Snip, Slice, Saw

Nag - brooch: sublimate printed steel, garnet beads, copper. 

About 15cm tall (photo: Terence Bogue)

If you didn't get to see these guys at C3 for the Australia Project, they're having a second outing at Hand Held Gallery's next exhibition Snip, Slice, Saw.

Nagaina - brooch reworked biscuit tin, sublimate printed steel, garnet beads, copper. 

About 15cm square (photo: Terence Bogue).

If you haven't been, Hand Held is a great gallery. I've seen some surprising and really lovely shows there. Surprising because I didn't know there there are so many artists making beautiful small scale works in Melbourne. And surprising also because it's in a really strange location. It's upstairs in a modern but almost deserted shopping centre on the outskirts of Chinatown.

Hand Held Gallery opened in August 2008. Hand Held is an object and artist book gallery with a collection of books, zines, posters, postcards, paper arts and eclectic objects. Hand Held is also an exhibition/installation space available to artists for solo or small group shows and installations. (from the gallery's blog)

Krait - sublimate printed steel, copper. About 25cm long (photo: Terence Bogue).

'snip, slice, saw'

Opening on the 29th of July 6-8pm
A group exhibition exploring
cutting in paper and metal.

artist include
Deborah Klien, Jennifer Bolhofner, Melissa Cameron
Deb McArdle, Lizzie Sampson, Christine Oakley,
Kathy Fahey, Jake Burrell, Karah Sinden, Emma Grace
Tamara Dixon, Sarah Heyward, Anna Davern and Penny Peckham.

Hand Held Gallery
Suite 18, upstairs
Paramount Arcade
108 Bourke Street
Melbourne, 3000

Entry via Bourke or little Bourke street. Go straight up escalator to top level.

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Other stuff

I've also been making some new collages which will be in Playing Fields. They're small "wall works" made from the bases of the old tins that I cut up. They feature images from the old tins as well as images that I have printed myself.

I have so much fun making these.

They range in size from about 30mm to 300mm.

And they all have folded edges so they sit about 5mm out from the wall and have a wire strung across the back.

This is just a taste (there are about 40 in all) as I don't want to show too many and spoil the surprise

Did I say I was a jeweller? There's no jewellery in this exhibition!

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mega mechanism

This last diorama (the one that I'm still making!) has been the most complicated but it's been so great to try and work my head around getting everything to work the way I want it. I've had to remake this one a few times and all in all, it's been pretty much all I've worked on for the last 10 days.  It started looking like this...

then this...

etc...

Then I made this...

which worked but also didn't work because it wasn't weighted properly and was way too clunky...

 So I changed it to look like this...

much better...

 don't you think? It's weighted so that whatever spins around (you'll have to wait to find out) always stays upright. Check out all that solder!

So this is how it will be put together in the end (the blue tak is to check that it works) The white and black gear mechanism, I think, is called a "worm drive". It changes the direction of turning so that a handle cranked parallel to the side of the diorama will turn the circular motion to parallel to the front of the diorama. I'm sure there's a clearer and more accurate way to describe this but Hey! I'm a jeweller, not an engineer. And thank goodness for Jaycar. I love Jaycar.

Perty. Ain't she?

And these two guys mean that the worm drive will work at double the speed of the crank handle. Just wait to you see what the worm drive drives!! And, of course, all this is hidden inside a biscuit tin. It's a bit sad really, to put all that work into something that won't even been seen when looking at the finished work

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more inner workings

Here are some more mechanisms of the new dioramas.

Little rivet spacers

A swinging mechanism

A Mountain Lake

Looks like something might come out from behind the mountain.....

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aaarrrrgggghhhhhh!!!

I leave the country in 4 days and half an hour! Organised? No. Stressed? Yes.

I also have to deliver work to Craft Victoria for the Playing Fields exhibition...  yesterday.

I've made I'm making 4 dioramas from biscuit tins that will be similar to the more 3 dimensional works I had in Buena Vista at Craft Vic in 2008, except they all incorporate interactive movement like the Fantastic Mr Fox (which swings back and forth).

Three of the pieces are currently in the possession of Terence Bogue and the 4th is very close to being finished.

I thought I'd share some images of works in progress as it's been a real challenge working out the engineering side of incorporating movement in the dioramas.

 These are little rivets that I pre-solder with spacers so they're easier to attach

 I attach them to one "layer" first and then attach them to the base...

 like so!

more later..... it's late!