Lighting Covers

I have been asked to provide two dozen diffusing light covers for an auditorium.

I've finally got the mould sorted.

This has involved getting an existing cover to take a mould from.  The refactory fibre paper used to make the mould was soaked in hardener and formed around the master.  I left it to dry for a week while I went on holiday, but it was still damp when I came back. I had to remove all the weight packing the fibre to the master and let it air dry for days.  When it could support itself, I put it into the kiln to fully dry and cure.

It came out of the kiln firm, but it needed sanding to final shaping and to smooth the surface.

This is the mould sanded, hardened a second time and now washed with a separator to keep the glass from sticking to the mould.  The advantage to this kind of mould is that it is light weight and reasonably easy to shape and adapt to a number of simple shapes.  Its big disadvantage is that it is pretty fragile. Also it is not cheap. 

The tests have been made for the diameter of the discs and the temperature required for an appropriate slump.

These are the two test pieces together with the original piece.  Now I'm ready to produce two of these a day for the next week.

Art Deco Lamp Shade

A few weeks ago a person who is renovating their 1908 architect designed house brought a lampshade to me.  The architect's daughters kept his last redecoration in the 1920's with minimal change.  This included the electrical wiring as well as the plumbing.  It has been a big project for the current owner.  He has now gotten all the fundamentals done and is able to move toward the finishing touches.  

This hanging lamp had only one side piece and the bottom left intact.  This was enough to provide a pattern for cutting the glass and give a guide for the painting.  The frame for the lamp is made from aluminium painted to appear as a corroded bronze.  Although they loved their aluminium and the crisp designs, the people of the time still wanted the items to look aged.  

In some ways this is an elegant design as the supporting arms are bolted to the base ring - the elements that appear to be feet in these photos are the base of the bolts.  The glass is then laid into the supporting ring and between the arms.  You can just see the supporting lugs at the base of the glass in the second picture. This loose fitting may also be why there were only two pieces of glass left before rescue.

The glass texture was chosen to be similar to the original in conjunction with the client.  It was then painted with an obscuring white, followed by many layers of a Reusche amber enamel to obtain the slightly orange appearance of the original.  It was an interesting project to do, as all the base and supports are not exactly symmetrical.  Each piece of glass fits one place and the base also fits only one way around.  This took a bit of adjustment as the unequal-ness was a surprise to me.  I am satisfied with the result and the client is pleased too.

Chandelier

In the autumn I was asked to provide a chandelier for a large hallway. The principle was to have repeating features that would break up the light from the central hanging.

I made a drawing and a few samples of the pieces to be incorporated. This was approved.

Before Christmas I delivered the finished piece. It consists of two polished stainless steel rings suspended by chains from a central lighting point and several hundred pieces of cast glass of different sizes.

Recently I was able to see the piece installed. It is not immediately obvious upon entry to the house, as there is a landing immediately above the entry. But it is revealed as you move into the house and happen to look upwards.

And as you move up the stairway, the chandelier becomes more obvious both in size and appearance.

It stands out - although only of clear glass - whether against the daylight or as here within the stairwell.

The individually cast pieces of glass break up the light from the light source as can be seen from the above photo.

Each piece is cast with linking wires to attach all the pieces together. Each column of glass ends with a piece having only one link. The inner ring of glass pieces are of a smaller diameter (ca. 35mm dia.) than the outer ones (ca. 50mm dia.) to help fill the spaces that would otherwise be left if all pieces were of the same size.

It is not a surprise - with glass of 6mm thickness and diameters up to 50mm - that this is a heavy piece. Bolts fasten the central hanging point to the beams in the ceiling as is advisable for any large chandelier.

Lamp Repairs

Months and months ago - it must have been early autumn - a person brought in three lamps of sentimental attachment which had been damaged. The pair of wall lamps below were damaged in moving. They probably are of 1960's vintage. The one on the left had most of the front panel dissasembled, but without being broken and was presented in pieces to be put back together in the correct arrangement. The one on the right had only a few pieces at the bottom displaced.




The one that was most interesting was the one below. It had been disassembled at some time in the past as it was presented to me with six curved panels, sometimes with the blue and orange pieces attached sometimes not. So this was a process of seeing which "petals" fitted the curved panel best, and then seeing which panel fitted best beside which one.





Finally they are all back together and will be be picked up on Friday.