Second quarter is now well under way and all my plans of updating with the progress of each piece have managed to disappear into the sunset on horseback. Piece number two is not coming along nearly as smoothly as piece one. As a matter of fact it is what is termed in the industry as a..well, I'm sure you can guess what is not being typed, so much as "suggested" here. Piece two is (trying) to be a bangle, similar theme to the previous piece but a little more involved and hopefully more likely to appease the marking gods and garner brilliant results. One of the main problems with a piece such as a bangle, or in this case a "cuff", is the sheer size of the thing. Even though this is not exactly a monster cuff, it is still a fair amount of metal and because I get off on making my life more complex and intricate than it really needs to be (as one can see, why use 10 words when one can use 100) this is just the latest manifestation of this counter-sensical behaviour.

So, a large amount of metal (to put that into perspective it is probably going to end up weighing approx 400-500g. The average plain, flat wedding band weighs 3-5g), it requires a clasp and a hinge and I have a double layer to create depth and variation. Alternatively read as depression and frustration, these effects are quite labour intensive to create but with time and dedication, it should be entirely worth it. This is possibly going to be one of a pair, depending on how thoroughly miserable I am made by the first one. There is room to play with the different layers and the different options regarding surface treatment and manipulation allow for a great many avenues to be explored, I hope to utilise these avenues throughout this collection and map their full potential in 12 pieces.

Having spent two whole days melting and rolling, I can fully appreciate how valuable  bought sheet metal is. Total pain in the posterior and a comprehensive waste of two days I shall never see again. That said, I have reached new levels of ability (OVER 9000 for those of you who care about that sort of thing) with regards to the treatment of ingots. I shall not be posting too many details of this piece as yet, when the thing is finished, pictures and a synopsis of its manufacture will appear on the blog.

For now, other beasts loom on the horizon, the accursed display box. Having managed to model the blighter on Rhino, I now don't like it that much and wish I had the ability to make to make the whole thing on my own and for free. I dislike the idea of having to spend money on it but I fear I have no choice, I am held hostage by my desire to build unnecessary (but appealing- always appealing, else why bother?) things and focus all my attention on them. Many ideas, including what I have fondly nicknamed "Frankenbox", have been circling the drain, but none are entirely what I want. Mainly because what I want I can neither have nor fully quantify what it is that I want. I think a happy medium is what is required but those are so... underwhelming.