SBC IX – 3 Players, Three Different Bowls

First, let’s check out the other two Super Bowls that were made in this year’s challenge.

First this libation cup by Lew Shieber. I love that he says about the project this piece is a part of “from a culture that doesn’t exist in our history, but might have in an alternate time.” That is totally how I think of my work!

part of the Elsewhen Antiquities project ©2017 Lew Shieber 2 7/8″ x 3 5/8″ x 5 5/8″ across the handles. 16 gauge brass, raised, chased, etched, and fabricated

Next is a video of Laurie Jane Kern’s wonderful patinated thick, thick, thick copper bowl. I love the music, hehe.

Here’s an image of the finished bowl

Super Bowl IX ©2017 Laurie Jane Kern 6″ square copper sunk and heat patinated

SBC 9 ©2017 WTEK brass, nickel foldformed, pierced, formed, & riveted

Now onto my entry!

This year I decided to try and do a simpler bowl. Not the biggest thing I’ve ever done (like last year) not the one with the most parts or the most rivets. Simple and easy with a few subtle bits to break up the larger whole.

Well that kind of worked. The bowl was the size that I wanted, but it morphed away from my original simpler design to become what it was meant to be. This one it probably the least bowl-y of all my bowls, but it does still have that concave resting place in the middle of it.

SBC 9 ©2017 WTEK brass, nickel foldformed, pierced, formed, & riveted

The original design was somewhat yin-yangish, but I ended up rotating the placement of the two larger pieces making the whole design more dynamic. The u-shapes help reign it in a bit drawing the eye back into the bowl and the base (as always) was a bit of a struggle to figure out but ended up complementing the bowl.

Now if I can just figure out a name…

SBC 9 ©2017 WTEK brass, nickel foldformed, pierced, formed, & riveted

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SBC VIII – Went into Overtime

The original sketch, complete with helpful instructions.

I tried my best but I had to pack it in last night around 7:30pm – unfinished. I was getting tired and I knew that it would make everything 5x harder to do, so I waited to finish the last tier until today. Thus the late post.

(There was a last minute addition when I decided it needed one more little piece to balance it out. This skewed the time somewhat.)

I’ll show the photos of my piece in this post and in a couple days I’ll showcase the pieces of the other participants, giving you some extra time to get your photos somewhere I can grab them. Feel free to post a link to your SBC in the comments of this post.

All the pieces (but one) laid out around the bowl. ©2016 WTEK

Slowly forming and adding pieces ©2016 WTEK

Point where I stopped last night ©2016 WTEK

The completed SBC VIII! ©2016 WTEK nickel, brass

And a side shot ©2016 WTEK nickel, brass

Giving you and idea of how big this bowl is. ©2016 WTEK nickel, brass

Few and Far Between

Starting out textured and annealed ©2015 WTEK

That title is referring to the studio days I have this time of year. It’s frustrating when you can’t have enough days close enough together – you start to lose momentum. But I was able to get in some time this weekend and start work on a new sculpture that I showed a paper mock-up of a few weeks ago. (No, I haven’t finished that other one yet!)

Now with all the folds and opened back up again ©2015 WTEK

This one will be much taller than my previous pieces. I’m also trying for a shallower cut and folded bowl with slightly asymmetrical “petals” on it. So far I have the texture and the folds done on the base and bowl. There will probably be some additional petals placed around the edges to broaden the bowl. Let me tell you that unfolding 18″ sheets of nickel is quite the workout.

One part of the base cut-out ©2015 WTEK

I began cutting out the base shapes, but then then handle disconnected itself from my saw frame. I’m hoping that it’s reattached, but there might have to be a new one in my near future. I kind of really need it to move forward with this piece, my back-up 4″ deep frame won’t do the job.

The brass sheet all marked out to cut the bowl shape out ©2015 WTEK