3D Practicing with 3D materials 25th September

Practising with 3D materials 25th September

I still needed to do a lot of my research. I had most of the morning to work out what I needed to finish up. The idea of nature and a more modern symmetrical lined design was in my head. I had to sort out not only what concept I wanted, but what materials I'd like to use.

First I looked up different materials; copper, acrylic and aluminium. While doing that I came across some braided copper bracelets. As I looked at the images, the first thing that came to mind were Celtic knots. As I have a Celtic heritage, I was interested in finding out more. With that in mind I researched more Celtic jewellery and came across a site that not only showed the jewellery, but also explained the meaning of the animals and symbols.

After reading about the meaning behind some of the symbols, I decided to set my concept around Celtic jewellery. With that sorted, the only thing I had to figure out now was which materials to use. Originally the Celts used bronze, gold and iron to make their jewellery. They braided and etched the metals to create beautiful accessories to wear.

During the rest of the morning I looked at Celtic designs and jewellery, as well as trying to get an idea what materials to use for my project. I spent the afternoon testing things out.

I started with copper wire, bending it to make smooth spirals. Although the copper was soft, achieving a consistent smooth spiral was difficult. I also tried flattening the wire with a hammer. This created a thin strip, but it took away the shine from the wire.

I was then given some metal stamps. Most had numbers on them, but a couple had letters. It was interesting making patterns and designs with them. However, few were successful. Aligning them so there was an even pattern going down the side of the copper strip was very challenging. I also had to hit the metal stamp a couple of times to get a clear indentation which meant I had to keep everything very still.

I had to stop and think how to accomplish my design with the materials to hand. Thought must go into everything right from the start. An understanding of what materials you can use to achieve the desired design is important.

Time was slipping away. I wanted to leave today with something, even if it was small and not very well made. I wanted to have something to show from today's test. I grabbed a thin piece of aluminium and two thin pieces of copper wire. Twisting the wire around the aluminium, I made a crisscross pattern and then bent each end around the back of the aluminium strip so they were out the way. I then took some of the thin copper sheet and cut a small plate out. This task was problematic as the over sized cutters weren't straight and refused to cut sometimes. Having cut my copper strip, I then found the metal stamps that could pierce the copper so I could attach it to my ring. Having selected the right stamp, and having three or four goes at piercing it, I managed to create a small neat hole. I threaded wire through the plate and wrapped the other end to the aluminium strip. Finally I took the hammer to it all, fixing all the copper wire in place and working out some of my frustration at the same time.

With testing over, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted to leave today with a clear idea of what I will be doing next Tuesday, but instead I felt a bit lost and annoyed. I only hope on Monday I'll get time to try out some acrylic.