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Nautilus,work in progress

Stephen Fitz-Gerald - Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 2:21am

This is a work in progress. My plan is to create an art piece of the living creature,replete with tentacles,mantle,and eyes in welded silicon bronze.
Believe me when I say it's been a challenge to get this far. That is why I've practiced with simpler and smaller shell forms.(Whelk)
So often we see only the shell,but like so many creatures,this fascinating animal is so much more dramatic in it's LIVING FORM.
Cold formed,welded, 1/8th inch stainless steel.
Width overall-12 inches This is a work in progress. My plan is to create an art piece of the living creature,replete with tentacles,mantle,and eyes in welded silicon bronze. Believe me when I say it's been a challenge to get this far. That is why I've practiced with simpler and smaller shell forms.(Whelk) So often we see only the shell,but like so many creatures,this fascinating animal is so much more dramatic in it's LIVING FORM. Cold formed,welded, 1/8th inch stainless steel. Width overall-12 inchesNautilus,work in progress: This is a work in progress. My plan is to create an art piece of the living creature,replete with tentacles,mantle,and eyes in welded silicon bronze. Believe me when I say it's been a challenge to get this far. That is why I've practiced with simpler and smaller shell forms.(Whelk) So often we see only the shell,but like so many creatures,this fascinating animal is so much more dramatic in it's LIVING FORM. Cold formed,welded, 1/8th inch stainless steel. Width overall-12 inches


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QuiQue's picture

Looks like you are using the

QuiQue - Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - 11:27am

Looks like you are using the Golden Mean rule to create your nautilus shell. Care to explain how you lay it out?


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Stephen Fitz-Gerald's picture

Golden Mean,,,

Stephen Fitz-Gerald - Wednesday, December 2, 2009 - 9:53pm

Stephen Fitz-Gerald
Glad you asked...
I have tackled the challenge of making a (large) NAUTILUS SHELL in stainless steel. I started from the premise that it represented the PHI or Fibonacci spiral. I plotted the spiral on a large piece of paper to make a pattern for the cutting of the metal sheet to make up the two sides of the creatures shell. I have a small sliced REAL nautilus shell,and I placed it on the pattern and simply couldn't find where it mated up...This was rather vexing I can tell you. I'd heard pretty much since I began my studies in Sacred Geometry through the popular literature that the nautilus shell was the QUINTESSENTIAL example of the Fibonacci spiral,but when it came time to accomplish this construction the spiral DID NOT MATCH THE PHI SPIRAL.
Here's a link to a short paper published by the British mathematician John Sharp explaining why...
http://www.emis.de/journals/NNJ/Sharp_v4n1-pt04.html


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Stephen Fitz-Gerald's picture

fabrication technique of Nautilus shell

Stephen Fitz-Gerald - Thursday, December 3, 2009 - 5:00am

Stephen Fitz-Gerald
So I PRE-FORMED two bowl shapes with male and female dies on a big press(85ton). This sculpture is made from 1/8th inch stainless so it's quite stiff. I then used my paper pattern to draw the spiral on the two bowls ,then cut them (by hand)with the plasma cutter. After that I PUSHED the center of the spiral inward on both pieces constantly comparing for a symmetrical reference.I then had to make the formed strip which is welded between them. For that I had to use heat to get it to move the way I wanted. I have various stakes and forms which I used to shape it by hammering but hammering leaves dents so I muscled it as much as I could into shape and struck it mostly on the edge. Finally I got it to match and tack welded it between the two halves. One of the advantages of the MIG is that you can fill large gaps if pieces don't fit precisely together...
I now see the possibility of this beautiful shape as a stand alone sculpture about 3 feet in diameter and hope to build that in the future.


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eligius1427's picture

I Stephen, sounds like it

eligius1427 - Thursday, December 3, 2009 - 11:54am

I Stephen, sounds like it was a perplexing exercise for a while, but the end results look nice. Years ago I tried designing with the golden rule equation and the Fibinacci Series, but got frustrated with it. I think I was trying hold to the rule to rigidly or something, I might have to try again here next year. I find the the subject very fascinating and intriguing and can't believe how many historical objects, plants, and animals follow this rule, including your Nautilus. I look forward to seeing the next stage.

Jake

Jake Balcom
Mettle Design
Lincoln, NE


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the patina guy's picture

Do I get to Patina this

the patina guy - Thursday, December 3, 2009 - 11:01pm

Do I get to Patina this


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Stephen Fitz-Gerald's picture

Logarithmic spiral

Stephen Fitz-Gerald - Friday, December 4, 2009 - 1:25pm

Stephen Fitz-Gerald
Jake,
What I found is that it's always best to check and reference the real critter when trying to "interpret" nature...As I found here the Nautilus shell DOES NOT have a phi spiral but rather a logarithmic spiral based on 3...
There are of course other examples in nature where it DOES fit ,but the Nautilus is not one of them. I think this is perhaps a good example of merely taking what everyone tells us as gospel,without actually checking for ourselves...Lots of stuff in our culture like this...
Matt,
as far as the patina goes,I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do...but of course if it gets an acid patina at all,you'll be the one to do it...


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