Finally. FINALLY! I’m working on sculpture again. It’s not much, but it’s more progress than I’ve made, more work than I’ve been able to do, in over a month, and, man, does it ever feel good! I’m coming up from the basement with sooty black marks in random places on my face, and my fingers look slightly blackened and they smell like metal. Life is good.
This is the top gear for my chain lift. Getting things to line up and track properly could prove to be a challenge that will have me cursing and swearing on future blogs, but I trust you’ll all get a big kick out of that anyway. The chain is called ladder chain. I found it on the web. The gear is out of a windup clock, because I thought the gears that you could buy to fit the chain perfectly were ugly, being plain black plastic. This is way more hip. It will likely be the source of much cursing (aforementioned), but you can’t tell me that it looks unbelievably boss. The bracket holding the whole mess is a cut up and bent harmonica reed plate. I think I found that one in the kitchen, or maybe the bathroom…or maybe…it was on my dresser. I don’t know. It’s serving a better purpose now.
I hope to have more RBS niftiness to blog about as the weeks go by, but progress on these things can be slow. Tonight I found out that I need to get the shaft for the lower gear turned down at one end, and I don’t own a machine that can do that. Kind of a problem. We’ll see how I figure that out. Much of the immediate work will be getting the lift positioned and mounted properly. It’s not the most interesting work, but there’s no way around it. I’m just happy to have my hands on metal once again.
Looking good! I’m still amazed at all the things you find time for!
You are so awesome! I love the chain and the harmonica piece, where ever it came from. Very heavy metal.
Jolan and Genevieve,
Thanks a bunch. It’s fun to be back at it, although my hand is still annoying me. I hope I will get more done on it this week. It is hard to find time for all of this stuff, which is why this sculpture was started in…October?…and still isn’t finished! All things in due time. Shortly I should have pics of another project I’ve been working on. I think it will turn out nicely.
Wow, you’ve been busy. I step away from the blogs for a week (thinking that you probably won’t post anything anyway) and there are TWO new posts! Excellent.
I am amazed at anyone who can see some ordinary things laying around and put them together into something all the more awesome than they would be on their own. You’re like the McGyver of the art world.
What do you think you could do with a medicine dropper, two twist ties, a non-functioning remote control, and a couple of hot wheels?
Liv
HOT WHEELS!?!?!?!?! REALLY????????????????????????????????
Seriously, if you send me that stuff, I’ll do something with it. I’ll build something with it, and I’ll post the results here. I actually feel a bit guilty accepting the challenge – I just looked at miniature motorcycle sculptures made out of watch parts. I’m made for this sort of thing.
The harmonica parts as gear brackets: Necessity is the mother of invention. I needed some flat, heavy gauge metal to use for brackets. I didn’t want to go buy copper (metals have gone up in price, especially when you buy small amounts), and I was trying to think of anyting I had around the house that could be soldered to copper. There are harmonicas all around the house. It was only a matter of time.
Hurrah for sooty black marks in random places! Hurrah for chains and gears! Hurrah for shiny things! What can I say; I’m relatively simple minded, or at the very least easy to please.
Melissa,
I agree with all of that, but that comes as no surprise, I’m sure. I was working on more of it last night, so hopefully there will be something worth blogging about in the near future that involves wire and bending, but hopefully no second-degree burns.