05/11/2018 - Rose Window Commission
Just before we started this project, I did a commission piece for an old friend.
The design was in the form of a gothic rose window, and was kicked off by these quick sketches (done in my summer sketch book as I was pondering decorative cogs to use in my kinetic work).
I chose to replicate the rose window in St Mary's Cheltenham Minster because it's local, and also quite unusual:
- It is situated on the side of a transept, not the end.
- It is not vertically symmetrical.
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I discovered, whilst sourcing materials for this piece, that large round cabochons are extremely hard to come by.
However, for this design, I decided that a "donut" stone would work just as well, if not better. "Donut" cut stones are often large & round, with a hole through the middle. They are also usually quite cheap (hooray) and tend to be hung on a simple cord as shown here. It occurred to me that this hole could be used to fix the stone in place, providing a coloured background for the rose window design. |
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I produced a template in Rhino (CAD is incredibly useful for this type of repetitive pattern) and hand pierced it from argentium silver sheet.
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The whole piece was then slightly domed and the centre then recessed, echoing the donut shape.
A short length of tube was then soldered onto the reverse.
Flaring the back of this tube was the method used to fix the amber donut into place, and a garnet was set into the front.
I believe this to be the best piece I've ever made (and friends, family & colleagues have all agreed).
A short length of tube was then soldered onto the reverse.
Flaring the back of this tube was the method used to fix the amber donut into place, and a garnet was set into the front.
I believe this to be the best piece I've ever made (and friends, family & colleagues have all agreed).
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