Shibuishi pendant

Shibuishi is a traditional Japanese alloy, 75% copped and 25% silver.

I alloyed a piece, rolled it to 1.5mm then cut this shape out.



Forming it with hammer and stake




And soldering the back tail into a pendant loop




Now it is ready for some carving. I often go down a hill headed toward the sea after work, sometimes when the timing is right I get an amazing view of the moon rise. The shimmering on the water. No picture from my small camera can capture it properly. I'm thinking this will be the theme for this piece.

Habaki

https://youtu.be/HpR5N7T-Abo

Habaki ring

Looking at Japanese craftsmen online, I was reminded of the habaki-shi. People who make habaki. This is another fitting for the Japanese sword but separate from the normal tosogu set. The habaki is a collar around the sword before the tsuba. Normally made from copper with gold or silver leaf applied. The habaki fits the top of the saya (sheath) called the koiguchi. This secures the sword in the sheath without the blade touching the wood. Were the blade to touch the wood at any part along the length, corrosion would occur. It also stops the sword from accidentally falling out.




These are good examples






The same aesthetic principles are at work, metals and textures are used to great effect. Rough files are used after polishing to create the lines.

There is a sense trepidation like that of sumi-e where the movement creating the lines happens once with no going back.

Birds in my hedge progress

The morning light seems to be best at capturing some sense of depth. Still quite a way to go

Damascus protea ring

Walking past yet another ad for the Browns protea ring




got me thinking what it could actually be. I have made many based on that model at work but this btech is about pushing further than the commercial work I normally do.

I've been mulling over what to do with the other damascus piece I have, now I'm thinking protea inspired inlay




More to come on this one

Moon and clouds continued

I chose the haiku by Basho because I love the idea of clouds not getting in the way of the moon but rather giving respite to those gazing at the moon.

I painted the haiku on using sumi ink and brush. I did a test on the other half of the wood in case the ink bled and made the writing illegible. It stayed as did the stamps so that was a good result.



The weathered piece of wood came from under a tarp at my mom's house. I was looking specifically for weathered wood to carry the theme of wabi-sabi and this was perfect.

I cut a seat for the steel using small wood carving chisels.




Then cut the wood on a bandsaw and finished the base on the belt grinder so it would stand at a slight angle

Clouds and moon, finishing off

The mild steel plate I carved and inlayed the silver Enzo moon into has got a housing now.

I quite deliberately was aiming to capture the wabi-sabi aesthetic which is the combination of transience, which shows itself in the beauty of aging, austerity, serenity and loneliness. A touch of yugen crept in, which is a sense of mystery or wonder at an instant in time.