Louis Comfort Tiffany Enamel (mostly)

My idol.

"During the 1890s, Tiffany experimented with a variety of decorative arts, including blown glass, metalwork, pottery, and enamels. Enamelware is composed of glass and glass silicate, with metallic oxides added to provide color. This surface is applied to copper (and other metals) and fired at a high temperature. Copper was used as the base because it was thin and created a surface for unpredictable reactions in color. Closely linked to glassmaking, enamels provided great versatility and flexibility in color range, an important feature in Tiffany's artwork, as well as a shimmering surface when light struck. The enamel department, led by women such as Patricia Gay and Julia Munson, produced small decorative objects, including bowls, vases, and covered boxes that were made in limited production for about nine years from 1898 to 1907."

{http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/51.121.29}

 

Bowl, 1899
Louis Comfort Tiffany (American, 1848–1933); Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company (Stourbridge Glass Company)
Enamel on copper; 6 1/8 x 9 1/2 in. (15.6 x 24.1 cm)
Gift of Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, 1951 (51.121.29)

Gold, enamel and opal brooch, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Circa 1910 - Sotheby's

Centring on a black opal within a textured surround of fruiting vine leaves decorated with blue and green enamel, accented with circular-cut sapphires and green garnets, signed Tiffany & Co. Estimate: 4,000 - 6,000 GBP

LITERATURE: Cf: John Loring, "Tiffany Jewels", Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 1999, Chapter 11, pages 168-169 and 178 for examples of similar opal jewels by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Sotheby's. Jewels. London | 11 Apr 2013 www.sothebys.com

Not enamel but my favorite work of his. The Bella Apartment Window

Bella Apartment window, ca. 1880
Louis Comfort Tiffany (American, 1848–1933)
Leaded glass; 24 1/4 x 29 1/2 in. (61.6 x 74.9 cm)
Gift of Robert Koch, 2002 (2002.474)

{http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/2002.474}

"The Bella Apartment house was newly constructed in 1878 when Tiffany and his young family moved into a top-floor apartment. Tiffany was able to decorate his apartment, in which the interiors paid homage to the Aesthetic movement in their forms and decoration, uniting Japanese, Islamic, and Indian cultures. The interior also heeded progressive design, as demonstrated by one of the few surviving objects from this interior, the abstract window from the entrance hall. This remarkable and most personal leaded-glass window is an example of nonrepresentational work from Tiffany's formative years."

Rhino 3D Print: Mandrel of Sorts

I needed to find a way to hold pieces while I work on them. Naively simple, yet totally useful.

 

Roy Lichtenstein House Illusion

Roy Lichtenstein "Pop Art Woman" Enameled Pendant/Brooch

"In 1968 Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) designed this pendant/ brooch in bold polychrome enamel for Multiples Inc. The piece, which was produced in a limited edition, was an enormous success and has remained a favorite over the years. This is a fine example in excellent condition. The back is a base metal which gives weight to the piece. Engraved signature with stamped copyright 1968 Roy Lichtenstein for Multiples Inc"

{https://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/brooches/brooches/roy-lichtenstein-pop-art-woman-pendant-brooch/id-j_176198/}

 Enamel on Silver

3 x 2 3/8 in. (76 x 60 cm.)

 

 

 

Pin Back and Pendant Bail

Before I entertained the notion of creating art. I was an engineer and project manager in Washington, DC. I would walk to the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden on every nice day. There, my favorite sculpture was House I by Lichtenstein, Paint on Aluminum Structure. It was a synonymous bold color scheme, simple form, yet complex play of optical reception. It would be physically concave, but appear convex for example.

"The house uses optical illusion to play with perspective. To appreciate the full effect, walk at a steady rate along the arc of the sidewalk that runs in front of and nearly perpendicular to the sculpture, with your head turned to one side, facing the sculpture. The house will appear to be spinning in space, like the "Wizard of Oz" house.
It was constructed of painted aluminum, modeled in 1996 and constructed in 1999."
{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_I}

 

Rhino 5 for Windows Educational Single-User License US$/€195

I guess that means you can buy it for $195 while you're a student yet. Questions? Contact Rhino (see email screenshot below)

Rhino Changedegree Boolean Functions

Boolean

Rhino Practice - Boolean Difference

Because I still have problems

Mesh vs NURBS

Cloissone Worm Hole: Final Revision For Final Enamel Project (Part 04 of 05)

Instead of stoning the enamel by hand, I employed the same cabbing machine that I use to finish my wood and gem designs.

Had to be careful with it. Holding it without marring my fingers as well as not grinding too much enamel off.


I also had to do significant grinding along the edges in order to fit the tiles into the Omamori pendant.

But it fits well and looks great in my opinion. Will be doing some final firing today

Cross Training: Stop Motion Video

So, I had an assignment for my Digital Imaging Class. I'm not much for
representative depictions. So I decided to plane a piece of gnarly
hemlock found in the scrap bin of my friend's furniture design studio. I
sent the board through a belt-fed belt sander. With each pass, I would
take photos of certain sections of the board. Then I assembled them and
added sound effects.

My idea came from the video below. I wanted to figure it out before I try something different

Images by Keith Skretch

Sound by Ennio Morricone, "The Big Gundown"

To create this strata-cut animation, I planed down a block of wood
one layer at a time, photographing it at each pass. The painstaking
process revealed a hidden life and motion in the seemingly static grain
of the wood, even as the wood itself was reduced to a mound of sawdust.


Official Selection, Chicago Underground Film Festival 2013

Official Selection, Brooklyn Film Festival 2013

Official Selection, Provincetown International Film Festival 2013

Official Selection, Corona Fastnet Short Film Festival 2013

Official Selection, DC Shorts Film Festival 2013


Created at CalArts.

Anna Tai: Cloisonne Enamel Artist

Just did a search for cloisonne enamel artists on Pinterest. Anna Tai came up in the results. I can access her abstract pieces and I can see how my current piece could flow into this direction

[Anna has been interested in both art and science since her childhood in Texas.  She majored in physics at Harvard University where she earned three degrees.  While there, she also took classes in art and developed skills in jewelry making.  During a successful career at Intel, she was involved in, among other projects, the development of techniques for joining fusible metals.  

Anna left the semiconductor industry in 1999 to begin her family.  While raising her three children, she resumed her interest in the creation of jewelry, specializing in cloisonné enameling and goldsmithing.  Merging her knowledge of material science with her innate artistic sense, Anna is now designing and making one-of-a-kind and limited production pieces of cloisonné jewelry. 

Anna is a member of the Enamelist Society and President of the Northern California Enamel Guild.  She currently resides in Menlo Park, California, where she lives with her husband and children.]

Sources: http://www.annataienamels.com/

http://enamelguild.org/anna-tai/

Markus Kayser - Solar Sinter Project

3D Printing With Sand Using The Power Of The Sun

Navy and Wake Forest University: 3D Bioprinted Beating Heart Made from Skin Cells

The US Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center is funding this program with $24 million as part of a larger effort by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. “Miniature lab-engineered organ-like hearts, lungs, livers, and blood vessels – linked together with a circulating blood substitute – will be used both to predict the effects of chemical and biologic agents and to test the effectiveness of potential treatments,” Atala said to Popular Mechanics.

The goal of the body-on-a-chip program, however, is quite different. After the miniaturized human system is complete, it will be used to model the body's response to contagions such as the Ebola virus or weaponized gases including sarin and ricin. The funding for this program, awarded September 2013, came through the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center and is part of a larger effort by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which has a vested interest in the military and defense uses for this technology.


(http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a15071/artificial-heart-cells-beating-video-wake-forest/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_campaign=trueAnthem:%20Trending%20Content&utm_content=552e6c0644e3b15200000001)

(http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/04/18/modular-3d-bioprinted-beating-heart-made-from-skin-cells/)

Eiffel Tower Printed In Less Than Seven Minutes

"A team led by Joseph DeSimone, a chemist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has now refined the liquid-resin process to make it go continuously rather than in fits and starts. They made the bottom of the container that holds the resin bath from a material that is permeable to oxygen. Because oxygen inhibits the solidification of resin, it creates a ‘dead zone’ — a layer just tens of microns thick at the bottom of the container — where the resin stays liquid even when ultraviolet rays are shining on it. The solidification reaction happens instead just above the dead zone. Because liquid is always present below the slowly forming object, the researchers can pull it up in a continuous manner, rather than waiting for new liquid resin to flow in." (http://www.nature.com/news/chemical-trick-speeds-up-3d-printing-1.17122)

Epitomizing Expeditionary Construction: Navy 3D Printing Buildings

Last years news, but new to me. All you would need to carry would be the printer and cementitious material of choice. Aggregate could be found locally. Expeditionary construction from contingencies (humanitarian and defensive) to space exploration

"The United States Navy is funding the project on 3D printing buildings. This project, called Contour Crafting, has the purpose of printing out 2,500-square-foot buildings in only one day using concrete. The project could be very useful to armies worldwide, as it gives them the ability to quickly create houses in environments with little or no structure. Another application of Contour Crafting? Providing for shelter on the Moon."

http://3dprinting.com/news/navy-funds-project-3d-printing-buildings/

Cloissone Worm Hole: Final Revision For Final Enamel Project (Part 03 of 05)

Wet Packing and Stoning:

Wet packed the cobalt blue (1685) and the spruce green (1430) within the cloisonne wire:

After a first pass of stoning:

Cloissone Worm Hole: Final Revision For Final Enamel Project (Part 02 of 05)

Cloisonne Formed now ready to transfer. I used squeegee oil (A-4) to hold the cloisonne wire in place. It worked to hold it up right if level. However, the slightest bump or change in elevation would cause the wire to shift

Transferring it to the trivet and transporting it to the kiln: Challenge! I lost a piece of wire in the kiln so I had to take immediate action, and rearrange the piece.

I was taught to use a spatula to press down on the cloisonne wire immediately upon removing it from the kiln to ensure that it properly fused in the transparent enamel. I decided to use bench blocks instead. This way the pressure was evenly distributed, and can be passively applied. It also provides a greater heat sink.

Cloissone Worm Hole: Final Revision For Final Enamel Project (Part 01 of 05)

Wasn't feeling the fire alarm pull station belt buckle. Funny? Yes! Yet not me at the moment.

I've been back at making a few of my wood and gem bracelets. So I decided to replicate wood for my final project. I wanted to use one of the wormy pieces, which I will later fill with stones of blue or green.

 So I laid a piece of paper over the wood, and did a pencil rubbing to capture the pits and patterns of the surface.

For the pits, I will use cobalt blue and green (think it's mistletoe or spruce). For the wood, I will use transparent medium fusing clear. This will hopefully reveal the oxidation of the copper and simulate the wood in a way.

I will use a pendant that I designed based off of the Japanese omamori (an amulet with a wood or paper script inside, offered at temples and shrines)

I had cool finger prints on the copper that I thought had oxidized. I degreased them, however the enamel still did not stay after I fired it. Oh well, I'm still rolling with copper and transparent enamel for the "wood".

Hanko Design: Or Signature Branding Iron

Working on a branding iron for my signature. I want to burn it into the wood rather than using pen and ink as I currently do. 

Dilemma: The ink runs when I apply finish. Moreover, my signature is not as symmetrical or uniform as I wish it to be. This is especially important since I have designed an ambigram. The hiragana (Japanese phonetic character) も (mo) is the root of my signature. もも (momo) is peach, thus relating it to Freestone Peach. Furthermore, the character can be written to appear as a "j" and a "b". These are my initials

The Uncanny Valley: "A Feeling of Deadness In Their Faces"

The uncanny valley is a hypothesis in the field of aesthetics which holds that when features look and move almost, but not exactly, like natural beings, it causes a response of revulsionamong some observers. The "valley" refers to the dip in a graph of the comfort level of beings as subjects move toward a healthy, natural likeness described in a function of a subject's aesthetic acceptability. Examples can be found in the fields of robotics^[2] and 3D computer animation,^[3][4] among others.

A number of films that use computer-generated imagery to show characters have been described by reviewers as giving a feeling of revulsion or "creepiness" as a result of the characters looking too realistic.

Several reviewers of the 2004 animated film The Polar Express called its animation eerie.  CNN.com reviewer Paul Clinton wrote, "Those human characters in the film come across as downright... well, creepy.  So The Polar Express is at best disconcerting, and at worst, a wee bit horrifying." ^[44]  The term "eerie" was used by reviewers Kurt Loder^[45] and Manohla Dargis,^[46] among others. Newsday reviewer John Anderson called the film's characters "creepy" and "dead-eyed", and wrote that "The Polar Express is a zombie train." ^[47]  Animation director Ward Jenkins wrote an online analysis describing how changes to the Polar Express characters' appearance, especially to their eyes and eyebrows, could have avoided what he considered a feeling of deadness in their faces.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley

Final Enamel Project

Mission is to simulate an object that exists. I want to re-create a fire pull station. Why? It's red! To fire red enamel in the kiln is a technical challenge. It over fires so easily. Massive Temper. Time permitting, I will make a belt buckle with it. Now that's funny.

Crafting in Virtual Space Decrypted Becomes Arts and Crafts Inspired Architecture

It is interesting to see a virtual design from information technology realized in a form inspired by the Arts and Craft movement and quilting from the Foothills of NC

The tile with the blues and greens under fired.

Adding Orange. I'm excited! I need the warm colors. Rain and snow are nice on the first day. But I cannot abide more than 3 days of it

RED. This piece has been stoned. Ready for another trip to the kiln

Flattening it, I lost it overnight in the tool cabinet. I lost my mind for a bit. This was a 8 hours in the making

Until I made this frame out of alder, I had no idea that I would be doing anything architectural

etched copper plate with enameled pattern in alder frames and wormy chestnut elbows

Rough Finish

Champleve Challenges

Etching a cylinder proved to be a challenge. In one incidence, the etching process blew out the side of the plastic container as it electroformed a copper tree branch. Then, it arced electricity and melted the walls. So I was encouraged to reconsider.

Flat tiles it is.

After I placed the vinyl resist on the copper sheet, I connected copper stems. These were secured in place with vinyl, and have a exposed end that will conduct electricity.

 

copper lolly pops

This is the copper sulfate solution that  I will etch the copper pops in. I connected a stainless steel spoon to the anode (-). The copper tile is attached to the cathode (+). The steel spoon is becoming copper plated. The process is working

 A deep etch. Too deep in spots. I enjoy the champlevé process. But my knowledge of it needs further refining.