Ceramic and Metal Figure

Several weeks ago I finished a figure that not only has a ceramic head, but also a ceramic torso (a first for me). I like the puzzle of figuring out how it all goes together. This one is strung together through the outer ceramic neck on the head that has two holes in it. The copper rod that goes through the outer neck also goes through holes in the inner neck which is attached to the torso (they line up), which is then brazed to a copper neck band. Then I brazed copper wire to the neck band and threaded it through the holes in the ceramic torso "shoulders" and attached copper arms to the wire.

Ceramic, copper, etched brass, nickel.
22x6x3"
Wall mounted

To reinforce holding the head to the torso there is also a threaded rod that goes from the top of the head down through the torso and a metal napkin ring to the crotch. Hex nuts go on both ends.

This piece is about the feeling I get sometimes that there is a whole lot of mystery/knowledge just below the conscious surface of things. Something I'd love to get my hands on but seems just out of reach - hence the title "The Mystery Just Beneath the Surface".

Finishing the Copper Riverboat

I finished up  the copper and enameled riverboat "Queen Bee" this last week. I took some pictures along the way to help show the process.

I completed assembling my large and small cabins and now want to attach them to the deck of my hull. I figure out where I want the cabins to be and then braze 1/4" pipe segments to the hull and cut holes in the tops of the cabins where these pipe segments will come through.

Then I braze the pipe segments to the top decks of the cabins. This holds the cabins to the deck.

In the case of 2 cabins stacked, like above, I braze it on the lower cabin first and then put the top cabin on top and braze it in place.

Next I'll either hide the brazed ends sticking out of the cabin tops with a chimney, or use the end to support a flag pole. In the picture above you can see where the process of brazing the chimney onto the front small cabin left a black carbon mark. I remove that by placing the entire boat into a solution of Etchall, which not only removes the carbon but also takes the high gloss of the enamel down to a matte surface. One more thing before that final Etchall bath, I attached the copper wire railings to the deck.

To give the back caster wheel a place to attach, I brazed a bit larger copper pipe in place under the deck. This is one of those instances where I get out the two part epoxy and put a fair amount into the pipe and then slide the caster wheel rod into place and hold it until the 5 minute epoxy sets up. Next I added some striping to the small cabins by adhering decals to them.

Finally, a finished riverboat!