Raising daze

So it has literally been a month since my last post. Oops. I have had tons of stuff going on, and lots of things I meant to post, put off posting, and then added up to too much to post! Anyway, I am going to try and get this thing back on track! 

 

How it looks now

Up first? My raising. I know I mentioned this thing a bit before. Raising is a metalworking process which takes a flat (usually circular) sheet of metal and through the use of epic amounts of hammering turns it into a 3D bowl or vessel. In my class we first worked on a small 6" diameter 20 gauge sample (which I have yet to finish) and then moved on to a 12" diameter 18 gauge monstrosity! My goal is to make a tear-drop shape with a 2" opening. Easier say than done! The amount of hammering I have done recently is staggering, and my left thumb hurts when I move it or lean on my hand. Luckily I have built up some strength and my back and arms no longer ache the day after raising. Anyway, my piece is nearly done, it is roughly the shape I want, although the opening needs to go in a bit more, it is a little under 3" now. Bringing it in is the hardest part by far. My edge got so thick I couldn't move it and it cracked badly so I had to spend a few hours sawing it off. Twice. Right now raising is on hold because I need to have three rings carved from wax and invested by Thursday! More on that in a sec, first here are some photos of my raising process:

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In other news, we are also doing a casting project in this class. The assignment is to make three rings out of wax which are based off of our found object (mine is that key thingy). The three waxes will then be invested and then melted away and molten metal will be poured into the spaced they left in the investment. For a more detailed account of the process click this link (although what is shown is on a bigger scale). We will use a small centrifugal caster to make our rings. I am, however, totally stumped at this point as to what to make, which is NOT COOL because I need to be invested by Thursday for burn-out and we are casting this Friday. I am freaking out a wee bit. I have made two things to use if I don't come up with anything else. I will post some photos when I get a chance and if I make anything cool.