I just got my copy of Thomas Mann's new book, "Metal Artist's Workbench: Demystifying The Jeweler's Saw" in yesterday's mail, and I'm thrilled to say that I have a piece in it!!!
I was sooo honored that Tom asked me to create a piece to be included in his book. He told me to make something which involved a lot of piercing, so that's exactly what I did...
I was sooo honored that Tom asked me to create a piece to be included in his book. He told me to make something which involved a lot of piercing, so that's exactly what I did...
I wanted to make something really special for Tom's book, but I didn't want to make a piece of jewelry for it. So instead, I made this handbound book. I etched and cut the cover piece from brass sheet and gave it the title, "De Ligno Vitae," which means "Tree of Life." All of the intriquite piercing took me 20 hours to cut out with a jeweler's saw! After I was finished with that portion of the piece, I felt that the area on either side of the tree trunk needed something to finish it off. I spent hours searching for a quote which would tie the whole piece together. I finally came across a quote which I felt was perfect for the piece, "All are but parts of one stupendeous whole, Whose body nature is, and God soul" by Alexander Pope. I figured out how I would space the quote so it fit the spaces on either side of the trunk, and etched it onto copper sheet and layered it underneath the brass.
I then designed two closure clasps from brass, and handbound the book using heavy watercolor paper for the pages. The book is close to 2 inches thick. I kept track of how many hours I put into this piece, and from start to finish it took me 40 hours! I'm very proud of how it turned out.
This book is absolutely wonderful! It is full of tips, techniques, wonderful projects, and pictures which will inspire you to start creating!!!!