The fabrication store I went to was Allcraft, a speciality store that sold metal and other materials and tools for jewelry making. The first material I chose was a 36 gauge copper sheet.
Copper is made by first mining ore, which is then put through a series of processes to refine and purify it. It is used in the building and manufacturing industry, as well as the jewelry industry for a multitude of purposes. The particular sheet I chose is quite thin and malleable, making it relatively easy to manipulate, by just crumpling up the copper for a raised effect or texturing it and creating different kinds of patterns. It’s quite a versatile material and methods such as etching, embossing, using a rolling mill, engraving/carving could be employed as well. For example, the storekeeper showed us how you could create a really interesting crisscross pattern using a rolling mill.
The second material I chose was different kinds of metal mesh, including gold, nickel silver, aluminum, copper, brass, because I really liked the texture and look of it.
It is manufactured and can be used in the fashion and industrial industry to create garments, accessories and different kinds of home appliances. The particular type of mesh I chose is quite thin and tightly packed, with a more net-like texture, which would make it easier to manipulate. It can be used to add texture, perhaps with the copper and create sculptural forms for playing around with light and shadow.
The third material I chose was carving wax, which is a is a smooth, non-brittle wax designed for carving and machinery. It is manufactured by blending together wax and plastic and thus, has the hardness and consistency of plastic or softer wood. There are 3 different kinds of carving wax: blue, purple and green and there are also different forms of carving wax, such as blocks, slices and sheets. Specifically, I chose blue and purple slices of carving wax.
Blue wax is the softest of the three, with the lowest melting temperature of 200 degrees F. This makes it very easy to join two pieces together as well as carve. It is the best wax to use for relief carving or if you want to get finer detail. However, it scratches extremely easy.
Purple wax is the most versatile out of the different colors, making it the best for general use. It has a melting point of around 220-225 degrees F and is slightly denser and harder than blue. As it is harder, it files well, and can be chipped away. However, this makes it not a very good choice for sculpting or carving relief, like faces and animals.
Green wax is the hardest and densest one out of the three and has the highest melting point at over 230 degrees F. Since it is so hard, it is more intended for work with power tools as it would be extremely difficult to carve and work with physically. For the purpose of this project, I believe blue and purple wax would be the best choice. We could potentially use it to create molds, carve it to create different shapes and even melt it to create more fluid and abstract looking forms.
