Ding! Ding! Ding! We Have a Winner!

Bitter Jeweler · May 17, 2012

A month ago I was asked if I could design and make an award for the City Club of Cleveland. It was to be based on the 100+ year old chinese gong they have used for the past 100 years to start every meeting. I've been really busy lately, and I was really unsure of the tight deadline and venturing into areas a little out of my normal realm. So I says "Sure! Let's do it!"

*ugh* What a roller coaster ride of stress, worry, and pitfalls it has been. It's interesting what size/scale becomes complicated for a jeweler, yet too small for many foundries. I finally found a guy who's business is to cast in that size range. Of course, he was taking a vacation soon. It worked out in the end.

The gong was first modeled in CAD software, figuring it would be easiest to mill each panel seperately and assemble them, rather than hand cutting the bell from wax (solid or in sections). So again we are faced with the scale, and common supplies available to me. I found wax tablets thick enough to mill these pieces, and ordered them, for next day AM deliver. Time was not on my side, remember. I ordered them at noon on Friday for saturday delivery. Well, 6PM comes around and I get the call. "We are out of that wax, and we won't have more till June 5th" she said. "#&%$@!" I said, adding "Cancel it!" I can't believe she asked if I was sure I wanted to cancel it. Crap! It's too late to order from anyone else, and I HAD to get these pieces cut and assembled over the weekend. Solution? Gather all your wax scrap, go buy an electric skillet, and a cookie sheet. I melted the wax and made my own wax tablets. Phew!

There were some issues in milling, because I am still learning all this CAD/CAM stuff. But I made progress. I screwed up enough, and was down to the exact number of tablets I needed. The scenic design was hand carved after the wax pieces were assembled. Every part of this project was wrought with trouble of one sort or another.Foe example, the plaque antiqueing (black background) would not color evenly, or it would flake off. I did that over like 5 times, and finally had to say "good enough". I learned a lot doing it. The result isn't perfect, but it will have to do. I finished it today, and it will be presented tomorrow. Yay for "just in time" delivery!

So here it is...
(The bronze gong alone is 6 inches tall, to give you an idea of scale)

Oh, yeah. It is going to THE Ted Turner!
I might get to meet him tomorrow, but I will be at the presentation for sure, and I am allowed to bring my camera. :mrgreen:
It's kinda exciting making something for a billionaire. Thoughts run through my mind, like, will this be just "another" award to him? Will he realize this was hand made for him? Will it wind up on a shelf, in one of his homes, or in an office somewhere? I don't expect it to be THAT special, but it's interesting thinking about the life of an award/trophy.

Lighting the gong for this shot wasn't too hard. I tried black reflectors on each side, white in front. I tried all white reflectors, but it looked too flat. I am happy with a black reflector on one side. I think it adds depth and demension.

GeorgieGirl · May 17, 2012

Dayum... That's a beaut. Congratulations!!!!

HughGuessWho · May 17, 2012

Wow. That's exciting. And a nice piece of work. Congrats are in order.

SCraig · May 17, 2012

Beautifully done. I'm always impressed by beautiful machining, I've tried it and failed. Great job!

Dominantly · May 17, 2012

You've got some crazy skills my friend.

Looks great.

BlackSheep · May 17, 2012

It's gorgeous, well done!

Kerbouchard · May 17, 2012

Very cool. Not many people get to personally design something that will be owned by a person of that stature. I can definitely understand your aprehension about wondering how much a guy like that would care about an award like this, especially after you have poured so much time and energy on it. Hopefully, he appreciates it for what it is.

Ahhh, the toils of being an artist...which sir, you definitely are.

Nice work on the award and the photography.

For nit picks...the highlight on the wood is a bit uncontrolled and the background isn't quite uniform, and personally, I would have loved to see another black reflector on the left side. If you have a chance to reshoot, I would probably use a flag to take care of the reflection in the wood, a black panel to the left to add some dimension, and a levels/curves adjustment to make sure the background is uniform.

As far as the craftsmanship, I offer no critique except to acknowledge a master at his trade.

sm4him · May 17, 2012

:hail:
I am in awe of the Master.

No, seriously...that is just too, too awesome. The creation, and the story behind it.

Glad it all worked out. I am a HUGE fan of The Last Minute!