For my material I chose a Bud Vase. This is a vase which can only hold one singular flower or bud. Often it was used to hold a rose bud hence its name.
I really loved the way it looks. It reminds me of Brancusi's
Bird in Space, 1928.
After some brainstorming this is what I came up for in terms of attributes.
Physical attributes:
• Brass
• Small
• Streamline
• Holds liquid
• Vase
• Container
• Tarnished
• Fluted
• Diamond shaped hole and base
• Elegant
• Chipped
• Useless
Associated attributes:
• Used to hold one flower
• Opulence
• Art deco
• Reminds me of Brancusi, Bird in Space, 1928
• Romantic
• Special and not used often
• Chipped
• Antique
With all of these ideas out I decided to turn the vase into a flower.
In terms of shape I decided a Honeysuckle flower would be the only type of flower I could make with my limited Brass and the shape it had been moulded to. I also love Honeysuckles and had a huge vine of them growing outside my front door as a child.
Here is my rough idea and how I plan to execute this. I will be using a dremel to cut the metal and then I will be shaping it using heat, a hammer, and probably some pliers too. I will also be using a little engraving machine my family has but has never used.
After cutting and hammering I realized there is a seam I wasn't aware of. I will have to fix it and use heat if I want to go any further with it.
I will also need to use a jewelers blade to make some of the finer cuts with more detail.
Before I can add any detail like veining I will have to sand the petals. I have not started on the base yet as I am trying to figure out how the base panel is fixed to the rest of the vase.
The panel was pretty easy to take off. All I had to do was heat it a little with a sauldering gun and it came right off!
First before I did that though, I cut the petals into the wide part of the flower. It's finally starting to look like a Honeysuckle! I then shaped the petals which took a lot of time and a lot of sauldering. There was a seam right where I didn't need one and it was very brittle.
Next I hammered the base to make it a little flatter. This was annoying as the base got pretty dented. I will have to sand most of the dents out later. After this I cut the edge of the base off. I couldn't hammer it completely flat without destroying it. Sorry I didn't photograph this part...
After all this was done I had to sand... and sand... and sand. To get the level of Finish I wanted I needed to start with 150 grit sand paper and work my way up to 1500 grit buffing sand paper. My hands were green after. Then I engraved the veins into the leaf base and petals. This was super fun and kind of like drawing!
After all of that I was going to add the stamen of the flower but I had a brilliant last minute idea to add a light. Not only does this not allow for the vase to be used for its original purpose, but if it is used the way it was intended it destroys an element of the sculpture. This was my favorite part.
This took a little technical support from my partner who taught me how to do this! We might have gone through a couple fake candles. Once the light was added I then added the stamen.
The vase both fulfills its purpose as it is now the flower it once could hold thus maintaining its opulence, and is rendered completely useless as it can no longer hold a flower or the water required to sustain it.
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