Bright Burst

Bright Burst

These piece is a metaphor for a youthful expression of life and it's association with the freshness of spring indicating a colourful stage of life, full of possibilities, can be seen in the flowers that are in full bloom. the hydrangea flower is most colourful when coming into full bloom.. I am using the flower in the way in which Fontanna talks about the flower being a "universal symbol of youth and also vitality, but because of their impermanence they also connote fragility" (1993:104). The stage of life expressed in this neck piece is on that does not last for long and this ties into the transient aspect of my concept.

This technique is so very delicate and fragile that whilst it is being worn the wearer is constantly aware of protecting the neck piece as it is so very fragile, which speaks of the fragility of life and the way in which one needs to guard it and protect it.

This piece was in the Glamour Magazine SA for spring

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Little cast hydrangeas

I cast these little hydrangeas and am really satisfied with the out come. you might not be able to see the detail from the photo but from up close the detail (the veins and other detail) is very clear. You have to back the flowers up with wax before you cast them!

sifted enamels about to go into the kiln

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sifting the enamel

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enamelled hydrangeas

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heated electroformed flower

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electroforming and heat: The flower split into two

The flower now has a brittle feel. I have come to a realisation that i cannot solder with these electroformed flowers so I'll have to think of a good way to attach them to the piece of metal(?) that I want to use. I need to make a whole lot more!!

electroforming and heat!

So i've crossed a problem in my journey of electroforming flowers, when i try to heat up the electroformed flower a reaction between the heat and the lacker takes place and the flower splits in to two, horizontally, leaving it looking very beautiful yet incredibly delicate. the funny thing is that it is the exact look i was looking for yet 100 times more delicate than i thought!

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The process of my electroforming- techniques

So there are lots of chemicals, lots of science and a whole lot more. So I started out with tech's rectifier which is normally used to electro plate. I did not do science at school so this has been quite a challenge as I did not even know that somwthing called a cathode and anode even existed. I mixed up my electro bath chemicals, got my object lackered and then painted with copper dust to make it conductive and started the whole process. But the process never started as I could not get any amps on the amp meter, I could only get vaults. After sitting on the couch hoping things would some how get better, I phoned my dad to ask what the solution was but the only thing he could think of was to tell me to check if there was current in both the negative and positive conductors. After a whole lot of experimenting on possible reasons why the rectifyer did not have any amps. I by chance tried adding another piece of copper from the cathode to the actual object I was electroforming and the amps shot up! I was so delighted! obviously there was not enough connection. I then ended up setting the amps to 2 amps and I completely burnt the flower causing it to get balls of copper on it that flaked off.

Copper conductive dust

The rectifier I am using

electro bath- becareful!

Conductive flower

Wait and see.......

Electro-Forming- Technique

Iv tried casting, I'v tried making by hand and now I am on a new discovery of trying electro-forming! Just like electro-plating where you take a conductive object and you plate it with another metal using anodes and cathodes and positives and negatives ..... (I did not do science!!) But this is the tricky part, I am taking an organic object that has nothing conductive in it and i am copper plating it so it is actually being formed into metal by creating a metal cover over its outside, and what happens to the inside I donot know but am going to find out along the way!

A very lovely lady Kirsten has been extremely helpful by starting me off and teaching me a few things (alot of things) and even letting me use her electro bath and chemicals to help me start off my electro forming flowers. Her dad and her have a "Baby shoe" bronzing business and they have been sooo kind and helpful.

I have come across many challenges already and have not even properly started yet. It has been the most challenging process I have tried for my research so far just in terms of finding out scientific "stuff", having the guts to phone people I don't know and to ask questions and use equipment that is owned by someone else and then also trying to source products that come in kilograms when I need less than one thenth of that, but I was so greatful to find people that were so willing to help me.

So the next at least month is going to be some extensive testing and documenting to try and explore electro forming as much as I can. at the moment my only set back is that I need to get Plascon thinners and they only sell it in 10 leters and I need a cup of it! :)

today my challenge is to find out the ratio of copper sulphate to acid to water for a 1l beaker and not a 95 l bath. I have to do the math!! and I need to get that thinners!! And to start my first batch of electro plating at home!