Mobile' #57

I finished this new mobile' a few days ago. This is number 57 in the series. This is all steel construction except for the colored plastic inserts in the rings. Those are pieces of auto plastic from tail lights found at accident sites. The stand is made from three really big nails (10 inches), part of a car transmission and a piece of rebar. It's all painted with a textured black paint. I built this in about six hours over two days. I really like the way this came out; almost exactly like the sketch I made ahead of time.
See this mobile' and the other 56 on my web site: tesserak.net.

A Couple More Boxes

What? More boxes? I thought this was an art blog.
Well, yes, it is an art blog . . . and more. Here at Tesserak Studios we make things. All kinds of things. One of a kind things. We craft. We don't manufacture. Yes, I agree, there should be more actual paintings and sculptures seen here. I hope to remedy that soon. The thing about a blog is: if I don't get a photo of the thing I make before it's gone out the door, and I don't have time to write something about it . . . well, then you don't have a blog entry. Also, this is not my only job and this is not my only blog. I only have so much time. In the meantime:
Here are two more boxes I've made recently. Most of the stuff I make is not made from new material. I use recycled, found or scrap materials when ever I can. I don't usually work from plans. I base things on what I have to work with. These boxes are made from small scraps of wood, too small for most purposes. Sometimes I build a box because I need a box. Other times I build a box to practice new woodworking techniques; different kinds of cuts and corners, etc.. These two boxes are practice pieces. Both boxes were made using a jig I made for my table saw for cutting compound angles. In this case, it was used to make boxes with 45 degree angles on the corners but with the sides tilted at an angle. Both boxes are roughly six inches square and about 4 inches high.
The first box has a stepped base, then short sloping sides, and is topped with a stepped lid with a loop handle on top. The sides of the box are made from poplar wood molding, the base and lid are oak and the loop is spruce. The top loop was a slice, with a hole drilled offset and cut at an angle, from a section of a railing. It is interesting that light shines through the tree rings on the thinner part at the top of the loop. The lid is a simple lift-off type. The box is stained and varnished. It's a shallow box, so not very useful. Kind of rustic looking with bit of Asian styling. If I made another like it, it would be a much better box.

The other box is shallow as well but with more interior space. This one came out rather well. The feet, box and knob are made from spruce. The lift-off lid is made from poplar. All the wood is stained so it's all the same color. It's finished with varnish. This combination of angled sides and lid work well together. The angles are repeated in the box feet, making a nice balance of the feet, body, lid and knob. Visually, it has nice lines and good balance. It is a beautifully simple design.