must have

Science Museum/Science & Society Picture

This is the best tea-maker I have ever seen and, dangerous or not, I wish this was a photo from my kitchen! Here is the blurb from the Science Museum, where I will have to visit it until someday I make my own:

The original design of this machine was built by Albert E Richardson, a clockmaker from Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire. The patentee of the machine and maker of this example, Frank Clarke, a Birmingham gunsmith, purchased the original machine and all rights to it from Richardson for an undisclosed sum. It was heated by methylated spirits which would be lit by the automatic striking of a match. This action was initiated by the sounding of the alarm clock, which rang again when the tea was ready. A wooden base holds the alarm clock, kettle tilter and methylated spirit stove. Although ingenious, the heavy reliance on the match being lit at the correct time made the machine potentially dangerous. Made by the Automatic Water Boiler Co.

Quick, get the teapot:

Science Museum/Science & Society Picture Library

flotsam and jetsam

These are some of the bits that consumed my day.

stone

This is the beginning of a little shrine I started this evening after I got tired of making bug legs (below). The figure was a gift from the always generous kats in the belfry, who just opened her etsy shop.

evening

Happy chaos. A wider view of my workspace would show more of the same. Only pieces that are in the first stages of creation are ever visible since after that first bit the construction goes faster and faster until they are finished, then they leave immediately before I can reconsider. There are usually many bits laying around that are 1 - 5% finished, as their numbers increase they get combined. Not methodical work, but fun.

together

These were some of the things sitting on my worktable tonight while the power was out and neighbours were visiting.

armour

I think I'm going to have to do a hundred sketches of the various layers before I'm happy with this beetle.

exoskeleton

The original of this is about an inch tall, it is part of the assemblage that I was making wings for yesterday.

icarus

Some of these are for an assemblage I am working on. A steampunk beetle will join them, so today I am experimenting with various wing types - linen over wood, parchment over rebar wire (thank you, Mr. Lo Bue!), gauze with bamboo splinters. Connections are tricky, and prone to being unwieldy.

intrigue

I’m fond of the steampunk genre because, as a tinkering-type person, being able to see guts, seeing what leads where and what turns which bit, keeps my attention. When the workings are visible I find myself automatically trying to figure out if I could make them do something else, or if I could make something else perform the same task.

Also, as a visual person, I love that antique innards are often etched, decorated with trim, and might include a graceful signature. That someone wanted to spend time on aesthetics after perfecting the function makes it even more wonderful.

heavy

The retreat is over and I’m here to testify that luggage filled with tools is heavy. Very heavy. But the steel bench vise did come in handy! The retreat was fantastic, being with other artists is energizing, but I have a hard time creating around other people, so I didn’t have to worry about carefully packing up a lot of delicate finished pieces for the trip back. Just heavy tools. Did I mention the bench vise includes an anvil?

The box in the photo is a simple one, I love the face. I’m trying to find more of these vintage white tins, they are by far my favourites.

In my eternal search for tools I have not been able to find anyone locally who carries a riveting hammer that is steel and has a round head, so I’m off to order one on-line because my next projects involve a lot of riveting.

rotating

This box is small enough to sit on a large coin, the jewel swivels and catches the light when it swings out.

I’m packing up the power tools for an art retreat, and finding that there is not really a good way to pack a drill, dremel, saw, hammer, scrap metal, varnishes, paints, and so many bits and pieces! I am really looking forward to this, I had been planning on making some much larger pieces and some jewelry this month, but maybe what I do this week will change those plans.

jewel

Almost done, I just need to shut the lid of the inner box and wire the capsule into that empty cavity.

in situ

This is where the box-inside-the-box-on-top-of-the-box sits, it is removable. I’ve changed around the scarab on the top since the last photo was taken, and as soon as I put the map inside the lid of the box-on-top-of-the-box, recopy the hieroglyphs and demotic on to some antique paper (regretfully, not papyrus), roll that up and put it in the capsule, and affix the wire to hold the capsule in its place it will be done.

Then a good-bye photo, and off to its new home.

not a hinge, yet

This is the first time I have used one of these bits as a hinge, most cannot make a tight enough angle. Many times the back of the watch face is a beautiful as the front, I love the soft colour and crazing on this one.

It can take a while to figure out how to solve some engineering problems with materials I have at hand. Occasionally in the night I spend hours working out various solutions for a latch or hinge (my two biggest issues) and finally fall asleep after settling on the most elegant way to do it. Sadly, when I get my hands on the pieces the next day I sometimes realize immediately why it won’t work, giving me another chance to exercise the little grey cells.

horus

Actually I wasn’t thinking of him as Horus until I put the jewel on his head. I seem to be on some sort of ancient Egypt kick lately. I keep coming back to the Victorian expeditions as inspiration, but haven’t realized many of those plans (yet).

I’m not really happy with the metal glue I have, so I’m off to find something better, plus I’m hoping to find a steel hand vise locally.

choices

When I first saw pictures of Joseph Cornell’s stash I thought I would never need that kind of space. Silly me. Having a luxury of pieces to choose from is wonderful, but continuous organizing would be the key, eh?

The wear on the bare metal boxes is lovely, but I do wish I had more of the white ones (and maybe fewer pink ones, yellow ones, and I have no idea what to do with my lone orange tin). The variety of sizes I’ve found makes decisions easier, I had no idea there were tins less than a centimeter across, but now I have a dozen - both round and rectangular.

Hinges are still scarce though. I’ve been making them out of various non-hingey things, but someday I may break down and buy teensy dollhouse size ones. I wonder if there are any that click closed, that can be very handy for secret compartments.

component

This is one of the inner parts for the top of this box - I love the light coming through the jewel, so I’m not going to put in the portrait that was going to be on the bottom of the lid. There will be several items in the ’secret’ compartment, including a map and a message written in demotic script.

I may have over-thought this (as usual).

wear

I love the patina on old materials, and the strength of something that has been around for many decades or more than a century. Some pieces are so beautiful, they must have been someone’s valued possession. I’m glad they weren’t tossed in the trash when an old dresser drawer was cleared out, especially since I search for small, already broken things - usually the first to go into the bin.

construction

I’ve collected masses of material for my new project, now it’s time to construct. Hmm, looking at my work space, maybe a bit of sorting and some organization should come first.