tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32919203154466483642024-02-08T21:40:42.279+11:00anomalous piecesbenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-20372955506880806002011-10-12T14:01:00.000+11:002011-10-12T14:20:00.127+11:00VCR Rollers revisited [Sept 2011]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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VCR tape rollers, stainless steel wire, hematite beads, clock and watch gears, small springs, brass rod</div>
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I've been playing with the <a href="http://anomalouspieces.blogspot.com/2011/04/rollers-apr-2011.html">tape rollers</a> again, but have been getting a bit more creative with them. Ive been slicing up the roller itself, and inserting drilled out clock and watch gears, slices of brass rod turned down to the same size, hematite beads and other things.</div>
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I like these earrings, and will be doing more of them (as soon as I can get my hands on some more junked Videocassette Recorders.) - they are nice little mini projects, that can be completed in a single session.</div>
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<a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Rollers-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Rollers-3.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-6582833845046060132011-05-26T13:26:00.000+10:002011-05-26T13:26:40.654+10:00Nick's Piece (aka 'Infinite Patience') [remade May 2011]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Nicks%20Piece-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Nicks%20Piece-1.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Computer Hard Drive Spindle Parts, Hematite Beads, Small Camera Lens, Thrust Bearing, Watch Glass, Steel Watch Gear, Marcasite, Syntheric Ruby Watch Jewel.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">This piece was originally made for my friend Nick some time around 2005, but possibly even earlier. It originally looked like this:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Nicks%20piece.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Nicks%20piece.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Computer Hard Drive Spindle Parts, Hematite Beads, Brass Watch Gear.</div><br />
<div>The greying of the alloy parts is due the natural corrosion caused by body oils and sweat. Some alloys are more susceptible to it than others. He wore it almost continuously until the brass gear in the centre detatched and was lost, and he gave it back to me for repair. This was around 6 years ago. For some reason I just never got around to fixing it up. Nick has been abroad for many years, so I havent seen much of him - until last week, when he visited Australia briefly to renew a visa and visit family.</div><br />
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<div>He stayed with me and spent a day in my studio while in transit in Sydney, and with a smile and infinite patience asked me about his old piece. I dug out the bits, and decided that it (and Nick) deserved more than just a basic repair, and so the piece was made over.</div><br />
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<div>The original spindle with its 8 inset hematite beads was retained, but I replaced the outer, finned part with a new, unmachined version of the same part that I had. The simple brass gear that had been lost was replaced with a more intricate arrangement of parts, but one that still referenced the original design.</div><br />
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<div>A tiny brass and steel thust bearing was inserted into a slightly machined out centre, with a small steel watch gear of similar design to the original brass gear set in its centre. A piece of faceted marcasite was set in the centre of the gear on the front, and a synthetic ruby watch jewel was set in the same place on the back. A small camera lens was recessed into the front, and the back is protected by a watch glass that is sandwiched between the finned outer part and the inner part of the spindle. I spent a while crushing tiny hematite beads in a vice in order to obtain the six halves that are inset into six holes on the rear of the piece. Like most of my more recent pieces, it can now be worn either way around.</div><br />
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<div>It has been a long time coming, but I finished the transformation while Nick was here with me watching the whole process, which made it quite special, and he had it on when he boarded the plane for New Delhi last night. :)</div>benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-6734660574547839432011-04-22T14:19:00.000+10:002011-10-12T14:20:23.483+11:00Rollers [Apr 2011]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5144/5620652797_aa49dd2183_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5144/5620652797_aa49dd2183_o.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">VCR Tape Rollers, Stainless Steel Wire, Hematite Bead</div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Made a bunch of earrings from tape rollers from salvaged videocassette recorders. For icons of 1980's technology, they have a surprisingly art deco feel to me. Each VCR has a pair of these rollers, and I'm yet to find two pairs that are the same. The steel shaft is extremely tough steel - I broke a number of solid carbide drill bits before getting the technique for drilling them down. As you can see in the photo below, I started off using off-the-shelf earring hangers because i had run out of stainless steel wire. I thought these let the earrings down though, so ordered some 0.5mm SS wire and made my own hangers, complete with a little cylindrical bicone hematite bead.</div><br />
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There are a few pairs of these left - if anyone is interested, email me know. I'm asking $60 a pair.benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-29340820196870807702011-04-11T12:09:00.000+10:002011-04-11T12:09:46.068+10:00A blast from the past - The Beginning [1996/97?]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/the%20beginning-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/the%20beginning-1.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Cut section of Steel gear and splined shaft from car gearbox, brass pin.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">This is where it all began. The first piece I ever made, some time back in the mid 90's. I found these images as black and white photo negatives in a pile of old darkroom junk I had in a box under the house.<br />
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I remember I had been pulling apart an old car gearbox, and something about the way the gears looked on the splined shaft stirred something in me that has been growing and evolving ever since.</div></div><br />
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I used an angle grinder to slice off a section of the gear and shaft (took a long time - gears are tough!) and smoothed the back, somehow (I can't even remember how) fixed the shaft end into the middle of the gear, polished the whole lot and found a small brass cone shaped pin that fit into the centre hole in the shaft. <br />
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It was a heavy piece, being solid steel. It was given as a present to an ex-girlfriend, who may even still have it. I hope it hasnt rusted...benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-25609037135783485772011-03-01T15:17:00.002+11:002011-03-03T10:57:11.556+11:00Anomalous Piece [Feb 2011]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/anomaly-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/anomaly-2.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">beam splitter, stainless steel surgical bone pin, spring, titanium rod.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">This piece is something of an anomaly for me, because it <i>isn't round</i>. The glass beam splitter block is also something of a mystery, as I can't remember exactly where it came from. Either a camera or a piece of old scientific equipment. Camera most likely.</div><br />
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the pads glued to the sides of the block are machined from titanium rod - incredibly difficult given their size and thinness. The bent rod that holds the block is cut from a stainless steel surgical bone pin, from the Vet where my partner Rachel works. the ends were rounded to fit in the hemispherical cups machined into the pads. The block is free to rotate, held in place by the spring tension of the steel rod. <br />
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A Spring is used to attach the work to the fine coated steel cable, the spring being held between two stoppers machined from titanium. small grooves were milled in the top of the stoppers, to hold the ends of the spring and also to prevent the wire from kinking where it comes out of the spring at the stopper. Again, very fine and fiddly machine work required here.<br />
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It is extremely difficult to photograph this piece, as it dynamically changes with light and surroundings, and flashes gold or irridescent orange when it catches the light, and looks translucent blue or purple from other angles. it also partially reflects its surroundings.<br />
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This piece is a gift for my partner, Rachel.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"> ...and there is a secret circle in there too ;) <a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/anomalous piece (worn)-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/anomalous piece (worn)-5.jpg" width="100" /></a></div>benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-50024236276523122332010-10-17T13:28:00.001+11:002010-10-17T13:44:26.042+11:00Amusement Value [Oct 2010]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amusement%20Value-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amusement%20Value-6.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">amusement arcade token, camera iris mechanism part, two lenses, aluminium ring, text from a book, brass tubing, dot matrix printer part, marcasite, synthetic ruby watch jewel</div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">Earlier this year, I travelled with a friend to Vietnam. While over there, we met up with another friend, <a href="http://monolake.de/">Robert Henke</a>, who was in Hanoi for the debut of his latest sound work, <a href="http://monolake.de/concerts/intersection.html"><i>Intersection</i></a>. Before we left Vietnam, Robert gave me a coin he had found on the road there, and asked me if I could make something for him from it. It had been run over by half a million scooters, but close inspection revealed it to be an amusement arcade token. We decided to do an artist's trade - I would make him a piece from the coin, and he would make me a piece of music.<br />
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At first, I really had no idea what to do with it. It took quite a while staring at it before I decided to lightly sand the surfaces, which brought out some of the brass base metal and a nice pattern. I still didnt have much idea, but after a few months of it floating around my desk I came across the guide mechanism for a camera lens iris and things started coming together.<br />
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I machined out the inside of the mechanism, to give me as much room as possible, and found a lens that could be made to fit. the coin went in behind that, and a very thin aluminium ring was machined to hold the coin centred. I also sanded the front lightly to expose a bit of the brass of the case through the black oxide coating.<br />
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Robert is a musician and sound artist, but with a scientific/engineering mind<br />
also, so I found some text in the back of an old engineering textbook that gave the speed of sound in air. It is invisible when you look at the piece front on, but if you look from an angle, it becomes visible.<br />
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This was set into a channel I machined into the inside of the case.<br />
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Around this time, I found an old dot matrix printer and the print head had some wonderful pieces in it. One of these looked fantastic in front of the coin, but didnt quite look right when I cut it down to fit inside the case. A dilemma. scrap the case idea and start again? No. So instead I decided to make the piece double sided, with the printer part and the back side of the coin visible through another lens on the back.<br />
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At this point, I was pretty happy with it. Unfortunately, I couldnt find the right part to use as a hanger. I had shown Robert, and he decided he would find a nice antique chain for it in Berlin. I needed a hanging point that would accomodate a chain. Months passed and I spent ages sifting through all my small parts looking for something. Nothing turned up. I tried modifiying some parts that might have worked, but wasn't 100% happy with the results. In the end, the answer came while i was staring at a short length of brass tube that came out of a camera lens. <br />
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I cut a section from the tube, ground a reverse curve into one side that matched the curve of the iris mechanism, drilled a small hole and machined a flat section into the inside of the tube to act as a land for the tiny stainless steel bolt I would use to hold it to the piece. I drilled a larger hole in the top to allow me to tighten the bolt. I decided to add a couple of extra large holes to lighten the look a little. The section of tube then got roughened up a little, then left in an ammonium bath to age it to match the look of the rest of the piece.<br />
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Finally, a few extra details were added. first, six pyramid-cut marcasite pieces left over from another work, fit nicely with the dot matrix print head part. This part also had a very small hole in it, and I found a tiny synthetic ruby watch jewel that fit perfectly in it.<br />
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I think this has turned out to be one of my favourite pieces yet.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amusement%20Value-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amusement%20Value-12.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-62064760724261661432010-10-13T17:23:00.001+11:002010-10-13T17:25:36.841+11:00Mask [Oct 2010]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Face-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Face-5.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
Another work in progress, something a little different for me because it <i>isn't round!</i> and will probably be a brooch, not a pendant. The main part might be part of a lock mechanism - I can only guess, as I found it on the road. It was very rusty, and I wire brushed it, then heated it and dipped it in an oil bath to give it the lovely dark finish. Underneath are a CCD chip from a digital camera in the mouth, with glass and mother of pearl, with a filter from a mobile phone lcd sandwiched in between, for the eyes/nose.<br />
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The filter is quite interesting, as it appears a semi-transparent green mostly, so the mother of pearl is visible<br />
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but from certain angles, it flashes the most brilliant irridescent blue...<br />
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the photos don't do it justice.benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-68800930464260022372009-12-30T21:57:00.001+11:002009-12-30T21:58:06.055+11:00Hon Shirabe [2002]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Hon-Shirabe-1_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Hon-Shirabe-1_1024.jpg" width="510" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Hard drive platter spacer, roller bearings, spring, hematite<br />
</div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">This was the first piece I made after moving to Sydney in 2002. Its always been a favourite, and has aged nicely through wear. The hematite bead has some lovely pitting, providing a bit texture. The roller bearings - from an old car gearbox - have gone from a shiny chrome-like finish to something more like a dull grey, especially on the reverse side. This is something ive noticed in other pieces that use steel bearings as parts. It must be some property of the kinds of alloys that they use in bearings that means they corrode like this when exposed to the skin's natural acids.<br />
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The platter spacer was shaped by hand on a bench grinder, rather than using a lathe - a technique I used to use a lot, but not so much any more - you tend to end up with mild burns on your fingers from the metal as it heats up... <br />
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I've been drawn back to the simplicity of this piece again recently, and might make a few in a similar style in the coming year.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Hon-Shirabe-2_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Hon-Shirabe-2_1024.jpg" width="510" /></a><br />
</div>benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-88581349774267721942009-09-21T19:39:00.001+10:002009-09-21T19:41:03.235+10:00Amorous Soul [Sept 2009]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amorous-Soul-%5Ba%5D_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amorous-Soul-%5Ba%5D_1024.jpg" width="510" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">camera lens, camera lens barrel, brass plate, brass rod, text on paper<br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This piece was commissioned by a friend, Justin, as an engagement present for his partner Colleen. Having not yet met Colleen, I started by asking him about her. He responded, including some photos of some jewellery she already had. From this, it seemed to me that she wouldn't be afraid of a larger piece, which allowed me a bit more scope in what parts I could use. He also mentioned that she has a passion for literature, and I asked if she had any favourite works or quotes. It's been a while since ive done a text based piece, and the idea of this appealed.<br />
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The quote I ended up using is from Jack Kerouac's famous book "On the Road", and Colleen was including part of it in her email signature. I did some experimenting, and made a study to show Justin to see if I was on the right track. Initially the piece was quite starkly black and white. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amorous-Soul-%5Bstudy-%231%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amorous-Soul-%5Bstudy-%231%5D.jpg" width="510" /></a><br />
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While I think this could still have worked well, I decided to remove the black coating from the edge of the lens, and polish the blackened brass bezel up a little. This looked good, but left the stark white paper looking out of place. The solution (literally) was found by dunking the printed text into my cup of tea. The tea stained paper worked much better with the brass bezel and added some nice texture. Below is a more advanced study.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amorous-Soul-%5Bstudy%232%5D_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amorous-Soul-%5Bstudy%232%5D_1024.jpg" width="510" /></a><br />
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I spent a lot of time playing with the text in photoshop, not only cropping it, but playing with fonts and highlighting. I wanted something old-typewriterish, and found a couple of free fonts online that suited. The finished result uses a combination of these different typefaces (though this might not be immediately obvious) with some words having every single letter either from different typefaces, or altered in colour, size, spacing, baseline, or a combination of all of these. Certain words are also subtly emphasised. I experimented with lots of different ways of printing it, and different papers.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amorous-Soul-%5Btext-samples%5D_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amorous-Soul-%5Btext-samples%5D_1280.jpg" width="510" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
The above photo shows some of the different papers (photocopy, blank pages torn from old books, photo paper) and different print styles. The final version is photo quality inkjet on matte photo paper, pre-stained with tea - Wagh-Bakri "Tiger-Goat" tea (so called because it is reputedly so good that a tiger and a goat would rather sit and enjoy a cup of it together, rather than the more usual outcome of their meeting...). This tea was brought back from India for me by a friend of the friend who introduced me to it (thanks AB & C!). The final text is the one visible bottom right of the above photo - not yet cut out.<br />
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The bezel is cut from a section of the zoom tube of a zoom lens. Machining it was extremely difficult, owing to the thinness required (between 0.5 and 1mm), and relatively large diameter (about 40mm). The back is a piece of old brass plate I inherited. Justin had his own ideas for a chain, so I machined a small brass pin and loop that he could attach to. Normally I would include a chain of some sort - I often use plastic coated stainless steel wire and a custom made clasp - so instead of this, I made up a small presentation box for it out of a round metal tin I got while in Japan, padded with black felt.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/amorous-soul%5Bboxed%5D_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/amorous-soul%5Bboxed%5D_1024.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/amorous-soul%5Bback%5D_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/amorous-soul%5Bback%5D_1024.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><br />
I really enjoyed making this piece. And congratulations - Justin and Colleen!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amorous-Soul-%5Bb%5D_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/Amorous-Soul-%5Bb%5D_1024.jpg" width="510" /></a><br />
</div></div>benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-53188466253771546702009-09-11T17:28:00.003+10:002009-09-11T17:32:17.946+10:00Works in Progress...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/jewellery/fluxcapacitor%5Bstudy%231%5D_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/jewellery/fluxcapacitor%5Bstudy%231%5D_1024.jpg" width="510" /></a> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Study for "Flux Capacitor"</div><br />
Here are two pieces I've been working on. Flux Capacitor is at the stage of an idea that has found something close to its final internal form, but the details of its construction and assembly are yet to be worked out. It is literally just a pile of parts.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/jewellery/overclocked%5Bunf2%5D_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/jewellery/overclocked%5Bunf2%5D_1024.jpg" width="510" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Overclocked</div><br />
Overclocked, by contrast, is very close to completed. Most of the construction is well sorted, and I am just fiddling with a way of making the CPU rotatable - so you can wear it as a square, or a diamond. Cutting an actual computer CPU into a circle was an interesting exercise. Bonus points to anyone who can work out what exact processor I used.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/jewellery/overclocked%5Bunfinished%5D_800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/jewellery/overclocked%5Bunfinished%5D_800.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
There is quite a bit of fluff and grot visible in these images - the pieces have not yet had their final clean and assembly.<br />
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There are more pieces taking shape as well, and another commission piece that I finished that I can't put up until it has been given to its intended. More to come soon.benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-4524502104225061522009-08-16T10:14:00.000+10:002009-08-16T10:14:38.771+10:00Time Machine [July 2009]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/time-machine-1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/time-machine-1280.jpg" width="510" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Watch parts, ball bearings, record player tonearm pivot, glass lenses, hematite, camera part</div><br />
Recently my partner Rachel bought me <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Guido-Mocafico-Movement-Francois-Paul-Journe/dp/386521455X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1250380435&sr=8-1">a wonderful book</a>, filled with full page pictures of the mechanisms inside very high end wristwatches. Absolutely stunning, complex and beautiful. not to mention inspirational.<br />
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So I got hold of a bunch of old wind-up watch mechanisms and have been playing around with them in my work. both sides of this mechanism were nice, so I decided to put glass on both faces of the piece.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/time-machine-back-1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/time-machine-back-1024.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
The outer aluminium case is the tonearm pivot from an old record player - it turned up by chance at exactly the right time and was a perfect fit. The most difficult and time consuming part of this piece was the hanger - I ended up cutting a slot in one of the grub screws from the pivot, inserting the camera part, cross drilling a hole through both, and machining up a tiny brass rivet to go through the hole and hold it all together. This assembly was then screwed into the original threaded hole in the pivot.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/time-machine-detail-1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/time-machine-detail-1024.jpg" width="510" /></a></div>benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-52423880244446713942009-08-16T09:25:00.000+10:002009-08-16T10:27:09.341+10:00Gaze [Jan 2006]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/gaze_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/gaze_1024.jpg" width="510" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">sewing machine tension disc, hematite, brass, spring, video recorder part</div><br />
This very simple piece came about as a result of finding an old sewing machine by the side of the road. It came together very quickly. The striations in the inner part of the tension disc immediately suggested an iris, so all I needed to do was add a pupil.benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-44637214700331933202009-08-15T11:42:00.000+10:002009-08-16T10:27:45.000+10:00Nothing Lasts, but Nothing is Lost [July 2005]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/nothing%20lost_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/nothing%20lost_1024.jpg" width="510" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">mother of pearl, lens, aluminium ring, text on paper, found bottlecap</div><br />
My mother has this piece.<br />
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Things that might be considered ugly bits of mass produced consumer waste such as bottletops are transformed into things that can be considered beautiful, by nothing more than being present in a dynamic environment.<br />
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In this case - by being run over by thousands of cars - squashed flat, worn and polished by the endless stream of car tyres.<br />
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Everything is always changing, but what something is now affects what it will be. Its past as a bottletop is still visible.benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-81067469265583975002009-07-21T17:40:00.002+10:002009-07-21T17:43:42.436+10:00Two Landscapes [July 2005]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/two-landscapes-%5Bfront%5D_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/two-landscapes-%5Bfront%5D_1280.jpg" width="510" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">camera lenses, camera parts, rusted painted metal disc, hematite, aluminium<br />
given to Rie Yoshihara, 29th Oct 2006. </div><br />
Another old favourite, this piece came together out of camera parts, and a rusty painted metal disc I found on the road. The amazing rusty bubbling paint on it has so much detail and texture, and I found it very evocative. It looked like a landscape to me, hence the name of the piece.<br />
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I like that it can be worn with either face showing.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/work%20in%20progress_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/work%20in%20progress_1024.jpg" width="510" /></a></div><br />
I took this piece to Japan with me during my <a href="http://benjisan.blogspot.com/2006_10_01_archive.html">2006 visit</a>. While there, I went to a wonderful gig put together to showcase visiting musicians from one of my favourite labels, <a href="http://12k.com/">12k</a>. The event was held at Ryodenji temple, in the outskirts of Tokyo.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3869/1959/1600/trico%21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3869/1959/1600/trico%21.jpg" /></a></div>One of the unexpected highlights of the evening for me was seeing a group called "Trico!" play.<br />
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At the time, I wrote this in my travel blog:<br />
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"For me, the big surprise of the evening were "Trico!" (pronounced Toh-Ree-Coh) - A duo of guy on double bass, and a woman who played accordion, toy piano, harmonium and also sang. Their whimsical warmth and brilliant musicianship gently knocked me off my feet. Very deeply moved."<br />
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The woman was <a href="http://www.myspace.com/tricolife">Rie Yoshihara</a>. I was wearing <i>Two Landscapes</i> that evening, and it immediately felt right to offer it to her as a way thanking her for the wonderful performance.<br />
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I went backstage, and eventually found myself talking to her, and gave it to her. Some confusion at first, but I got across the language/culture difference and she was very happy to receive the gift. Even without that difference, having someone offer you something, no strings attached like that must seem odd - but a gift in return for a gift - my work as thanks for the gift of her performance, seemed completely right and natural to me at the time, and has gone on to become quite a significant idea to me.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/two-landscapes-%5Bback%5D_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/two-landscapes-%5Bback%5D_1280.jpg" width="510" /></a></div>benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-75212642274578779352009-07-14T15:24:00.004+10:002009-07-22T16:35:08.604+10:00The Path [July 2009]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/the-path_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/the-path_1280.jpg" width="510" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">madake bamboo, lens, aluminium, hard drive case, 18ct gold<br />
for Richard Chenhall</div><br />
This piece was commissioned by Richard, a fellow shakuhachi player and friend. He wanted something with bamboo, So i started by selecting the bamboo (a piece actually cut from a section of a damaged shakuhachi flute) and a lens that was the right size, and then shaping the bamboo ring and fitting the lens.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/turning-bamboo_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/turning-bamboo_1024.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
Once this was done, I could 'mock up' various possible internals. I showed a couple to Richard, and he liked the way it was going. I settled on an interesting detail cut from the stainless steel case of a certain model old computer hard drive - a labyrinthine pressure relief system. Stainless is pretty tough, and I broke a good half dozen fine sawblades cutting it down.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/broken-sawblades_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/broken-sawblades_1024.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
An aluminium hard drive platter spacer ring was cut down to provide something i could tap a hole into for the attachment bolt, and also as a binding to prevent the bamboo from splitting due to changes in humidity. The ball that I fitted into the hole in the labyrinth started off as a brass ball bearing, but I wanted this piece to be a bit special, so I tried to find a gold stud earring that fit in the hole. No luck, but a local jeweller was happy to make me up an 18ct gold ball the right size.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/the-path_back_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/the-path_back_1024.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
It was tricky machining the outer ring so thin - the lazy way would have been to leave it thicker, but I wanted to expose a ring of the bamboo between it and the inner part - a nice detail for the back of the piece.benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-17412277299230720492009-07-10T22:45:00.001+10:002009-07-11T10:04:37.213+10:00n+1 [June 2009]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/n+1_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/n+1_1024.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">clock gears, ball bearing, brass ring, lens, garlic press, aluminium, camera part, text</div><br />This piece floated around my desk half finished for a long time, wating for just the right part to come along to use as the attachment point. I could have used any old thing and had it finished ages ago, but I like this piece a lot, and didn't want to compromise. So it waited a long time, and eventually the right piece turned up.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/n+1-detail_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/n+1-detail_1024.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />The brass ring was originally from a 35mm SLR camera lens, part of the focus mechanism. The lens likewise. The gears came from an old clock, and the back (not visible) is black anodised aluminium, cut from the case of a computer hard drive. The attachment piece came out of another old camera, held in place by a tiny screw. My favourite part has got to be the internal aluminium plate with holes in it. Scratched and beaten up, it came out of an old garlic press! The text peeking through the bottom three holes came from an old mathematics textbook on recursion sequences.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/n+1-alternate_1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/n+1-alternate_1024.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-2285835390427140142009-07-09T21:27:00.002+10:002009-07-15T15:54:33.596+10:00Boid [June 2005]<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://kyorei.org/anomalouspieces/boid_1024.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px;" src="http://kyorei.org/anomalouspieces/boid_1024.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><p style="text-align: center;">camera gear, mother of pearl, aluminium, lens, printed text on paper, copper washer, titanium</p><br />
Boid came out of finding a small gear in a camera mechanism that was clearly a bird.<br />
A nice fat concave lens with a chamfered edge required an aluminium ring to be machined to fit it. A copper washer became a wire to perch on, and a piece of mother of pearl became the sky. Below is a picture of boid in an early form.<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://kyorei.org/anomalouspieces/boid_study.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px;" src="http://kyorei.org/anomalouspieces/boid_study.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />
The text visible is from an old mathematics textbook. I was trying out different things before I decided to print up my own text and use it. The text that I eventually settled on is a quote from a text called the Genjōkōan, written by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C5%8Dgen">Eihei Dōgen</a>, a 13th century Japanese zen teacher of considerable note (founder of the Sōtō school of zen), and whose writings I'm a big fan of. <br />
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Here is what the final version looked like half assembled:<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://kyorei.org/anomalouspieces/boid_construction_1024.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px;" src="http://kyorei.org/anomalouspieces/boid_construction_1024.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />
the mother of pearl has been polished up and attached to the bottom of two aluminium rings, which has had three grooves cut in it to take the three clips I made from titanium that hold the front half of the piece together. The copper washer has been cut and attached, and the text printed and cut to fit the chamfer on the lens. (calculating the radius of the circle the text is printed on was fun, games and a bit of trial and error!)<br />
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<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://kyorei.org/anomalouspieces/boid_backlit_500.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px;" src="http://kyorei.org/anomalouspieces/boid_backlit_500.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />
The mother of pearl backing is semi-transparent, which is lovely, when you hold the piece up to the light. This piece has always been a favourite of mine, but I let a friend talk me into selling it. An appropriately Zen lesson in non-attachment ;)benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-30585752540137466442009-07-09T17:34:00.002+10:002009-07-11T10:06:15.432+10:00Bamboo Joint [July 2009]<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://kyorei.org/anomalouspieces/bamboo-joint_1024.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px;" src="http://kyorei.org/anomalouspieces/bamboo-joint_1024.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">30mm x 9mm. Bamboo, lens, camera parts, rubber, metal mesh, aluminum<br /></div><p style="text-align: center;"></p><br />Bamboo Joint is so called, because it is made from a section of bamboo cut from the joint part of the lower half of a Shakuhachi flute. No actual flutes were harmed during the making of this piece. My friend Tom Deaver, a Shakuhachi flute maker from Nagano prefecture in Japan, gave me some 'reject' half finished flutes last time I was there.<br /><br />The joint of the flute is made by reaming out the bore of the bottom section of the flute, and gluing in a piece of smaller diameter bamboo that has been precisely turned down to fit. the insert sticks out by a few centimetres, and fits into a matching reamed out section in the top part of the flute when the flute is assembled.<br /><br />The double-ring of bamboo visible in this piece is because it was cut from the section of flute where the insert is glued in place. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/bamboo-joint_back_1024.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px;" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/bamboo-joint_back_1024.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />It uses parts from two identical watches, including the synthetic ruby watch jewels, along with a salvaged camera lens, rubber from a bike tyre inner tube (the black visible behind the camera parts), fine wire mesh (similar to what you find in a coffee press), and a machined out computer hard disk drive platter spacer ring.<br /><br />The platter spacer serves to hold the back on, and also prevents the bamboo from splitting from changes in humidity.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/bamboo-joint_detail_1024.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px;" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/bamboo-joint_detail_1024.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />the attachment point is a tiny cross drilled stainless steel socket-head screw. The piece is a similar size to most of my pieces - about the size of an australia 20c piece.benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-62514842599648286482009-06-27T10:08:00.000+10:002009-08-16T10:18:04.733+10:00Process<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/workshop-july-2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/workshop-july-2009.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I'm not sure whether the way I work is unusual, or common amongst artists - I'd love to see some comments about other's creative processes to see what is similar and what different.<br />
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I've been collecting interesting odds and ends for a long time, and pulling apart things to see whats inside and how they work since i was old enough to pick up a screwdriver. LEGO was always my favourite toy, and I've spent hours building all kinds of things that were often very different from the picture shown on the box. I was also not afraid of taking a piece and modifying it to suit a purpose, or painting it a different colour or changing its shape. My LEGO box is full of chopped up, odd bits of lego, painted with model paints or nail polish, or bits glued to other bits in ways that break out of the inherent rectilinearity of standard LEGO.<br />
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My work now has its roots in all these things, combined with a love of the beauty all around me, but particularly in found objects, whether a rusting bottle cap, a found button, a piece of twisted wire, or a precisely manufactured machine part made to tolerances that boggle the mind.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/workshop-desk-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/workshop-desk-1.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><br />
I think it a very worthwhile exercise to take these objects that many people dont even notice, or if they do they see only rubbish, and show them in a form in which that beauty is undeniable. I take a great delight in seeing someone examine a piece I've made, and then observing their own surprise and unexpected delight when the details of the parts used is revealed. As such, the story of the parts - what they are, where they were found, how they were fitted together into the piece - is an important part of each piece. Every piece has a story, and the two combined is a much more interesting and powerful work than just the piece alone.<br />
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Works can come together very quickly, or float around my studio in various forms for years. I keep a lot of parts in transparent boxes with many compartments, but an almost equally large number of parts float around loose on desks and benches - my 'working pile' of interesting bits, which is constantly turning over, reforming and moving, from which many new pieces spontaneously seem to arise.<br />
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Another aspect of my process that has become more and more important is the idea of a gift. When people think of gifts and presents, the things that readily come to mind are toys, household goods, money, that kind of thing. But the gift of surprise, of wonder, of story and history - these are the potentials of gifts that I like, and the aspects I hope that my pieces, when given, evoke. The best thing about these aspects is that they never run out or are used up. When someone notices an interesting piece being worn, the wearer gets to pass on the gifts again.<br />
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I love commission work. It gives me the chance to work <span style="font-style: italic;">with</span> someone to create something special, and specific to them. If you bring someone into the creative process with you, the piece means all the more to them, and becomes a more integrated part of their own self-expression. Not to mention the fun. I love it when people come and play.<br />
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Most of all though, I love being inspired or challenged by someone. As such, I tend to swap a lot of my work with other artists (of all kinds) for pieces of their own work - whether it be jewellery, sculpture, drawing or painting, music, or something else entirely. Some of my best work has come about in this way. Pieces like <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyorei/3701159496/in/set-72157620998951959/" style="font-style: italic;">ma</a> that I traded <a href="http://www.3particles.com/index.html">Richard Chartier</a> for some unreleased music. Or <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyorei/3701160662/in/set-72157620998951959/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Trust</span></a>, that was born from a desire to payback and multiply the trust shown by <a href="http://naturesartmelbourne.blogspot.com/2009/06/creations-of-natures-art.html">Martina Oelinger</a> when she gave me a piece of her own beautiful work on nothing more than the promise of something worthwhile in return. And rarest of all is when someone does something extraordinary that inspires me to spontaneously hand over a piece like <i><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyorei/3700349531/in/set-72157620998951959/">Two Landscapes</a></i>, or create a piece like <i><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyorei/3701158700/in/set-72157620998951959/">Courage</a>.</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/workshop-desk-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.users.on.net/%7Eflippy/anomalouspieces/workshop-desk-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3291920315446648364.post-82961016861960947272009-06-26T20:58:00.000+10:002009-08-16T10:40:47.822+10:00First PostThis is the start of what I hope will develop into a fairly comprehensive record of my jewellery work, both old works, new pieces, and maybe even a few sketches of future pieces and works in progress. The images in the title bar randomly change each time youb reload this page. you can click on them to be taken to a larger version of the pic.<br />
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The intent is to have a showcase that I can point people at if they are interested in my work, whether just to keep up with what I've been making, to enquire about pieces for sale, or to commission a specific work.<br />
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Initially, I will be putting up both old and new works. Once ive got all the old works up, I might reorder the blog by the date of the work, but for now, i'll the old and the new will be mixed together.<br />
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I'm on a bit of a creative roll at the moment, so I'm aiming for a new piece every week. Ive got a few outstanding commissions on the go and coming up, and am really enjoying working on them, and the other spontaneous pieces. I'm also finding myself liking a lot of the new pieces, which makes them hard to give up, but is overall a good sign :)benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13835034425198648089noreply@blogger.com4