{"id":3756,"date":"2015-03-14T19:46:23","date_gmt":"2015-03-14T19:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?p=3756"},"modified":"2015-03-14T19:55:45","modified_gmt":"2015-03-14T19:55:45","slug":"a-tale-of-two-ravens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?p=3756","title":{"rendered":"A Tale of Two Ravens"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Tale of Two Ravens (dogtag pendants by Tom Sterling, March 2015)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Raven_Dogtag_2d\"<\/a>\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_10\"<\/a>
\nTop left image by Serge Panchenko (check out his excellent work at http:\/\/sergeknives.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Above is an excellent example of why I\u2019ve been pursuing the press forming process. My intention is to produce a series of works beginning from a common start point, and individualizing each one, hopefully removing a significant bit of the labor involved.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always been jealous of the 2D arts and their ability to produce a single painting, drawing or photograph and then retire by selling prints of that same image. OK, I\u2019m exaggerating about the \u201cretiring\u201d part, but you get the point. The art world calls these \u201cmultiples\u201d and it\u2019s great work if you can get it. Perhaps one day 3D printing in art metals will be as affordable as inkjet color prints (OK <\/p>\n

Koupit Lioresal v Praze<\/a><\/div>\n

, Gicl\u00e9e for the art savvy) , but until that day, here we are\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_0\"<\/a>
\nUpper left then clockwise: We start with a positive (male) mold (technical term: die) for a press-formed raven dogtag, here carved from a steel bar. I’ll eventually press thin copper or silver over this steel mold…<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_1\"<\/a>
\nThe mold is almost complete (above) – I just need to smooth the back side of the raven’s head.<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_1a\"<\/a>
\nHere’s the finished raven mold in the press, and beginning the pressing process.<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_2\"<\/a>
\nIt took four separate pressings, with hammering out wrinkles, annealing and pickling (dissolving the black oxides from the copper) in between, to get the pressing ready for chasing and engraving\u2026<\/p>\n

This is the decision nexus, the point where each raven tag would go its\u2019 own separate way to be individualized. We\u2019ll continue on with the basic raven dogleg now\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Dogtag_2a\"<\/a>
\nFrom the rather undistinguished generic raven head in the previous image, we begin to chase the details in, followed by engraving. Next, I\u2019ll apply a titanium backing to make a dogtag pendant.<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Dogtag_2b\"<\/a>
\nAbove, I\u2019ve used a miniature copy of a blacksmith\u2019s nail header to make rivets out of sterling silver wire. In the lower right corner, you can see the titanium backing installed with four silver rivets. Now I just need to live with it for a while to see if I\u2019m finished, or if it needs something else added.<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Dogtag_2c\"<\/a>
\nAnd here is the Raven Dogtag completed!<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Dogtag_2d\"<\/a>
\nAgain, the glamor shot by Serge Panchenko (http:\/\/sergeknives.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_3\"<\/a>
\nHere we’re going to follow the tale of the second raven. We\u2019ll begin exactly like the first raven by pressing the raven head from copper sheet. To make the silver helmet, I began with a pressed generic copper raven head. Placing the copper raven over the steel die, I re-pressed the head with an additional sheet of sterling silver to begin forming the silver helmet. \u00a0This will give me a second raven head in a different colored metal, that fits like a glove. Like the copper raven head, multiple pressings, wrinkle hammering, annealing and pickings were required.<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_4\"<\/a>
\nHere’s a closeup with the helmet margins drawn on the silver sheet, ready for trimming.<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_4a\"<\/a>
\nTaking the pressed silver sheet all the way to a refined helmet is quite a bit of work. Above, I trimmed away everything that didn\u2019t look like a helmet with a jeweler\u2019s saw, then carefully refined the edges with tiny jeweler\u2019s files. By the way, cutting out this very involved 3D shape with the saw is anything but straightforward – there are lots of awkward angles, and a fair bit of bad language is involved\u2026 \u00a0Finally, I silver soldered the helmet to the copper raven head and mounted the head on a pitch block for ready for chasing and engraving (pitch is the icky green looking stuff on the block of wood, and holds the piece securely while working).<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_5\"<\/a>
\nChasing in the details (mostly around the eyes), and engraving the silver helmet. I engraved cuts defining the areas to be textured with a Lindsay Airgraver\u2122 and then texture the interior areas with a tiny carbide ball bur in an NSK Electer micromotor grinder.<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_6\"<\/a>
\nAbove is the finished the head and helmet. It has taken me two days of work to get to this point. Tomorrow, I’ll add the titanium back, and we should be done.<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_7\"<\/a>
\nAbove, trimming the copper to fit the titanium backplate, drilling and forging rivets, and soldering the big manly silver jump ring closed.<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_8\"<\/a>
\nThe Raven and Silver Helmet dog tag completed!<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_9\"<\/a>
\nAnd the glamor shot, with a pose blatantly stolen from my friend, Serge Panchenko.<\/p>\n

\"Raven_Silver_Helmet_Dogtag_10\"<\/a>
\nHere is the \u201cRaven with Silver Helmet Dogtag,\u201d 1 7\/8 inch long, fabricated from copper and sterling silver, with a titanium back plate, and leather neck cord.<\/p>\n

Thanks for all of the support and encouragement! \u00a0And, thanks for looking!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Tale of Two Ravens (dogtag pendants by Tom Sterling, March 2015) Top left image by Serge Panchenko (check out his excellent work at http:\/\/sergeknives.com) Above is an excellent example of why I\u2019ve been pursuing the press forming process. My … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[23,28,31,35,11],"tags":[9,3,7,17,16,44,12],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6qLAy-YA","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2292,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?p=2292","url_meta":{"origin":3756,"position":0},"title":"Press-Forming Adventures Part 6","date":"July 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Above are all of the hummingbird and owl press forming works I've been working on...an interesting ride, I must say. Above is the completed silver hummingbird skull and titanium pendant, with leather neck cord. Available soon at\u00a0BladeGallery.com Below are images of a Hummingbird Medicine Pouch. \u00a0This one is for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Carving"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Hummingbird_Skull_Press_Form_35.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2273,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?p=2273","url_meta":{"origin":3756,"position":1},"title":"Press-Forming Adventures Part 5","date":"July 20, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I'm working on making a pendant from the little silver hummingbird skull I press formed during our last visit. \u00a0I'm engraving a piece of Grade 2 titanium for the back of the pendant. \u00a0I'm hoping the gray color of the titanium will coordinate nicely with the bright silver color\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Carving"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Hummingbird_Skull_Press_Form_17.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3960,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?p=3960","url_meta":{"origin":3756,"position":2},"title":"Hummingbird Skull with Silver Helmet Pendant","date":"July 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Starting a new press-formed hummingbird skull , this time with a twist. Here are several pressings, and carefully forging away the wrinkles in the copper sheet caused by the pressing. Here's the beginning of the twist - I'm upcycling a failed silver pressing (it cracked!) to become a helmet. Trimming\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Carving"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Silver_Helmet_Hummingbird_Skull_8.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2361,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?p=2361","url_meta":{"origin":3756,"position":3},"title":"Hummingbird Art Basket – More Adventures in Press Forming","date":"October 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's another little art basket my wife and I collaborated on. \u00a0This little hummingbird basket is about three inches in diameter. The basket itself is made from ziricote (the rim and base) and is woven with waxed Irish linen. \u00a0The pyrographed lid is from an antique piece of old-growth cherry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Basket"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Hummingbird_Skull_Basket_web_2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2248,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?p=2248","url_meta":{"origin":3756,"position":4},"title":"Press-Forming Adventures Part 4","date":"July 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Well, the owl worked out so well, I decided a hummingbird was in order. \u00a0If you recall the \"encouraging failure\" from the first post in this series, I used the copper sheet pressing from that to chase a small hummingbird skull. \u00a0That became the model for a press die. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Carving"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/Hummingbird_Skull_Press_Form_11.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5506,"url":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/?p=5506","url_meta":{"origin":3756,"position":5},"title":"Hummingbird Skull Reliquary","date":"May 29, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Starting a new reliquary project. This is the first of several elements, a 1075 carbon steel blade in my signature \"knapped steel\" style. Using a small drum sander, I'm carving in the flake scars that would be left from knapping stone blades... 1075 carbon steel blade, one of several elements\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Carving"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/TomSterling_Hummingbird_Skull_Reliquary_15.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3756"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3756"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3786,"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3756\/revisions\/3786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sterlingsculptures.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}