Wednesday, August 19, 2009

A little more on bronze

This is my favourite piece that came out of my last firing of bronze clay. It's not perfect but I'm overall happy with this piece. But the bronze is fickle stuff and I'm in a love /hate relationship with it right now. I love the colour. I hate it's finicky working properties. But I'm almost certain that it's finished qualities will win out in the end.


The pieces on the left are fresh out of tumble polishing. I am certain I had a photo of the pieces before tumbling. But it seems to be lost in the great abyss of my organisational system. The pieces on the right are ones that have been patined with liver of sulfur. BTW my house smells of rotten eggs right now. But that is not the first smell that popped into Pete's mind when he walked in the door this afternoon. I had a lot of explaining and back peddling to do. A lot of, 'maybe the dogs?'
The dragonfly in the center has not had a LOS treatment and is a sort of reference piece. Pretty bland by comparison, I'd say. The top two pieces went back into the tumbler for a bit of polish. The bottom right piece was just rubbled and finished by hand with a cotton cloth. The bottom left piece is straight from patination. No frills, this is what you get when you take it out of the smelly stuff.

Anyhoo, it's late for me....I've got a bisque kiln firing and I need to move on to getting that one to bed for the night. In fact, I need to get on to bed soon.


10 comments:

The Joy of Nesting said...

Gads LeAnn the more I see what you and Beth (Hint) can do with metal clays the more I want to jump in!! :) I haven't confessed this to LW though. Even after the investment for equipment there is the constant problem of where to get the clay :( But when I can get that figured out look out there's no holding back!! :)

Pattie ;)
Mazatlan Mx.

stregata said...

Such enticingly beautiful little pieces! Congrats, LeAnn!
BTW, terrapene ornata was just gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

oh they're so pretty!

Cindy said...

Beautiful new pieces...I love the oxidized look. The imprints came out so crisp.
Cindy
www.sweetbeadstudio.com

Anonymous said...

what beautiful art work. I really love the these they are quite stunning
june

sharon said...

These are gorgeous LeAnn...as always, I am very attracted to the silvery colors though, but they are all beautiful!! Your descriptions amaze me, you must be awfully patient, I tend to need to see quicker results when I work!! This seems like a long intense process...I commend you for you diligence, it certainly pays off!!

Silver Parrot said...

Wow. They are all gorgeous, but the LOS definitely brings out the detail. A li'l smell is a small price to pay for such beauty!

Marie Cramp said...

The new pieces came out great! I have not had a chance to use the one you sent me yet, but I do have an idea in mind. Don't worry, you will be the first to know.

Marie

SummersStudio said...

Thanks everyone for your very supportive comments. I really do read each and every one and add it into my design process. Much appreciated!

Pattie, order your clay from Rio Grande. You should do this!

LexieJewel said...

Wow - these are cool!!! I love your quote by Rumi too. ;-)