Steel tales: Crafting the Unseen No.8- The sixth story behind "Wrought"

Previously, I referred to my form as an 'oval dome,' but I now realize this term is inaccurate. A dome typically refers to a structure with a circular base and a single curved surface, as seen in architectural domes. My form, however, resembles a squashed sphere, making 'ellipsoid' a more appropriate term. An ellipsoid is a three-dimensional shape characterized by three mutually perpendicular axes of different lengths, resulting in a stretched or compressed sphere-like form.

Images from Living Textbook https://ltb.itc.utwente.nl/page/481/concept/78640

When I bought the oval dome dappling block and punch set from Koodak Jewellers Supplies, where I work as a part-time sales assistant, I was really excited. Although I couldn’t achieve a football-like shape since the domes weren’t deep enough for that volume, they still worked well for creating interesting ellipsoid pendants and earrings. I formed the ellipsoids by soldering two oval dome shapes together. I also made oval dome earrings with silver outlines.

Oval dome then Ellipsoid pendants and earrings- Powdercoated Mildeteel and silver

For the 'Wrought' series, I did silver inlays into the perforations, and the outcome was quite satisfying. However, once the pieces were powder coated, the energy and delicacy seemed to disappear, and I realized they weren’t being presented the way I intended. It might be due to the thickness of the powder coating, which I can’t control manually, or perhaps the inlays are too small, as the perforations are very fine and dense. Additionally, the technique I used for filing off the powder-coated areas to reveal the silver shine wasn’t precise enough, resulting in inconsistency. I think I need to reconsider my approach and come up with a better plan.