Wednesday 30 January 2008

one of the things I'm working on at the moment

A trial piece for an idea I'm working out right now. The dragonfly wing is 5cm in total length and is less than a third of a mm in thickness. That's a bit a cloisonne enamel work...the trick would be to do it pique a jour. It's resting on a pebble that is hammered up from a sheet of 1mm thick iron plate. That's also part of the exploration for a much more ambitious piece that I'm beating into submission this week...next 2 months!

11 comments:

Fred Zweig said...

Ford,

Knowing your preference and skill in carving I suspect you have carved the recesses where the enamel rest or did you solder the cloison walls to the base?

Thank you for sharing this with us and look forward to seeing more

Fred

dick said...

Beautiful Ford. Very fine enamel work!
Dick

Ford Hallam said...

Thanks Gents,

no soldering involved, nor carving or etching, or casting... my arcane secret;-)

Fred Zweig said...

Ford,

I see a challenge. I will have to view your image a bit closer to try to understand.

No matter how it was done it is wonderful. The mystery of how it was done now makes it full of wonder.

Fred

sjoerd said...

Hi Ford, settled in yet?
Hmmm... My guess would be air, oil or a big swing. Have you ever tried pique a jour? Must be the ultimate thing for bugwings.
Sjoerd

Ford Hallam said...

Hi Sjoerd,

a big swing...with my teenage son on the dangerous end...well, I don't trust his aim

This was a trial for exactly as you suggest...pique a jour, but wafer thin...

I'm thinking about working through a progression of ever more "impossible" solutions. This blog will be first to see if I manage it.

Fred Zweig said...

Ford,

My single experience with plique a jour taught me to admire the patience of those who excell in it. We did our work on mica sheets and the small pendant I made was no thicker than 1mm.

If we were able to see the back of the wing would it give us a clue as to how the cells were made?

Fred

sjoerd said...

Crossing your own boundaries, way to go! Many thoughts are crossing my mind on the how to part...challenging!

Anonymous said...

for the benefit of those of us out the know, what is pique a jour?

-t

Ford Hallam said...

Hi Toscano,

it's a form of translucent enamelling that has no backing. The effect is similar to a stained glass window.
Pique a jour ( or more correctly; plique a jour )literally means; 'open to light' in French.

Anonymous said...

merci bien, Monsieur Ford.
wakarimasu.

-t