Gayle Brooks

love it !

Im wondering the same thing. Gun shows? not sure as well.

aspen leaf bowl takes around 4-5 hours. Depending on the size, there's about a couple feet of material in it.

Thanks! Glad the pics read well. I do put some time in them using a light box and color correcting them. The aspen leaf bowls are popular and the first to sell. Takes about 40 leaves to make a decent size bowl.

Found some awesome chain. and made this bottle holder.

lol yeah a claw would be cool! Better pics of the copper patina bowl. The client didn't like it and wanted it black Same bowl but black. Its more like a plate or a dish than a bowl. None the less got some money for it. Same copper patina from the acid bath. Added some metal paint inside. Got some really cool colors out of this one. Just a clear lacquer on the outside. Though its not a bowl, But I did forge some aspen leaves for the show at a little gallery Im part of.

thats awesome! haha @ at those nutz!!

thats awesome! wow!

Latest 2. I played around with a tentacle idea. Though I know I need to study it more but I think the concept is fun to have something that looks like it is inside the bowl. This one I put in the acid bucket for a couple of days. Found out we have a TON of copper in there...so I got this gift of a copper patina after I cleaned it up. Thanks!

Thanks for the replies and ideas! After researching more about the alternatives, seems like there is no substitute for the real thing. I am going to try the Permalac Lacquer. To give myself an out for that call years down the road Im going to design the sign so you can unbolt it and actually remove the piece of copper to clean and repaint. Ill post some pics when its done. Thanks again! I think this topic will help down the road in that I learned about some new alternatives.

Getting ready to do a sign and the budget is pretty tight. This sign will have two plates with numbers water jet out of them. In between the two pieces will be a piece of copper. They would like to keep the copper in its "bright and shiny" state. Are there any applications that you know of, used and/or recommend that would help achieve this? Im gettin lost in the products when I search for it. Thanks!

I think so too! Some people remark that it looks like leather. A more simple, small bowl. Guy is only 4"

Thats exactly what it is! and another cigar bowl now with %75 more cigar

oh yeah, I know who you are talking about, Beth. Here is the latest one. I went over the multiple thing I could have done and just got tired of it getting moved around on the table. Little copper piece that is riveted with a plate. Rivets also act as feet. Thanks!

thats really cool!

Thats an idea! I havent decided yet but am keeping that in mind. did another aspen leaf bowl Thanks for reading!

THanks again Latest one Im working on. before I squished it after I squished it. I let the welds tear and put a little piece of copper behind it and suck it in the cracks.

Some really good stuff here! I like these kind of discussions. Helps break the ice and create rather than silent observing and mumbling. Feel free to print any of my pics, its why I post them. Never the less, hopefully I can contribute back to the community that has always been inspiring to me. So far I have only caught one guy taking my pics and calling them his own, that was an awkward conversation. Unfortunately my process isn't anything spiritual, mathematical or voodoo. These are little breaks between the custom architectural projects going on in the studio of Dragon Forge LTD. Usually it starts with a thought of a "what if..." What if I took 5" pipe and squished it the hard way? Could I control it enough to get it to move how I want it to move? Will it let me? Then I go try. More often than enough the steel develops a flaw and/or goes in a direction I didn't either anticipate or change direction due to my part in one form of a rough technique, not have enough heat, or even to hot, etc. Most of all I follow through and finish, which is really important. I used to have half finished little projects laying around and think that is more frustrating than nothing at all. So whatever it is, just finish it. If the project teaches you a lesson, it was worth it. Even if the final result isn't what you thought it was, just finish. My personal struggle is working my 8-10hr day then staying late to work another 4 on my own stuff. My two favorite things, eating and sleeping, typically get in the way of what I am trying to do. The other half of this is being part of the little gallery. I have the opportunity to talk to people and get immediate feedback. This feedback in an uneducated perception of the craft and a very clean "consumer" view. I can only tell them what a challenge something was to make, yet until they actually see it they don't understand. Most are willing and have no problem telling me if they don't like it, and more importantly the why. The aspen leaves are always popular. I just combined two concepts and am lucky that it responded well with the feedback. To also respond to the tight wallets lately, I try to make things as fast as I can and keep it affordable so it is appealing. Then there is the side of being requested to make something. Like the cigar bowls. I modeled mine after 1960's glass ones. Seeing that glass work and trying to make metal behave the same. The first one I made looked like a cabbage gone bad. But it had its lesson. The techniques you guys wrote about are awesome. Some good insight and feedback. And the latest bowl: "Lucy" Latest bowl made from cutoff ends of sqaure/round bar. Forged flat to 7 1/4″ x 6″ x 1 1/2″ +/- tall weighs in at 2 lbs. This was also etched in acid to help give some relief to the scale on it from forging. Clear Lacquer finish.