"Al Gore's Earth"

scrollerbear - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - 9:16am

This is a sculpture that I just finished for several local shows. I will add more pictures,

Bravo

B.J. Severtson - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - 6:15pm

Bravo glad to see you still posting and working away. Is this the result of that new planishing hammer? This piece is a little beyond your usual scale you must be feeling better. Post that cloud of butterflies again sometime. It gets mentioned around here often, We'd love to see it again. Large items made from small elements.. Hmmm Brad

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Nice piece. like the bulkier

Bill Roberts (not verified) - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - 7:27pm

Nice piece. like the bulkier look. :) and here ya go Brad. http://www.artmetal.com/images/scrollerbear/2007/04/butterfly_mobile
just makes me feel lighter lookin at em.

http://www.artmetal.com/images/scrollerbear/2007/04/butterfly_blue_cloud

Bill

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Thanks Bill

B.J. Severtson - Wednesday, August 8, 2007 - 7:26pm

Thanks for the butterfly address. I needed that. Kinda of uplifting aren't they? Hmmmm Brad

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Thanks Bill, And thanks for

scrollerbear - Thursday, August 9, 2007 - 8:48am

Thanks Bill,

And thanks for reposting the blue cloud. One of these days I need to do another massive butterfly mobile but it gets so tedious cutting them out. I need at least a year between each one!

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Thanks, I am feeling much

scrollerbear - Tuesday, August 7, 2007 - 11:01pm

Thanks,

I am feeling much better. Not as grouchy. This piece was a trial run to see if I could make a lizard ball. Half way thru, I had a dream about stopping the sphere half way and making it into what you see now.

Today, I had the lizard ball half done and my wife told me to stop because it looked so great. One of my fellow artists told me I had make it into a complete sphere.
Anyway, I am going to post several pictures of the semi- complete lizard ball. It has a water spray on the top and I am going to make a rectangular base from old 3/4inch copper plumbing pipe. Of course I am going to have to figure out what kind of finish to put on it to protect it from the water. I might be able to have it powder coated or I could have it chrome plated. I would love to rust the steel and green the copper but I have never found a finish that the rust wouldn't eventually break through. If I planned on keeping it for myself, I wouldn't worry about putting any kind of finish on it.

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Nice globe

Rick Crawford - Wednesday, August 8, 2007 - 6:14am

I like this very much. I am wondering, however at how you have stuck the pieces together. Are they welded, soldered, glued, or what? Also, what materials are you using here, I seem to see galvanizing on some pieces, the rest look like rusty metal or copper.

Intriguing !

Rick Crawford at Smoky Forge

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Rick, Thanks! It is all

scrollerbear - Wednesday, August 8, 2007 - 8:44am

Rick,

Thanks!

It is all copper and steel (except for small pockets of galvanizing that I missed when I ground off the bolts, washers and nuts).
Galvanizing tends to turn the patina black when one uses a verdigris patina chemical on steel and copper.

It is tack welded and tack soldered together. I hammer out thin sheets of silver bearing solder to put between the copper and steel with flux. I then use a electric tack welder to solder it together. It may not be a very good way to fasten steel to copper but for an ornamental use where there isn't much strain it has always worked for me. Except for the base, the metal is all about 24 gauge. When I need some added strength I add a few rivets.

Yeah, I really need to get a good welder of some kind.

I am having fun though.

Mark

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