I got a call yesterday from the blacksmith, Marcello, who is working on a few fall-protection window grates for us. Rather than utilitarian blech (which is pretty common here, but feels like jail to us), we've commissioned a real artist to do the more important and visible pieces.
He's made some progress, and wanted to show it off; he also wanted to give us a live demonstration (which was completely fun, especially since the end product will be for us!). Florence and I spent about an hour there, and left completely impressed with his artistry.
 |
| Making the curve in a longer leaf |
 |
| Part of the template for one of the grates |
 |
| Curlicues and little wigglies in the back (branches) |
 |
| A flower, next to the sketch for his template |
 |
| These flowers already have the longer leaves attached |
 |
| This is how a longer leaf begins |
 |
| Adding the undulations to a longer leaf |
 |
This leaf started out as a rod; he used
the hydraulic hammer to do the rough shaping |
 |
Hand-hammering creates texture
and refines the shape |
 |
| Voilà! Complete with lifelike curvature and movement |
Love,
Alexandra
p.s. Enrico and Alviero have been working on installing the new steps today:
No comments:
Post a Comment
We love to hear your comments! They encourage us to write more!!