Showing posts with label art nouveau. Show all posts

Now that I've moved away from my main supply of handy tools, working on the laptop is getting slower and slower. I did manage to work on it a little though! I drew up a art nouveau-esc border for the keyboard part of the laptop (Sorta like the image to the left) and cut out the stencil shapes. I traced them onto a couple sheet of brass I got at Ben Franklin forever ago. I wish I had pix, but the ones I took with my phone got corrupted and won't transfer to my comp: bummer. Let's use our imagination.
So, I traced out my swirly pretty design and got my faithful tin snips and started to snip away. Easy thought then done. Whilst cutting around my fluid shapes, razor sharp copper was curling around and stabbing my hand. I was sure I was going to slice open at least my finger, but I made it out without a scratch. Because of the bulk of the tin snips and the rigidity of the copper, I wasn't able to get a smooth line on some parts. I tried to file them smooth, but it seems I'll need to find another tool to clean up the edges.

That's all I got for now. I don't know why I keep hesitating on cutting out the wood for the keyboard. I guess I'm afraid of having to buy more expensive craft wood if I mess up. I did stumbleupon a neat touchpad idea! I don't think I'll do it, but had I known about it before I glued my keyboard, I probably would have given it a shot!

• Hours: 2 movies - 31 total
• Out: Still 106.82!
  

Shopping list in hand, I bravely set forth on my quest. I found pretty much everything that I wanted to start off with.

My design will have 3 major influences to it. Firstly would be Steampunk of course. After some intense studying of Steampunk culture, fashion and function I think I’m getting it. I’d like to say that I have an eye for fashion, so that’s what I focused on. Heavily Victorian influence (unless it’s Dieselpunk, which is also really awesome) so there’s top hats, floral, bustles, corsets, cuffs and other things good. There’s one classic fashion piece for Steampunk though: Gears. Gears on hats, gears on goggles, gears on iPods, gears on everything that will sit still. I don’t think that’s what makes Steampunk so steamily delicious though. One cannot simple glue some clock parts on something and call is Steampunk, at least that is my opinion. I believe, I know, that Steampunk fashion has more to it than cogs and pressurized hot water vapor. I hope, even though I am a novice, to capture that.

Second is my love: Art Nouveau. I’ve been enchanted ever since high school. Being a ‘nature’ person, it made sense, as Art Nouveau was strongly influenced by the natural flow of things. The transition between Victorian and Nouveau is…well, rather natural! The two styles should not only be able to be mixed, but actually add to each other.

Third, last, and probably less prevalent is the classic cathedral style radio. My father restores old radios, and I love the way this one looks. If you look at it, it’s not that different from the natural lines of Art Nouveau.
Sorry for the lecture! I’m just very excited after shopping for parts

• Hours: 2 = 7 Total
• Cash: 40.11 (so far, not including the frame yet)