One of the axioms of mathematics is that the container must be greater than the contained.
" The exhibition is open to all metalsmiths, professional and amateur, advanced and beginner, around the world. All metal containers and vessels are eligible for entry. Examples include, but are not limited to, pill boxes, vases, bowls, pitchers, lockets, prayer boxes and memento mori.
As this is an online exhibition the work will only be seen via the photographs metalsmiths submit. ...
The exhibition will be curated by Beth Wicker, Co-President of the North Carolina Society of Goldsmiths in the United States, and Adjunct Instructor at Northeastern Technical College in South Carolina. Director of the exhibition is Hanuman Aspler, owner and founder of the Ganoksin project, the world's largest internet jewelry site. "
Artist's Statement:
Since the late 1970's, I have been blending experience at the forge with research into the artifacts of the ancient Norse and Celts. The result is my signature 'Rivendale' design style. My work places a strong emphasis on hand forged techniques into distinctive designs, creating one of a kind objects that are both beautiful and yet functional.
For 'Holding Place', I have selected a series of bowls that use the widest possible range of iron materials, from modern steels, antique wrought iron to my own unique bloomery iron. Coupled with a range of hot forming techniques, ancient, traditional and modern, I believe this range of work may stand apart from other submitted objects.
1) Segmented Funeral Urn (2008)
38 cm x 23 (17 kg)
The body of the urn is composed of a number of individually hand forged strips of antique wrought iron. I saw samples of a related technique employed by the Japanese blacksmith Takayoshi Komine at a workshop / demonstration two summers past. (Taka uses the method to make subtle oil lamps employed in the Tea Ceremony.) Actual historic wrought iron has been chosen for the construction because of its excellent forging characteristics and special durability. Individual scrap bars were selected for their tendency to fragment under aggressive forging. The metal itself is already some 150 years old — and should easily endure for centuries more. A fitting resting place for the memories of one past beyond us.
(see more)
2) Segmented Bowl 2 (2011)
22 cm x 18 x 9 H
The individual segments are pieces left over from torch cutting 1/8 inch thick plate used for another sculptural form. Taking a clue from a method used by Japanese artisan Takayoshi Komine, the individual segments were MIG welded together on the back. One of these weld lines was reversed, folding forward to make the central rib. The resulting flat form was then worked hot to dish it. To finish, the piece was sealed with a spray matte varathane.
3) Bloom Bowl 2 (2011)
(roughly) 25 cm x 15 x 15 H
Unique in Canada, this metal itself was made from raw ore smelted using a direct reduction furnace based on those from the Viking Age.
The original bloom mass was quartered by hot cutting. This section was flattened under the air hammer, working at welding temperature. Only one compaction series was undertaken, intentionally to allow cracks and fissures to develop along the margins of the plate. The roughly rectangular plate was then dished hot to create the bowl's shape. The inner surface was roughly polished with a flap sanding disk. The outer surface was given a fast wire brush to remove any loose scale. To finish, the piece was sealed with a spray matte varathane.
4) Offcut Bowl (2011)
25 cm x 25 x 15 T
Offcut Bowl was created for the 'Shadowbox' show to benefit the South Grey-Bruce Literacy Council. The individual segments are in fact off cuts left over when I was cutting up some 1/8 inch thick plate I acquired as commercial scrap. The individual segments were MIG welded together on the back, then the weld beads ground smooth. The resulting flat form was then worked hot to dish it.
5) Segmented Bowl 3 (2011)
16 cm x 12 x 9
Here a set of individual strips of flat stock were forged out from heavier bar. This hand working process results in variations in thickness and width between the individual pieces. Once forged and cut, the strips are MIG welded along one side only, which is then ground smooth. The resulting plate is then dished hot to create the bowl form. The stretching of this dishing separates the lines between the individual strips, which are still held tightly by the welds.
Full descriptions of my past work on bowl forms :
Can be found on the Wareham Forge
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