Pages

Monday, April 11, 2011

Week 4 and a Third Glimpse

This week's glimpse shows the first stage of the construction of the necklace. Once I had figured out how many cubes I needed to make the necklace, I made wire "staples" that act as the connectors between each cube element--one end of each staple was melted into a small ball. I pierced two holes in each cube and sanded away the burs left behind after drilling. I then began to connect the cubes one by one by threading a staple through two cubes and melting its other end into a ball. (This ball is larger than the hole and is what keeps the connection together.) I hope this makes sense! It's a challenge for me to describe in words!
This process was tedious! I had to grab the end of the staple to be melted with my third arm, making it stick up just enough that I could melt the wire and not cause any damage to the cubes. I also had to quench the necklace after melting each ball so I would not burn my fingers as I set-up for the next round--after patting the necklace dry, I set-up the system again. The completed necklace pictured at the top is composed of 40 cubes and took about 9 hours to connect.
Lots more images on Flickr and my USA project showcase.

I also wanted to let you know even though the project has been funded, I will continue to post a new "Glimpse" and updates every week. You are also welcome to continue to contribute as the project can still accumulate funds until my May 9 deadline! Any additional funds will be used towards professional photography of the completed body of work. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email (amy@amytavern.com) or read more about this here.

Thanks again for your continued support!

Thanks for reading.

5 comments:

Mari said...

Love this! Keep up the beautiful work Amy!

Amy Tavern said...

Thank you!

sheila gaddie said...

Amy when you get a chance would you mind answering two questions concerning your project?

1. Are you working on one piece at a time or are you working on multiple pieces?

2. How are you structuring your work day, now that you have 30 pieces to produce.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I am enjoying reading about your project.

sheila.gaddie@gmail.com

Amy Tavern said...

Hi Sheila! Thanks fro the great questions!

1. I tend to work on several things at once. This way I can move back and forth between pieces when I have to wait for something to dry if it's painted, for example. When I started this body I did begin with one piece so I would not overwhelm myself, which does happen to me when I begin something brand new. Now that things are under way I have a few pieces in the works at the same time.

2. I do computer stuff/business in the early morning until, say, 10am. Then I work at the bench until lunch. I might do a quick email check after lunch or deal with more business, but try to get back to the bench by 2. I work until dinner and either go back to work (business or bench depending) or enjoy a free evening. Everyday is different, though, and this schedule is definitely my ideal. I try to be flexible and tailor my day as needed for whatever needs to get done. I keep a to do list and try to stick to it!

Amy Tavern said...

...and one more thing, Sheila, now that I have this HUGE deadline of a solo show/30 pieces, I definitely keep a schedule with inner deadlines. I do not like to leave things to the last minute and prefer to be done in advance. It would be great to be done even a little in advance for this show so I can have some time to sit with the entire body before I have to ship it off to the gallery.