An Experiment in Scaling

Here are the images for what I am going to consider a trip-tic. I already posted about the last edition, but I was kind of taken with the proportions of that design and I wanted to explore them further with a more ambitious work. My first instinct was to make a larger version and expand on the concept and see where it lead me, But while I was at it, I figured I could go the opposite direction as well. So in short, I made a small set of 1/2 scale works along with a Larger "one of a kind" that is 2.3 times as large as the original. Both with design changes that I found appropriate for the different scales.

The Small Version

The 1/2 scale version is quite similar to the original with some simplification of the design to account for scale. But this one was a much more of a process oriented experiment. I took this redesign as an opportunity to play with some process elements that I rarely ever have the opportunity to think about.

When making one of a kind works and short run objects, you rarely get to play with optimizing your processes to make them more efficient and more elegant. Designing a program and its associated set ups and operations to cut a shape can be done many ways, But when you get a second chance to simplify an object, you get to indulge in taking the time to streamline the programs and improve on the different operations based on what you learned doing it the first time. So yeah it was kind of a chance to nerd out on my craft a bit, but I got a lot out of it and now I have a bunch of these little guys to offer. I was able to shorten the production time significantly.

The Large Version

Drawings For Most Recent Sculpture

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This one was a six week slog and involved lots and lots of hours of hand sanding and achy fingers but I m quite happy with the result.

As it is now it is actually sitting on my desk, although I am still deciding whether to actually make this thing a wall mounted work. I do not usually go that direction, but this one seems like it would benefit from that kind of mount, as it is the only way to really take it all in at once. I'm going to give it a little time before I decide.

Current Project

So these are rather large blanks I am starting with. They are 6" Diameter rounds and holding them on some of my tools is a tricky prospect so I started by machining both a clamping lip onto it and drilling and tapping holes so I could bolt it directly to a faceplate for turning.

This part of the work will eventually be machined off so there is no harm done to the actual part

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This will be the third small edition I have made so far and I must say, If I was hesitant about making editions at first, I am not anymore. They are extremely satisfying to make and there is something about seeing your work in multiples that is very pleasurable, Not to mention how it changes the pacing of actually making a particular design.  

This one was a bit more ambitious than the first two editions as far as size and time investment. The center piece is Bronze with Stainless steel ends. The inserts are aluminum and copper and the whole thing sits on a Stainless base. 

    

The starting point for this work was kind of a revisiting of a very early design element I used many years ago while I was still working out the visual language of these objects. At the time I had a good "hook" (for lack of a better term), but not the proper experience yet to execute it in an elegant manner such as this. Which is not to say the original piece isn't important, just that there is nothing wrong with taking a second swing at something good and ending up with a different result.

Work Featured in Make Magazine

My work has just recently been featured in Make Magazine and I thought I would send out a link to everyone. Its not exactly a fine arts publication, but it is certainly one that I thoroughly enjoy reading.
For those not familiar with the magazine, in their words it is

"The first magazine devoted entirely to DIY technology projects, MAKE Magazine unites, inspires and informs a growing community of resourceful people who undertake amazing projects in their backyards, basements, and garages. Coined Martha Stewart For Geeks by Newsweek's Stephen Levy, MAKE is one of the most highly regarded and well-published success stories in the consumer magazine space over the past year."

 It has been on newsstands for just over a week, but I wanted to wait until the electronic version was up and running so I could provide a link.

Chris Bathgate in Make

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OK Last work of the year. I always try to make at least 10 works a year and I barely made it this year. I made some fairly ambitious pieces that required I put in a lot of extra time so here we are just in time.

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This is my second crack at doing a small edition of works. The response to the first one was overwhelming so I guess my experiment was a success. I designed this one at the same time as the last one and had initially planned to make them both simultaneously. But logistics got in the way, so  instead, they have arrived one after the other. I am setting my sites on some larger projects for now, so this is the last of the quickies for a while. Perhaps early next year I will explore a couple more small format ideas I have.

New Project in Process

Still working on my new project so I thought I would post some images of my progress.

This piece consist of 8 spheres joined by 8 disk shaped turnbuckle style bolts to make a cube. I know that is not the best description, but I will try and take better documentation when I am a little further along.  Above are two images one is a shot of one of the spheres being fly cut to create a face for what will be the mating face of the bolts. The rotary table is tilted to just the perfect angle that I can actually cut 3 faces at perfect right angles to each other simply by rotating the sphere 120 degrees rather than squaring each face to the table and measuring them out. Took a little trig to get it set right, but it was a hug time saver. The second image is the parts pile at this time. More to come.

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This is a bit of a new one for me. This is my first small edition of works. I decided to apply my ability to do batches of parts on the CNC machines to one of my smaller scale concepts. The result is that rather than one of these, I made five. originally it was an opportunity for me to make an idea I like, and at the same time, produce some lower cost work for people who want to collect, but may find some of my "one of a kinds" a bit out of reach by spreading the cost of production across five objects (yes artist have to be practical sometimes as well). But after seeing the effect of having a small army of these little guys lined up on my desk, It is giving me something else to think about as far as visual effect. Anyway, they stand just under 4" tall on the stand, But as with a lot of my small work, I want people to hold them and handle them so it comes right off as you can see in the pictures. Look for a second small edition in a week or so as I decided to make two different ideas before I went on to some larger projects.