i've been meaning to make these for a while, then i was distracted by making this fortune cookie necklace (which turned out to be much more of a challenge than i'd hoped!)
So...pencils! I've taken pics along the way, first, dipping into my stash of sheet & wire offcuts. It's really nice to recognise bits of metal that have been in the box for years, like with this piece plate, i think the 'F' & 'E' were cufflinks that never happened (1995?)
i used 2mm silver plate, cut into stumpy-pencil sized strips (about 15mm). These pencils are modeled on the trusty worn down ones with a metal-fastened rubber at one end - you've sharpened them down so much they're a little short to hold but they've been hanging around for as long as you can remember.
& here's an example of exactly that pencil! Short, battered & handy! I used a coarse flat file to take off the corners of the plate then used a needle-file to sharpen the pencil (one sculpture at a time so i could limit any 'learning curves')
learning curve #1 - i sharpened the 'pencil' a little too harshly & had to solder on the 'lead' as a separate piece of wire, that's why it appears grey. I decided to give it a 'sharpened by blade' look cause that's how mum used to sharpen my pencils when i was too young to do it myself! The lines were scored with the saw & deepened with a triangular needle file.
aww, tiny little thing! this is the first one done! If you come to the studio, i've now made Pencil earrings, necklaces & rings but so-far only the earrings are available to buy online (i blame the photographer for not taking clear enough, usable images of the others..sorry, ahem..)
So...pencils! I've taken pics along the way, first, dipping into my stash of sheet & wire offcuts. It's really nice to recognise bits of metal that have been in the box for years, like with this piece plate, i think the 'F' & 'E' were cufflinks that never happened (1995?)
i used 2mm silver plate, cut into stumpy-pencil sized strips (about 15mm). These pencils are modeled on the trusty worn down ones with a metal-fastened rubber at one end - you've sharpened them down so much they're a little short to hold but they've been hanging around for as long as you can remember.
& here's an example of exactly that pencil! Short, battered & handy! I used a coarse flat file to take off the corners of the plate then used a needle-file to sharpen the pencil (one sculpture at a time so i could limit any 'learning curves')
learning curve #1 - i sharpened the 'pencil' a little too harshly & had to solder on the 'lead' as a separate piece of wire, that's why it appears grey. I decided to give it a 'sharpened by blade' look cause that's how mum used to sharpen my pencils when i was too young to do it myself! The lines were scored with the saw & deepened with a triangular needle file.
aww, tiny little thing! this is the first one done! If you come to the studio, i've now made Pencil earrings, necklaces & rings but so-far only the earrings are available to buy online (i blame the photographer for not taking clear enough, usable images of the others..sorry, ahem..)
1 comments:
These little pencil earrings are divine!! (Thanks to Tegan of Ink & Spindle for posting about her new pencil necklace on FB). Your blog was such a lovely find! :)
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