worm was.

skip diving!

over the past two days i have found some awesome stuff in skips on my street and other stuff that was being junked that i saved. loads of random wood which will mostly be used for fixing up the allotment. or be burnt as firewood. i also got the readymade tabletops from a small table set so an hour adding legs and we have a nice patio area. but by far the best stuff i have found was a watering can that needs a rose but our garden watering can has the same rose so now we don't have to carry the whole can back and forth to the allotment and i'm sure to pick a rose up somewhere. also found a rake that was a little out of shape, now fixed with a hammer. and as good as new but man forged so even better now! RAARRR! and the bestest bestestest thing? a whole picnic box that was left out in the dry weather for a few days after having never been used and lying dormant in a shed. it has knives and forks and spoons and a cheese board with cheesknife and a corkscrew as well as a set of four plates and four wine glasses not to mention the cooler-box for up to four bottles/plenty of food and the dry food area too! did i mention that it was all wrapped up like new? awesome thing! can't wait for picnics! all going in the wash right now.
i do have a sneaking suspicion i'm on the road to this!!!(check out the video below)

how the mask is progressing

just added the brow today. looking good so far. almost don't want to paint it once i add the cheek jowly bit. also real cedar smells lovely!
enjoy my freaky quiet mask update.

what got done today?

i got the eye and mouth brackets cut out and cut the eye holes. was thinking of making little eye covers for the eyes out of black tights dipped in glue. don't think it is needed. eyes deep enough to be blacked out. also got tiny pegs to hold the eyes and mouth on. haven't glued them on yet though!.

hope you like it so far.

princess mononoke mask

it's only a low quality vid of how this is coming along.
i likes it so far.

lots more to do.

he's just an angry little man

here's a little guy i made this morning. only as high as my thumb and his bark is worse than his bite.some pair of lungs on him!

the finished sculpture for freedom

finished her today, came out pretty well. i like it. and i learnt a fair bit too.
enjoy.
arms tired now.

progessing on a work for freedom

the stone is coming along. looking more like what i am looking to do with it.
more again.
tired after day hammering but a good tired. :)

Why hasn't anyone noticed?

SUPERTED

BUT WHICH IS THE MOST SUPER TED?