FMP Fridays Thoughts 24th April

Fridays Thoughts   24th April

Glass with Hinges

Another Friday which means another chance to get a day's work done. Having sorted out what I need to do in order to complete my locket, I had in my mind tasks I could do confidently by myself without having to ask for any tools or waiting to be shown how to do something. Having the tasks I could do on my own completed on Friday means I can make the most of the time I have in class with the tutors.

I started the day with the plaster mould. I wanted it cleaned and in the kiln today so that I could have my glass on Monday and I could sort out how to make the back of my locket. With the plaster set, I could remove the rest of the wooden template and clay slip surrounding them. This was a another long task. I had to make sure that all the clay was off the plaster mould so that none of the remaining clay would stick to the glass after its been fired. Once both wooden templates were out, I cleaned and scraped the clay off. I then had to make a quick plaster mixture to fill any holes so that the mould wouldn't crack in the kiln or the glass leak out.

Once the mould was filled and left to dry, I then started on the hinge for the locket. Learning from my last attempt of making a hinge, I could easily measure out and make a more professional and efficient working one. Firstly marking out the right size, taking the first test hinge I measured it against the locket. Looking at it closely, I could see that it was too big. I wanted something smaller that would fit in the centre, making sure that both sides are balanced.

 

Taking one sheet of copper, I cut two small two and a half centimetre strips out and measured five and a half centimetres along the top. Clamping the copper I then cut out opposite sections of each copper strip. After cutting and filing the copper, I could then start wrapping the copper round the steel rod, making sure that each time I have everything straight before I fold the copper round. Once each copper strip has been fully formed round the steel rod, I could make sure that the hinge was fully functioning. After a couple of minutes of filing some of the edges so that it was working smoothly, I had finished my hinge.

By the time I finished my hinge, the plaster was dry and I could do some last minute smoothing out before carefully placing the glass in the mould to be fired, making sure that the glass was an even height so that there wouldn't be any over spills.

Having spent the day working hard, I was one step closer to finishing my locket. With the glass out by Monday, I could start on making the back for the glass to sit in.