Friday, December 5, 2014

An Automata Experience


















Whoo Whoo
This is my first piece of automata completed without instructions or a teacher's help.  The copper cone was shaped and cut during art class.  The shaping did come with a lot of help from others who had more finesse than I.  I found it difficult to get a nice small shape with a large rubber mallet.  It looked so perfect I almost hated to cut it into its parts but I jumped on in and hacked away.  Before class was over I tried and tried to solder the piece to a copper base so it would be completed.  The teacher even offered to connect it for me but I was not going to let it get the better of me.  I had no idea what I was going to do with it, having no way to solder it at home, but I knew I would get it mounted somehow.  I wanted the cone to be flexible as intended so with this I can use the crank or pull it up by hand.  I could not be happier with it.

Many failed attempts... or a learning experience

I have new ideas zinging around my head and I cannot wait to grab a few moments in the shop to work on them.  I have 6 books from the library waiting on me to learn all their secrets.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving sharing our home with family and friends.  We were all fed and tucked into our respective homes by 4:00 and I do not know about the rest but we had our pj's on early that evening.

This weekend is devoted to finishing up and decorating for Christmas. I feel that I have a pretty good handle on things...at least I hope so!  We'll see...

Good night to all,
Hilari