THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Research School of Humanities and the Arts

SCHOOL OF ART

VISUAL ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

ANDREW IAN WELCH

EXEGESIS PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2010 CONTEMPORARY PROCESSES AND HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS FOR HANDMADE CRAFTS PRACTICE IN THE CONTEXT OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE.

ABSTRACT

This research explores the notions and values attached to the idea of the handmade object. Taking the form of an exhibition of jewellery exhibited at the ANU School of Art Gallery from June 24 to 30, 2010, the study comprises the outcome of the Studio Practice component, together with an Exegesis outlining the results of exploration into the creative potential of combining digital technologies with hand-making, and the Dissertation, which comprises 33% of the Thesis, examining the influence of particular values associated with the handmade object and how this influence has led to a continuous reevaluation of what it means to make something by hand.

Declaration of Originality

I hereby declare that the thesis here presented is the outcome of the research project undertaken during my candidacy, that I am the sole author unless otherwise indicated, and that I have fully documented the source of ideas, references,^potations and paraphrases attributable to other authors.

Andrew Ian Welcnjune 2010 X ^ uiTf,^ X L LIBRARY v)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My studio research has proceeded only with the invaluable support of the staff and students in the Gold and Silver Workshop at the ANU School of Art. In particular I would like to thank Johannes Kuhnen, Cinnamon Lee, Roger Hutchinson and Gilbert Riedelbauch. Danyka van Buuren deserves a special mention for her assistance with the layout of my exegesis. CONTENTS

i 1

1.1 OBJECTIVE 1

1.2 CONTEXT 1

1.3 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS 2

1.3.1 PHASE ONE 4

1.3.2 PHASE TWO 6

2 CREATIVE POTENTIAL 7

2.1 DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY 7

2.1.1 MULTIPLES 9

2.2 COMPLEXITY 11

2.2.1 GEOMETRY 11

2.2.2 MODULARITY 12

2.3 ARTISTS 12

2.3.1 DAVID WATKINS 12

2.3.2 FRIEDRICH BECKER 15

2.3.3 SUSAN COHN 16

3 INITIAL EXPLORATION 18

3.1 FOLDED STAINLESS STEEL 19

3.2 EDM PANCAKE DIE 19

V 3.3 TITANIUM CUBE SHAPES 22

3.4 PONOKO 23

3.5 ALUMINIUM ARMBANDS 24

3.6 CNC ROUTER ARMBAND 25

3.7 MULTIPLE UNIT FINGER RINGS 25

3.8 INTERLOCKING FINGER RINGS 26

4 PROJECT FIELD TRIP 27

4.1 FIELD TRIP TO GERMANY 27

5 EXHIBITION WORKS 29

5.1 LASER CUT ARMBANDS 29

5.2 TUBE-RING SERIES 3D

5.3 ALUMINIUM PENDANTS 32

6 PRODUCTION METHODOLOGY 34

6.1 MODULAR COMPONENT DESIGN 34

6.2 ANODISING 36

6.3 BATCH PRODUCTION SYSTEM 37

6.4 ANODISING JIGS 38

6.5 TOOLS. JIGS AND TEMPLATES 41

7 CONCLUSION 42

7.1 TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE 42 7.2 HYBRID PRACTICE 42

7.3 FURTHER RESEARCH 44

8 APPENDICES 44

8.1 FIELD TRIP ITINERARY 46

8.2 ORIGINAL PROPOSAL 56

8.3 CURRICULUM VITAE 63

9 BIBLIOGRAPHY 67 LIST OF PLATES

Figure i R8 Armband, Adobe Illustrator drawing.

Figure 2 Leaf Pattern Repeat, bonzai3d drawing.

Figure^ David Watkins, Gyro Armband, Aluminium, 1975.1

Figure 4 Friedrich Becker, Bracelet (kinetic), stainless steel, synthetic blue spinel rod, 1982.2

Figure^ Susan Cohn, Bracelets, aluminium, 1984.3

Figure 6 Stainless steel folded forms.

Figure j EDM pancake die.

Figure 8 Titanium color samples.

Figure 9 Titanium cube ring.

Figure 10 Titanium and silver cube ring.

Figure 11 Ponoko Armband, laser cut plywood.

Figure 12 Ponoko Armband, laser cut plywood laser engraving detail.

Figure is Armband, handmade prototype, anodised aluminium.

Figure 14 Armband, CNC routed, aluminium &c polyethylene composite.

Figure 75 Infinity ring, rapid prototyped & lost-wax cast.

Figure 16 Interlocking ring, rapid prototyped &Tost-wax cast.

Figure i j Herbert and students at METAV.

1 Wendy Ramshaw, Wendy Ramshaw, David Watkins: Schmuck = Jewellery (Pforzheim: Schmuckmuseum, 1987). p 41. 2 Fritz Falk, Schmuck Der Moderne 1960-1998 = Modern Jewellery 1960-1998 (Stuttgart: Arnoldsche, 1999). p 72. 3 Susan Cohn, Cohn (Melbourne: S. Cohn, 1989). p 14. via Figure 18 Museum Brandhorst under construction.

Figure 19 Drop forge dies.

Figure 20 R7 Armband, laser cut aluminium, anodised.

Figure 21 Metal masters, rapid prototyped &c lost-wax cast.

Figure 22 RTV silicon moulds.

Figure 23 Tube ring, lost-wax cast, waxes from RTV moulds.

Figure 24 Drilling holes using the indexing head on the mill.

Figure 23 Aluminium pendant, aluminium anodised 8c silver rapid prototyped 8c lost-wax cast.

Figure 26 Axle/bearing/lug, stainless steel and aluminium.

Figure 2j Handmade prototype detail.

Figure 28 Color tests, aluminium anodised.

Figure 29 Master swatches, aluminium anodised.

Figure 30 Custom jig, titanium, laser welded.

Figure 31 Jig with holes, titanium, laser welded.

Figure 32 Universal jig, titanium, laser welded.

Figure 33 Octopus and Baby Octopus jigs, titanium, laser welded.

Figure 34 Drill jigs, steel. 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 OBJECTIVE

The studio practice component of my PhD research examines the creative potential of combining digital technologies with hand-making techniques typical of studio scale manufacture with a focus on production of multiples. This report outlines the results of my technical and design exploration including details of the studio work and working methods. Artists who have influenced my approach to serial production are examined in short case studies of three jewellers, David Watkins, Friedrich Becker and Susan Cohn.

1.2 CONTEXT

In this research I describe the technology used in the studio as traditional, transitional and new.

Traditional serial production processes (blanking, pressing, lathe and mill) are typically expensive, or in other words often beyond the means of the studio jeweller.

W hat I call transitional serial production processes, hydraulic die-forming and pancake dies (also called RT Blanking), are adaptations of old technologies, perhaps initiated by discoveries of new materials or access to new processes, that in the jeweller’s studio are typically clever approaches to tooling cost.

New technologies for the studio jeweller include such processes as rapid prototyping, rapid tooling and computer numeric control (CNC) technologies like profile cutting, wire cutting, laser and water-jet cutting. This research project focuses on new technologies.

Conventional wisdom for production in industry is to use new technologies to shortcut the traditional approach to production. However, a creative approach to new technology might be to

i utilise it to create forms previously impossible to make with hand making or to make the production of multiples of complex forms viable.

The technological age is presenting the crafts with its biggest challenge since the industrial revolution created the idea of the handmade object as an artefact in its own right. New processes, in particular digital technologies, present opportunities for the studio jeweller to explore the creative potential that these technologies offer. The challenge for the studio jeweller is to consider how the traditional notions and assumptions about handmaking might inform making with digital technologies.

The dissertation accompanying this exegesis examines the context in more depth, focussing on the ways that meanings and values attributed to the handmade object by the Arts and Crafts Movement have been adapted and reworked by craftspeople to suit the times.

1.3 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS The studio research was undertaken in two phases. The initial phase investigated a variety of processes and materials that might have potential for creative outcomes. The research question for this phase was: rather than using technology to shortcut the traditional approach to making objects, can we utilize the potential for new methods of producing objects as a tool for creative exploration? O r put simply, what new technologies are available for the studio craftsperson to use in a creative way?

This question is based on two assumptions. Firstly that there is such a thing as new technologies and that they are available to the studio craftsperson. Secondly because it is the nature of technological advances that they are usually used to replicate old tasks faster and more accurately, this should be challenged by the studio craftsperson. The second phase of the research project was to identify the most viable technologies in terms of potential for use in combination with hand-making in the studio and apply them to the batch production of objects in a way that takes advantage of this creative potential. This phase might be best summed up by the research question, what can the technology do for me? Figure 1 - R8 Armband, Adobe Illustrator drawing. In both phases of the research it was recognised that digital technologies need digital instructions to drive them. I realised early on that if I were to engage with these technologies directly I would need skills in drawing using two dimensional (2D) computer software, and three dimensional (3D) computer software. I was already familiar with 2D drawing software using Adobe Illustrator software and I was able to sit in on Gilbert Riedelbauch’s undergraduate classes in the 3D software form'Z. Figure 2 - Leaf Pattern Repeat, bonzai1J drawing. After gaining some proficiency with form'Z, I discovered that the creators of form'Z were releasing a software called bonza^d which became my choice of software for 3D.

The computer software has enabled me to do a number of things. Adobe Illustrator produces 2D computer drawings that can be exported in file formats suitable for processes that cut shapes from sheet material. Figure 1 is the Adobe Illustrator drawing sent to the laser-cutter to have parts cut.

The software form'Z and bonza^d draws in 3D, producing drawings that can be exported in formats suitable for processes that build or sculpt objects in 3D. Figure 2 shows an example of a bonza^d drawing as it appears rendered on the computer screen.

Both kinds of drawing are powerful tools for developing and communicating ideas in conjunction with sketching and sculpting ideas by hand.

3 1.3.1 PHASE ONE

W hat new technologies are available for the studio craftsperson to use in a creative way?

Some of these processes required that I find a supplier in industry able and willing to take on small jobs. I was also fortunate to have access to laser-welding, wax printer and high temperature lost-wax casting equipment in the ANU Gold and Silver Workshop. In the initial phase the following processes were investigated:

Online laser-cutting service using Ponoko, a New Zealand-based company providing an all-in-one solution to having a design cut from a variety of materials.

Online 3D rapid prototyping using Shapeways, a service based in the Netherlands (3D printing).

Laser-cutting of aluminium using the services of Lasermade Pty Ltd, Sydney, NSW.

CNC (computer numeric control) routing using the services of Plastic Creations, Fyshwick, ACT and Mlakar Signs, Mitchell, ACT.

3D printing using the Solidscape t66 wax printer in the ANU Gold and Silver Workshop.

Water-jet cutting using the services of Serafin 8c Co Glass and Auqua Jet Extreme cutting is based in Queanbeyan, NSW.

Laser-welding for joining titanium and stainless steel using a laser-welder in the ANU Gold and Silver Workshop.

High temperature lost-wax casting for stainless steel in the ANU Gold and Silver Workshop.

4 Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) using the services of toolmaker Jeff Wells Sydney, NSW.

The outcome of these initial explorations is recorded later in the section, Initial exploration, and set the focus for the next phase of the research.

5 1.3.2 PHASE TWO W hat can the technology do for me?

It soon became clear that the best creative value could be achieved by focussing on laser-cutting using the services of an industry partner and examining the potential of the wax printer in the studio.

6 2 CREATIVE POTENTIAL

2.1 DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

The problem for the small studio maker was that until recently industry was tied to the production run, making it difficult to access industry based technology for the production of one-off works or small batch production runs.

However advances in digital technology have enabled ways for industry to cater for the one-off and small production run. One way this has happened is through electronic communication and the establishment of common file formats that make it possible for the small producer and industry to discover each other and communicate using a common computer language regardless of physical location.

The cost of technology has also reduced and some processes have been scaled down to the size and cost appropriate for the small producer. Laser-welding and rapid prototyping, for example are becoming more common in the goldsmith’s studio.

Creative opportunities that digital technology might offer serial production were identified and included;

Faster production.

Changeability, or in other words being able to adapt or customise parts in order to create a series of objects that are similar yet each different.

The potential to make works in the studio that would simply not be able to be made entirely by hand.

The challenge for the small studio maker is to work out at which point in the making process it would be useful to utilise industrial processes to augment the studio production process. All making — textiles, ceramics, metal — has at least three main making steps that provide moments for design decisions to be made. Add to this the possibilities for different treatments for the finished object and a sequence of stages can be examined for points where technology can introduce creative potential. These steps are summarised as;

Separation — cutting, punching, etching.

Deformation — pressing, folding, hammering.

Putting back together — welding, soldering, gluing, riveting, screwing.

Surface treatments — etching, painting, anodising.

The second phase of this research project had identified two processes to focus on in the studio. These two were, laser-cutting using the services of industry to cut shapes from aluminium, and rapid-prototyping using the wax printer. The first of these, laser-cutting was used to cut out multiple parts which could be assembled.

One way of looking at this approach was that I was simply substituting one method of cutting-out, the piercing saw, with another, the laser beam. However, the potential to manufacture multiples of the same unit much faster than by hand sawing, and to cut out complex shapes with the accuracy required (for parts to be interchangeable) offers a creative potential.

Consideration of surface treatments that could be used to introduce variety suggested the potential for aluminium as a suitable material because of its ability to be coloured.

The challenge of joining the parts without welding was an opportunity to explore the aesthetic of stacking by arranging common elements and exploring design treatment of the connecting points. The creative potential of working this way was identified as, Layering and the development of shapes that can be used as multiple units and the possibility of forms developed from interchangeable parts.

Surface embellishment to customise parts, not limited to texturing or polishing, drilling, milling, stamping, etching, and colour.

Works created to explore this potential include the laser-cut armband series and the pendant series. The armband series used the laser-cutting process to manufacture units that can be altered to provide a variety of solutions based on the one archetype. In this case, the focus became the use of colour to create multiple originals from common components.

The other process identified for exploration in the studio, rapid prototyping using a wax printer to produce models for the lost-wax casting process offered similar creative potential, that is,

Computer drawn objects lend themselves to repetition with the potential to explore pattern and forms created from multiple units such as tessellations and pattern repeats found in textile design.

Complex forms can be printed in wax that would be difficult or impossible to make by hand.

Having access to a wax printer in the studio might mean faster turn around between virtual concept and actual object.

2.1.1 MULTIPLES

Creating objects in multiples can be an opportunity to explore variations on a theme. In this case the multiples are also a vehicle to explore process of using new technologies informed by my hand-making experience, and to examine the ways in which hand-making might be extended by new technologies. Ultimately the result of this project could be a system of using the technology for other makers. 2.2 COMPLEXITY

3D drawing software is a powerful way to generate ideas and unexpected outcomes often emerge during the drawing. It can be a method to push ideas further without the cost of materials or waste. Working in 3D can enable parts that move or interlock to be tested. 2D and 3D software has the potential for exploration of complexity, using the softwares capability to create geometrically accurate forms and to distort these forms. These virtual objects can be scaled, rotated, resized, skewed, arrayed and repeated.

This way of working with objects is not unfamiliar to the goldsmith. For example 3D computer operations called Booleans, which are complex computer algorithms that build up or remove (virtual) material from the object drawn in 3D, are analogous with fabrication, cutting, drilling and filing techniques used in the jewellery studio.

2.2.1 GEOMETRY Vector line drawing software (Adobe Illustrator for example) allows the designer to generate shapes based on geometric forms with accuracy beyond traditional drawing methods and to accurately repeat, array and scale, skew and distort the drawing.

The creative outcomes from working with these operations include the ability to draw units that can interlock and there is the potential that unexpected forms might be generated.

Vector line art drawn in Adobe Illustrator can be exported from the software in different formats, for example dxf (Drawing Interchange Format, or Drawing Exchange Format) in order to interface with software commonly used in industry such as AutoCAD, used to drive such processes as CNC routers and EDM wire-cutting.

a Using the computer file to cut out shapes drawn with vector line drawing software means that parts can be reproduced accurately and common elements between parts i.e. holes that need to be accurately aligned. For example, the individual plates for each of the handmade armband prototypes were made in pairs with each part individually numbered in order that the holes lined up as each set of parts generally only fitted together in one way. In contrast the same parts laser-cut are effectively identical, meaning that all the parts are interchangeable.

2.2.2 MODULARITY

Working with multiples of the same form and systems of modular design introduces its own complexity based on the number of parts and the variations of these parts. This has implications for processing these parts in batches that is examined later in this paper.

2.3 ARTISTS Three artists who have addressed the issues of technology and serial production are examined below. These artists have influenced me because of their approach to making. They are studio-based artists who have an interest in technology and while they forge connections with industry their practice remains firmly grounded in studio production. At the same time jewellery and objects for the body remain the focus of their practice.

2.3.1 DAVID WATKINS Watkins might be best known for his sculptural approach to body adornment. He did after all begin his jewellery- making career by adapting scaled down forms and motifs of his sculpture from the 1960s.1 From the beginning Watkins

1 Anna Beatriz Chadour-Sampson, David Watkins: Artist in Jewellery (Stuttgart: Woodbridge :: Arnoldsche ; Antique Collectors’ Club, 2000). p 26.

12 established an approach to design typified by reduced ornament Mki and simplification of technical elements, for example deliberate omission of fastening in his constructions, or concealed mechanisms that give the impression that this is so, and interest in contemporary materials such as the frosted acrylic elements that are typical of his early work.2 3 The traditional methods

and materials of the goldsmith underpinned this modernist Figure 3 - David Watkins, Gyro approach. Linear elements with cylindrical links and systems Armband, Aluminium, 1975. of lathe shapes along with an ambitious approach to scale in Wendy Ramshaw, Wendy Ramshaw, David Watkins : Schmuck = Jewellery relation to the body typify Watkins work at this time. (Pforzheim: Schmuckmuseum, 1987). p 41. In his early search for a new aesthetic language and purist expressions in jewellery, Watkins devised new forms, explored synthetic materials and developed imaginative techniques. He broke with the convention that jewellery should be simply wearable ornament, as in his opinion it should complement the wearer’s body.2

The Gyro Armband made in 1975 was Watkins first multiple. The aluminium armband that Chadour-Sampson describes as ‘playful and elegant sculpture for the wrist’ was based on earlier versions in acrylic, gold and aluminium.4 Up to this point Watkins’ work had been about creating unique pieces, however it is not surprising that he might develop multiples. His unique pieces themselves are examples of constructing elementary forms from serial repetition applied in mathematical order.

It is also not surprising that in his search for a personal aesthetic language, and with his interest in engineering techniques, Watkins might be attracted to the possibilities of computer aided design for jewellery. Chadour-Sampson points out that it is clear Watkins found learning new skills challenging and enjoyable and that technical process took priority in his

2 Ibid, p 28. 3 Ibid, p 29. 4 Ibid, p 44.

*3 research at this time.5 What is not self evident says Chadour- Sampson, is the amount of time and effort Watkins invests in

the search for the perfect resolution of his concept.6

In the late 1980s, Watkins, in a natural transition from his earlier use of lathe and milling machine, returned to the potential of computers to explore computer controlled production using CNC milling and laser-cutting. Chadour- Sampson says the technology and precision inspired new ideas and new forms while at the same time Watkins remained committed to his formal concept of simplicity and geometry.7

Watkins could see that the value of computers was not just in its ability to drive the CNC mill or laser cutter. For Watkins computer power could be harnessed at the design stage to generate different versions of a concept. Overall what was important for Watkins was to understand how these modern technologies might interact with traditional craft processes, and in particular, to identify the point at which the hand of the

maker might intervene.8

The most recent of Watkins’ work, for example the Torus 300 series of 2003 — 2005, sees the introduction of figurative and narrative elements to the complexity of his 2D forms made 3D. Like his earlier work the power of the computer is harnessed to explore the complexity of repeated and arrayed elements but there is a renewed interest in the potential of two dimensions to produce flat surfaces of pattern and ornamentation that might later become complex interactions as layered surfaces. The works use chemical milling (photo etching) CNC profile cutting and

water-jet cutting.9 Watkins’ work is about design not process, the process lets him work in this way.

5 Ibid, p 40. 6 Ibid, p 42. 7 Ibid, p 106. 8 Ibid, p 108. 9 Ibid, p 144. 2.3.2 FRIEDRICH BECKER

I look for aesthetics in pure form and construction. Aesthetics, function and economy of form are the most important criteria in my work.10

German goldsmith Friedrich Becker introduced a new and modern aesthetic to the design of wearable objects with an approach to design that valued innovation and technical excellence. Characteristic of Becker’s objects is a highly refined interplay of geometric forms. Becker developed innovative Figure 4 - Friedrich Becker, Bracelet (kinetic), stainless steel, synthetic blue settings for gemstones that made the settings effectively spinel rod, 1982.

invisible or that integrated gemstone and metal into one unified Fritz Falk, Schmuck Der Moderne design. Becker introduced new combinations of materials to 1960-1998 = Modernjewellery 1960- 1998 (Stuttgart: Arnoldsche, 1999).p 72. the jewellery world. Thanks to his treatment of stainless steel and synthetic stones these materials would become the precious metals and gems of the twentieth century.

Among the first ideas of Becker’s to challenge conventional notions about jewellery was the concept of variable jewellery, with elements that can be rearranged by the wearer. Becker’s two-way ring was the precursor of this variable jewellery, a ring with two crossing shanks that enabled the ring to be worn with

the stone along or across the finger. *11 Equally revolutionary were Becker’s spring-clip rings that incorporated the ring shank and setting into one form that could hold specially cut stones, spheres and other shapes specified by Becker, allowing the wearer to swap the gemstones and change the colour of the piece.

The next step conceptually was to do away with direct intervention on the part of the wearer and link the variability to the movement of the human body. This is of course the work that Becker as goldsmith and artist is best known for, his kinetic

10 Beate Christiane Arnold, “Kinetic Jewellery,” in Friedrich Becker: Schmuck, Kinetik, Objekte, ed. Hildegard Becker (Stuttgart: Arnoldsche, 1997). p 60. 11 Ibid, p 60. jewellery. Becker’s aesthetic required that the body of the wearer

drive the movement of his kinetic pieces. 12

To do this Becker drew on his engineering background and devised horizontal and vertical bearings, counterbalances and rack and pinion systems to control the actions of the moving elements. Becker’s response to the worldwide phenomenon of kinetic art has had an influence on the jewellery canon that has lasted well past the kinetic art movements use-by-date in the art world.

2.3.3 SUSAN COHN

W hile ideas are central to Susan Cohn’s work, serial production is the mode of operation that facilitates her technical and conceptual exploration. As Cohn says, ‘My ideas have always explored the borderline between object and mass

production’ 12

Like her compatriot, metalsmith Robert Foster, Cohn uses redundant technology of the factory, which in the case of her doughnut armbands is the fly-press, however her production is not factory production. Cohn’s best-known work is perhaps the doughnut armbands and Cohn has produced these in series over

the last twenty-five plus years. 14 They have become somewhat of a rite of passage with Cohn saying she takes care to produce a

new version every year. 15

Two halves of the doughnuts are pressed in the studio using a lathe-turned press tool in a hand-operated fly-press, and almost all are made in one of Cohn’s favourite materials, aluminium.

1 2 ------, “On the Path to Kinetics,” in Friedrich Becker: Schmuck, Kinetik, Objekte, ed. Hildegard Becker (Stuttgart: Arnoldsche, 1997). p 89. 13 Australian Silver: Contemporary Australian Silversmithing Exhibition Organised by R m it University and the Victoria & Albert Museum, (Melbourne :: Dept, of Fine Art RMIT, 2000). p 7. 14 Jackie Cooper, “Jewellery: A Typology Examined,” in Techno Craft: The Work o f Susan Cohn 1980 to 2000, ed. Jackie 8c James Cooper, Bruce (Canberra: National Gallery of Australia, 1999). 15 Mark. McAuliffe, Freestyle [Videorecording]: New Australian Design fo r Living. (Video Education Australasia, 2006).

16 While each doughnut pressing is the same, the potential for serial production is realized by using different ways to join the halves and by applying different surface treatments.

As Cooper explains, the doughnut armband invokes Moholy-

Nagy’s idea of multiple originals, or, ‘the artefact created by the Figure 5 - Susan Cohn, Bracelets, techniques of mass production yet hand-finished or otherwise aluminium, 1984.

made unique’. 16 Cohn is careful to make a distinction between Susan Cohn, Cohn (Melbourne: S. Cohn, 1989).p 14. mass production and serial production in her own studio work. As Cohn puts it, ‘the first is machine manufacture, the other

handwork by a craftsperson’. 17

16 Cooper, “Jewellery: A Typology Examined.” 17 Susan Cohn, “The Crafts: On Their Own Terms,” in The Nature of the Beast: Writings on Craft, ed. Peter Timms (Fitzroy, Vic: Craft Victoria, 1993). p 24.

77 3 INITIAL EXPLORATION

The first phase of the research focussed on experimenting with forms and materials that might have potential for limited production with a view to using technologies such as laser- cutting and laser-welding. At the same time I was encouraged to look widely for different processes, both traditional and new technologies, and to consider a variety of materials.

Many of the initial ideas were discarded, however the exploration was important in focussing in on a methodology that could achieve a result that I would find both aesthetically pleasing and technically viable. My interest in working with metal and the potential for batch production using some kind of digitally driven technology informed the direction of the research early in the beginning of the project. The direction of the research was also assisted by the acquisition of both a wax printer and a laser welder by the ANU Gold and Silver Workshop.

In this phase of the research I examined,

Forms that could be folded from thin stainless steel sheet with the possibility that these shapes might be laser cut or micro-etched for batch production and constructed using a tab and slot method in conjunction with laser- welding.

EDM wire cutting to make pancake dies as a way of making accurate tooling to assist hand making.

Cube shapes constructed from thick titanium sheet for laser-welding.

Laser-cutting using an on-line service, in this case Ponoko, to create parts that could be assembled using the tab and slot method.

18 Aluminium armband based on layers cut from sheet with the potential for production using CNC machining.

Cutting the same armband design in an aluminium/ plastic composite for production using CNC routing.

Rings that are made of multiples of units to create the Figure 6 - Stainless steelfoldedforms. form, for manufacture using the wax printer.

Rings that interlock for manufacture using the wax printer.

3.1 FOLDED STAINLESS STEEL

The exploration of the possibilities for box forms were done with the aim of cutting the plan shapes using laser-cutting or using an etching process known as micro-etching. Micro- etching can precisely etch lines and spaces on all types of metal including stainless steel.

The potential to create shapes and etch lines to assist the folding process is ideal for a tab and slot construction method. As there are no mechanical forces applied to the metal, the final etched product is burr and stress free.

Part of the challenge of designing with thin stainless steel is to circumvent using soldering in the construction to avoid distorting and discolouring the metal. The laser welder is a useful tool to solve this particular problem.

Several solutions for brooch findings integral to the cut out sheet were examined. See figure 6.

3 .2 EDM PANCAKE DIE

I have been using the blanking die process, also known as ‘Pancake Dies’ since 2002 when Lee Marshall of Bonneydoon Engineering visited Australia to demonstrate his jewellers scale Hydraulic press. As outlined in Susan Kingsley’s book Hydraulic Hie Forming for Jewellers & Metalsmiths, the design

J9 of the pancake die with its integral hinge ensures alignment of the punch with the die and allows 2D shapes to be blanked out using a hydraulic press or a fly press.18

Conventionally a pancake die is made by hand. This is done by sawing the shape to be blanked into a piece of high carbon steel, in its annealed state, using an angled bench pin, either freehand or with a specially adapted saw frame. However, while this way of making pancake dies is perfectly suited to the scale of the studio jewellers’ workshop, I became interested in investigating the potential for taking the production of pancake dies further.

W ith this in mind I designed a die to be made using the Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) process, sometimes referred to as spark machining or spark eroding, and in this case using wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM), or wire- cut EDM, where a thin single-strand metal wire is fed through the work. The die was designed to cut out an oval shape — see figure 7.

To the best of my knowledge the EDM wire-cutting process has not been used by other jewellers in Australia to produce pancake dies, however this process is used by Phoebe Porter to cut out titanium shapes that are later folded to create earrings as part of her production range of jewellery, and by Johannes Kuhnen to produce his titanium spectacle frames.19 20

W ire-cut EDM has several advantages for pancake die production. Firstly the wire cutting is guided by CAD/CAM software allowing for accuracy and detail not possible by hand. Secondly the wire-cut EDM process has no cutting forces, it’s

18 Susan Kingsley, Hydraulic Die FormingforJewellers andMetalsmiths, 1st ed. ed. (Carmel, Calif: 20-Ton Press, 1993). 19 Merryn. Gates, “Studio Hacienda,” in Smart Works : Design and the Handmade, ed. Grace Cochrane (Sydney: Powerhouse Publishing, 2007). 20 Johannes Kuhnen, Johannes Kuhnen : A Survey of Innovation (Canberra: The Australian National University, 2009). p 114.

2 0 the spark that’s doing the ‘work’, so to speak, and therefore the material to be cut can be heat treated prior to cutting. This means that there is little possibility for the material to distort in the way that happens when the die is heat-treated post cutting.

The downside for the studio jeweller is that it is a relatively expensive process and it is difficult to find a toolmaker willing to take on a small-scale project typical of the studio maker. The maker will also need computer skills or assistance to convert their idea into a suitable file for wire cutting. 3.3 TITANIUM CUBE SHAPES The laser welder was delivered to the ANU Gold and Silver Workshop in late August 2008 and with the introduction of the laser welder to the studio the potential for fabricating objects from titanium — and other metals not usually able to be soldered in the jeweller’s workshop — became a possibility.

Experimenting with different metals using the laser welder proved interesting. Trade jewellers looking for a tool that will let them re-tip ring settings without removing the stone, fabricate complicated mounts in gold and repair porosity in castings will not be disappointed with what the laser welder can do.

The laser works well with stainless steel, titanium, gold and monel. My test pieces in titanium anodized with little difference in the colour of the material at the weld and I experimented with creating cube forms that took advantage of the mitre join as a method of construction.

However, laser-welding is not so straightforward for studio jewellers looking for solutions for the problems associated with traditional sterling silver, for example fire-scale and annealing (softening) caused by soldering (brazing). Sterling silver reflects the laser and its characteristic as a good heat conductor also hinders laser-welding the material.

Aluminium has proved a difficult material to laser weld successfully. In my experimentation it was difficult to create a strong weld without using a filler rod of a different material, making it impractical for objects that would be anodised and where the weld would be visible. The addition of other materials, gold, titanium or stainless as a filler, however, will create a sufficiently strong weld for jewellery applications.

Dissimilar metals can be successfully welded, for example stainless steel and titanium or stainless steel and sterling silver. W hile it is difficult to successfully laser weld sterling silver without the addition of easy solder filler rod the laser has potential for tacking parts together prior to soldering that might otherwise require binding wire or multiple soldering to get complicated parts together.

In this section I have referred to silver as ‘traditional sterling silver’. This is because new alloys of silver using the addition of Figure 8 - Titanium colour samples. germanium, such as Argentium Sterling Silver, look promising for laser-welding.21

While the experiments with laser-welding the titanium cubes yielded promising results, for the purposes of the project titanium proved a difficult material to work with using traditional studio tools and equipment. Much time was spent using the slitting saw in the mill to produce mitred squares Figure 9 - Titanium cube ring. to construct the cubes, however these machined squares still required extensive handwork and the size of the squares was limited by the slitting/milling constraints.

Figure 8 shows titanium test pieces anodised at diferent voltages in order to generate different colours. Figures 9 and 10 illustrate two prototype ideas using titanuim and laser-welding. Figure 10 - Titanium and silver cube 3.4 P0N0K0 ring. Ponoko is an online laser-cutting service that solves some of the problems for the small producer including perhaps the most difficult hurdle facing the small studio maker, that of finding and establishing a relationship with a supplier.

A one-stop-shop approach to laser-cutting and laser etching, Ponoko provides a limited selection of materials and extensive guidelines for creating a succesful laser cut design. Ponoko users can also upload designs and finished works for sale, or use the uploaded designs (free or otherwise) to have Ponoko manufacture parts that they can assemble.

21 For more on Argentium see http://www.argentiumsilver.com/ and http:// www.cynthiaeid.com/ Established initially in New Zealand and serving a global market, Ponoko has recently worked toward starting up hubs around the world in order to reduce the distance required to transport the product. The Ponoko business model has much in common with the online rapid prototyping service called Shapeways which in a similar manner provides a one-stop-shop approach to designing, making and selling.

Figure 11 - Ponoko Armband, laser cut I used Ponoko to experiment with the tab and slot method of plywood. construction to produce armbands and finger rings in plywood and felt. Figure n illustrates an armband laser cut from plywood and assembled using tab and slot construction. Figure 12 shows a detail of laser etching.

I designed the Ponoko finger ring to utilise the unused material when the armbands were laser cut, however it is worth noting that laser-cutting firms charge by the linear centimetre

Figure 12 - Ponoko Armband, laser cut and the plywood that the armband parts are cut from is plywood laser engraving detail. relatively cheap, meaning that there is no real cost saving in this approach.

3.5 ALUMINIUM ARMBANDS The prototype armbands were drawn in Adobe Illustrator and the designs printed out and stuck to the metal to be hand cut and filed to shape. So while the forms have a machine aesthetic they are almost entirely handmade, taking into account that the joining lugs are milled or lathed. They were designed with batch Figure 13 - Armband, handmade prototype, anodised aluminium. production in mind using either lasercutting, CNC machining, water-jet or EDM wire cutting. They also proved a useful tool to learn about aluminium anodising. The design focus was on joining, or stacking the plates cut from sheet, and evolved into the lasercut armbands. See figure 13.

2 4 3.6 CNC ROUTER ARMBAND

I was encouraged to try different materials and processes and the CNC router armband is one result. The piece is made from aluminium composite usually used for signage or cladding buildings, made from a sandwich of aluminium and re-cycled polyethylene.

W hile CNC router process and the aluminium composite are Figure 1 4 -Armband, CNC routed, aluminium Ö 1 polyethylene composite. relatively inexpensive, the process however, has some drawbacks. As the cutting is done with a high-speed router bit the shape to be cut cannot have sharp (inside) corners or slots finer than the ■ % radius of the router bit. The aluminium composite also tends to cut with a texture and the polyethylene exposed on the edge is difficult to sand to a satisfactory finish.

The composite comes with a painted surface and is available in many different colours but care must be taken during Figure 15 — Infinity ring, rapid manufacture not to damage the surface. The CNC routed prototyped lost-wax cast. armband is shown in figure 14.

3.7 MULTIPLE UNIT FINGER RINGS My first experiments with the wax printer were rings where the form is made up of repeated units. Figure 15 is a lost-wax cast ring made this way.

It is easy to print forms with the wax printer that challenge the lost-wax casting process. For example, thick elements joined by thin webs make it very difficult for the metal to flow to all parts of the casting. The experience gained from these experiments with regard to the thickness of units and how they are joined together was applied to the tessellations and pattern repeat designs used later in the aluminium pendant series.

-5 3.8 INTERLOCKING FINGER RINGS 3D software makes it possible to draw forms that interlock accurately, quickly and simply. Interlocking forms are created in bonza^d by drawing two forms and using the software to subtract one form from the other where they intersect. This simple technique can be used to create complex interlocking forms that would be time consuming to make by hand. Figure Figure 16 - Interlocking ring, rapid 16 illustrates a pair of rings that fit together in this way, shown prototyped & lost-wax cast. the printed wax stage, prior to lost-wax casting. 4 PROJECT FIELD TRIP

Early in my candidature the ANU Gold and Silver Workshop hosted a visit by Silversmith Herbert Schulze, a lecturer at the Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences) Düsseldorf. Not long after this I had the opportunity to travel to Germany and visit the Fachhochschule and meet staff and students. Figure 17 - Herbert and students at METAV. During my visit to Düsseldorf I was able to view the rapid prototyping facilities in the engineering department of the Fachhochschule, I attended a trade fair with Herbert Schulze and his students (see figure 17) and I was able to meet with Prof. Herman Hermsen the Dutch contemporary jeweller who teaches at the Fachhochschule with Herbert Schulze and Prof. Elisabeth Figure 18 - Museum Brandhorst under Holder. construction.

My trip to Germany introduced me to inspirational The Museum Brandhorst is situated in the north-eastern corner of the approaches to the use of colour including the juxtaposition of old Kiinstareal that includes the Alte and and new buildings linked by choice of colour detail, for example Neue Pinakothek museums as well as the see figure 18. Pinakothek der Moderne http://www.museum-brandhorst.de/en/ 4.1 FIELD TRIP TO GERMANY building/architecture, html In Germany I also visited a number of important museums, galleries and small jewellery workshops. A comprehensive itinerary is included in the appendix. The most influential of these include:

Pinakothek Der Moderne where I viewed an exhibition of the work of the students at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Academy. The exhibition featured the works of past and current students of Head of the Department of jewellery and hollow-ware the Munich Art Academy, Swiss goldsmith Professor Otto Künzli. Künzli became Head of Department in 1991 taking over from

27 Hermann Jünger (1928-2005) who held the chair from 1972 to 1990.22

Industriemuseum on the site of a factory established 1886 which was important in the industrialisation of the cutlery trade. The Museum is located in Solingen an area of the Ruhr recognised as the birthplace of the Labour Movement in Figure 19 - Drop forge dies. Germany. The museum still operates a drop forge and trimming tools as used in the factory to produce scissors, knives and keys. Figure 19 shows an example of drop forge tooling used to produce keys.

The Historisches Grünes Gewölbe. Elector of Saxony, Augustus the Strong is perhaps best remembered as a patron of the arts and architecture. He established the Saxon capital of Dresden as a major cultural centre, attracting artists and musicians from across Europe to his court. Dating back to 1723 this collection of over three thousand objects housed in the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe (Historic Green Vault) in the West Wing of the Dresden Royal Palace is Augustus the Strong’s expression of wealth and power.

22 Maribel Königer, Des Wahnsinns Fette Beute = the Fat Booty of Madness (Stuttgart: Arnoldsche Art Publishers / Staatliches Museum Für Angewandte Kunst, Munich, 2008).

2 8 5 EXHIBITION WORKS

The final body of work for exhibition represents the second phase of the research. There are three ideas explored in this work. The first idea is about using laser cut parts for batch production using a modular component system to join the parts.

The result of this is the anodised aluminium armband series. Figure 20 - R7Armband, laser-cut aluminium, anodised. The second concept is an exploration of rapid prototyping using both the wax printer and the traditional rubber moulding process. This concept explores variations on a ring form based on a deformed tube shape. The third concept brings together my experience working with batch production of aluminium- anodised components and the potential for creating three- dimensional patterns using the wax printer. This exploration resulted in the aluminium pendants with rapid prototyped centres.

5.1 LASER CUT ARMBANDS The laser-cut armbands evolved from the hand-made prototypes with one important innovation. Rather than a closed armband this new design is hinged and incorporates the catch into the cut-out shape of the bangle. Laser-cutting proved a successful substitute to saw-piercing multiples of the complex form by hand in the studio, with the benefit of achieving the kind of precision, in the location of the bearing holes and the shaping of the spring for example, that would be time consuming to achieve otherwise. See figure 20.

The second breakthrough moment with this project was the revision of the method of joining the layers of aluminium plates that make up the armband. By using a bearing/axle/retaining- lug system to join the parts, individual variation in the thickness of the aluminium plate, due to hand finishing, is absorbed by the system. Using this system made from common components has proved useful for batch production and I have applied this method to construction of the aluminium pendants.

29 5.2 TUBE-RING SERIES This project explored the potential for a hybrid practice of working back and forth between hand prototyping/m )del making and 3D software on the computer. Working cirectly in the wax models that were made by injecting wax into moulds made from the rapid prototyped and cast metal masters offered direct tactile and visual feedback to the maker.

When I first began using the wax printer I viewed t as a way of producing a master pattern that could then be cast and treated like a traditional metal master for reproduction using the rubber mould/wax injection process. This attitude influenced my approach to this project in the early stages and I set out to reproduce the tube-ring design using the wax printer ind the rubber-moulding system, a kind of hybrid practice.

It is useful to understand the wax printing process n order to understand the limitations of the process. In contrast to laser/ polymer rapid prototyping where the form is built in 1 bath of UV-curable photopolymer using a UV laser, the wax printer builds up a wax object layer-by-layer. This layer-by-l2yer method relies on using both build-wax, which becomes the fiiished part, and support-wax, which as the name suggests, supports the build-wax as the printer lays it down. This means tint the final print must be washed out with a solvent to remove the support- wax and reveal the finished wax model.

One of the limitations of the wax printer is that it s possible to print objects with enclosed spaces, like for exampb the tube-ring, but it requires careful handling when removing the support-wax to avoid splitting the wax printed mode as the support-wax expands faster than the build-wax wher it is heated in the solvent bath. Obviously a fully enclosed form vould be impossible to wash out.

jo The first attempt to build the tube-ring on the wax printer resulted in the finished part splitting in half as the support- wax was washed out in the solvent bath. While subsequent printings have been successfully created by carefully removing as much support-wax from the model as possible by hand prior to washing out, I decided at the time to redraw the model as three

parts, two halves of the tube form and a separate shank which Figure 21 - Metal masters, rapid allowed me to make rubber moulds from the wax printed parts prototyped & lost-wax cast. after they had been lost-wax cast. See figures 21 and 22.

Using wax parts from these rubber moulds I reconstructed the tube-ring form and then worked each by hand. Having a separate shank also allowed me to reposition the shank on different positions on the ring.

This approach has several creative benefits. Currently wax Figure 22 -RTVsilicon moulds. models for lost-wax casting can be produced faster using the traditional wax injection/rubber-mould method. This is because the layer-by-layer method is a relatively slow process. For example a wax printed version of the tube-ring can take over 36 hours to build. Any customization of the rubber-moulded wax can be done by hand working on a real object, rather than on a computer screen in virtual space, a technique that may appeal to hands-on makers.

However it is difficult to work the wax accurately in a way that is possible with the wax printer. For example the tube-rings made from wax injected halves were very difficult to join without a seam on the inside of the form.

I now like to conceptualize the wax printer as a kind of infinitely variable rubber-moulding system (a kind of rapid- tooling) and I believe that as the technology improves making the process faster, and the cost is reduced, the traditional rubber- moulding process may become redundant.

31 Subsequent tube-rings were built directly with the wax printer taking extra care with support wax removal.

The insides of the tube-ring series are painted, visually linking these works with the anodised pieces that make up the final body of work. See figure 23.

5.3 ALUMINIUM PENDANTS Figure 23 - Tube ring, lost-wax cast, I was originally going to have the aluminium discs used for waxes from R TV moulds. these pendants water-jet cut prior to machining them to size on the lathe. However cutting them out with a hole saw proved to be a more pragmatic approach taking into consideration the number of parts that I needed. Cutting them out this way would enable me to make extra parts without the set up cost of water- jet cutting, if extra parts were required. It should be noted that for some materials, titanium for example, having blanks cut by water-jet will save considerable time and effort.

Each aluminium disc needed a series of machining operations to create the final shape and these were done one operation at a time, working with a batch of hole-saw cut blanks. This approach confirms that there is still a place for traditional machining manufacturing techniques when dealing with small production runs and that the small studio maker can achieve the required precision on a hand operated lathe, in contrast to the expense of having these parts CNC machined. The production techniques for this batch of pendant blanks involves setting limit stops for the lathe cross slide and top slide for reproducing cuts and is outlined in Sparey’s text in the chapter titled Production methods in small lathes P

W hen the aluminium discs had been machined to size on the lathe, holes for the pins that hold the parts together and the holes for the retaining grub screws were drilled on the mill using

23 Lawrence H. Sparey, The Amateurs Lathe (Herts, England: Argus Books, 1994). p 199 -200.

3 2 the indexing head. In order that all the parts have the holes in the same place all blanks were drilled in one batch i.e. to retain the precise placement of the holes it would not be possible to dismount and reset the indexing head. See figure 24.

It should also be noted that the use of the pins and grub screw retaining mechanism is a variation of the system of parts used to join the armbands and uses common components. See figure 25. Figure 2 4 - Drilling holes using the indexing head on the mill. The centrepiece of these pendants is cast in sterling silver from wax masters printed with the wax printer. The designs for these cast parts are derived from tessellations, in this case 3D shapes that when repeated create a pattern, and simple pattern repeats as found in textile designs.

A good understanding of the lost-wax casting process is required in the design of these patterns. When the printed wax Figure 25 - Aluminium pendant, is cast the design must be such that metal can flow throughout aluminium anodised & silver rapid the whole design. It should be noted while this was taken into prototyped & lost-wax cast. account some designs are on the limit of what can be achieved by the casting process and involves some trial and error in choosing the thickness of the parts of the pattern in order that the metal would flow to all parts of the wax model and that fine detail can be retained.

Some limitations of the lost-wax casting process when used with the wax printer are self-evident. For example it is possible to draw and print a form where individual parts are not connected, meaning that unless the orphaned part can be sprued separately, it will not cast. It is also possible to print forms that would be robust when made in metal, but that will not survive the process of washing out the support wax. One solution to this is to build in extra material to the wax model and remove this after the model has been lost-wax cast.

33 6 PRODUCTION METHODOLOGY

With the project’s focus on production of multiples, the design and manufacture of jigs and tools to assist batch production became important. A systematic approach to production also evolved and has become central to the workshop methodology for this project.

Figure 26 - Axle/bearing/lug, stainless steel and aluminium. 6.1 MODULAR COMPONENT DESIGN

The bearing/axle/retaining-lug system is an example of modular component design. See figure 26.

The benefit of such a system applied to my project is twofold. Firstly for the laser-cut armband series this system is a big improvement over the initial prototypes based on an axle with retaining screws. These original prototypes with retaining Figure 27 - Handmade prototype detail. screws required small adjustments to the axle length in order to take into account the variations in the finished thickness of the aluminium plates that make the armband. The difference between being too loose and binding up was fractions of a millimetre and one version would also either bind up or unscrew itself. Figure 27 shows an early prototype uses screws rather than the bearing/axle/retaining-lug system.

The second benefit of the system is that the parts are derived from commonly available sizes of material. For lathe production the basic parts do not need to be machined to thickness prior to cutting to length or drilling. The sizes of material also work with the tolerances required for the running fit and interference fit of the bearing/axle/retaining-lug system.

One of the discoveries of this project was the realisation that while the small studio can produce bespoke objects that function extremely well it is difficult to match the precision of industry for multiple object production.

34 Two strategies were devised to deal with this problem. Firstly, the use of components that allow for variation in thickness (the bearing/axle/retaining-lug system), and secondly, to use the services of industry when precision is required (laser-cutting).

To manufacture the bearing/axle/retaining-lug system I used the services of a retired engineer with a home workshop who produced a batch of one hundred parts, which I subsequently machined to tolerance. For larger production runs CNC production processes of industry could be used. This would however require runs of over a thousand parts to be produced to be viable. The flexibility of the bearing/axle/retaining-lug system is such that the parts could be used with a wide range of batch-produced works.

CNC is typically expensive to set up and usually only cost effective for runs of a thousand parts. It can be contrasted with other industrial processes that are flexible enough to accommodate small runs for the studio jeweller. Laser-cutting, for example, can be cost effective for individual and small batches as there is minimal setup fee, proving it useful for prototyping and small batch production. As many craftspeople use Adobe illustrator and this is a common laser-cutting format this kind of process is easy for the small studio to access.

The handmade prototypes were stamped to identify when they were made and follow the evolution of each idea. The final production works are not numbered. Different artists have approached this in different ways. Johannes Kuhnen reports that many of German goldsmith Freidrich Becker’s designs were reproduced in response to demand and the numbers of reproductions were not specifically recorded. Kuhnen contrasts this with the approach of Australian glass artist Klaus Moje who numbers each piece he makes during the calendar year, starting anew each year.

35 6.2 ANODISING

Notwithstanding that colour influences perception of the form and is subject to personal taste and emotional response, the importance of colour as a method for creating different versions of the same object is self-evident.

In this project the number of unique objects derived from the same components is a function of the number of components Figure 28 - Colour tests, aluminium anodised. that make up the object, multiplied the number of different colour combinations. This does not necessarily mean that each different colour combination will make sense aesthetically or in terms of design.

Building on my experience of the making of the armband prototypes where the colour selection was arbitrary — and part of the process of learning about the anodising process — and recognising that colour is a useful way of making multiple originals from the same archetype, I set out to devise a systematic approach to colour by selecting a palette of sympathetic colours.

The aim of this approach is to achieve in the batch production continuity as a family of objects. Selecting several colour combinations of paint colour chips and attempting to recreate these with the existing aluminium dyes used in the ANU Gold and Silver Workshop was my starting point. See figure 28.

Eventually my colour experimentation led me to firstly abandon the initial colour choices for a selection of less conventional colours (in my view) and in order to achieve this, to mix my own colours.

The process of mixing custom colours from the base colour powders requires consideration of both the potential to achieve colour by dilution and by colour mixing. Due to the makeup of the original colour dye some dyes can be diluted to achieve different colours and shades of a colour, for example diluted

36 black 2LW yields various shades of blue. The effect of both colour dilution and colour mixing needs to be taken into account when creating dyes by mixing, however as with mixing paint secondary colours can be obtained from primary colours, for example mixing red and yellow results in orange. These colours can be further manipulated by adjusting the amount of time the

anodised part is submerged in the dye to achieve different shades Figure 29 — Master swatches, aluminium of that colour. Colours can also be achieved by dying one colour anodised. over another.

For my project five colours were chosen and master colour swatches were produced as a reference for colour matching during anodising. It should be noted that it was also decided to anodise some parts and not colour them, giving the effective choice of six colours. See figure 29.

6.3 BATCH PRODUCTION SYSTEM Maintaining the chemistry and temperature of the electrochemical process is more difficult for the small-scale maker who does anodising occasionally in contrast to the everyday production of the factory.

For the studio jeweller working with a small anodising set up the physical size of the anodising bath, dye pots and containers used to seal the anodised parts by boiling imposes limitations on the numbers of parts that can be dealt with in one batch. A system or methodology evolved from working with the handmade prototype armbands and evolved into the system used for the final design. This approach to limited production is best described as batch production.

The anodising rack in the ANU Gold and Silver Workshop will hold up to 10 jigs, limited of course by the size of the parts. With small parts such as the retaining lugs used on the armbands, it proved useful to anodise each group of 4 lugs at the same time using a single jig that holds four parts. This helps

37 achieve a consistent colour during dying and makes for easy handling of multiple parts. In this way all twenty retaining lugs for the series of five armbands could be anodised in one batch.

Jigs that hold individual parts were used for the pendants and large parts of the armbands. The pendants were anodised in batches of five, and the armbands, anodised in batches of six. Batches of five pendants could be sealed in one boiling pot and the six parts of each armband batch split across 2 boiling pots per batch.

6.4 ANODISING JIGS The primary function of anodising jigs is to provide both a good electrical contact and accurate positioning of the work in the anodising bath, dye pot and boiling pot. There are stages in the anodising process that naturally lend themselves to improvisation for batch production. In particular the way parts are held, or ‘jigged’, in order to present them for the different stages of the anodising process have potential for improvement to assist workflow.

Usual practice in the small studio is to use aluminium wire fitted and bent to shape as needed. In order to reuse this wire it must be stripped to remove the anodised surface, as an anodised surface is not a good conductor. Constant bending and stripping means that these jigs have a limited lifespan.

Parts to be anodised are jigged by forcing aluminium wire into a suitable hole. This method however has its drawbacks. If the part is not sufficiently well connected or if it moves during the anodising process the part may be only partially anodised resulting in an insufficient depth of anodising for successful dying. The softness of aluminium also makes it difficult to create a good conductive connection using a shape that relies on the spring in the material to maintain contact. My laser welded titanium jigs evolved over a period of time working with the prototype anodised aluminium armbands. The jigs for these initial experiments were custom made for each part (see figure 30) and I quickly realised that this custom approach was not suitable for batch production.

Taking my cues from observing Johannes Kuhnens approach to anodising I revised the jig design. Key to the Kuhnen Figure 30 - Custom jig, titanium, laser welded. approach to jigging aluminium parts is the manipulation of aluminium wire, typically recycled knitting needles, in such a way that the part hangs horizontally and at the correct depth, positioned roughly central to the point from which it hangs.

It should be noted that the design of anodising jigs presents a particular challenge to the batch producer. In particular anodising jigs must be made of a material that will withstand the acidic and caustic environment they will be used in, provide a good electrical contact and must not react in a negative way with the chemistry used in the anodising process. It follows that aluminium itself is an appropriate material to use for jigging parts to be anodised, however titanium can also be used due to its property of remaining inert during the anodising processes.

The problem for the studio jeweller is that for one-off anodising, making up jigs from titanium is more expensive and relative to aluminium its hardness and propensity to work- harden makes it more difficult to work with. Titanium is difficult to weld, it must be done in an inert atmosphere, and titanium cannot be brazed (soldered). Likewise, aluminium can be difficult to weld and requires special solders to join by brazing.

The instillation of the laser welder to the ANU Gold and Silver Workshop introduced the potential for manufacture of sophisticated aluminium anodising jigs made from titanium. The laser welder overcomes the problem of welding titanium.

39 The laser makes excellent strong and smooth welds in titanium. With practice, filler material combines well in the welding process where extra material is needed for strength or appearance. While the look of the weld is not an issue in creating anodising jigs, in many cases finished welds need little or no cleaning up. Titanium can be work hardened to Figure 31 - Jig with holes, titanium, , ,, , laser welded, provider a spring r o that maintains ogood electrical contact. Unlike aluminium, titanium does not dissolve in the caustic bath during the cleaning process prior to anodising. This means that the titanium jigs can be reused indefinitely. This is a significant advantage for batch production.

I set out to produce a jig made of titanium that was flexible in design to accommodate different sized parts. This idea evolved alongside the bearing/axle/retaining-lug system used for the armband series and proved suitable for the majority of parts that have 2.5-3.omm holes. A slightly modified version was used for the parts with 6.0mm holes.

W ith this in mind my jigs are cranked, that is they have a zigzag hend that helps keep the hanging point above the middle of the part to be anodised. The length of the jig is kept the same for all jigs in order to optimise placement in the anodising bath, dye bath and boiling pot. This length is slightly too long when dying in smaller dye pots, however, ingenious use of rubber rings allows for height adjustment when dying. Integral to the jig design is the bend in the wire at the top of the jig, which allows for a positive electrical connection to the anodising rack while at the same time allowing for fast attachment and detachment.

Earlier versions were made from titanium sheet with holes for attaching the jig to the anodising rack as shown in figure 31. This earlier system allowed for variation in height, however it meant that the nuts holding the jig on the rack had to be completely removed in order to attach/remove the jig adding

4 0 time and complexity to the process. The final revision is shown in figure 32.

The benefits of titanium, that it is reusable, and requires no stripping between batches, offers much potential for the batch production process. For example the armband series requires four retaining lugs for each armband, and I made five jigs that Figure 32 — Universaljig, titanium, laser took four lugs. Each batch of four on a jig are coloured at the welded. same time and enough parts for five armbands can be processed in one round of anodising. Working this way enables a consistent colour to be achieved and convenient handling of multiple small parts. It turned out that I could fit the jigs for the three plates of each armband plus one jig with the four lugs in one batch meaning in the future armbands could be produced as a batch of one complete armband. Figure 33 - Octopus and Baby Octopus jigs, titanium, laser welded. 6.5 TOOLS J I G S AND TEMPLATES I used a number of jigs and templates in addition to the anodising jigs in my batch production to save time and achieve a consistent result. Tools help with processes that need to be accurately done and repeated. Along with the anodising jigs (the octopus and baby octopus, see figure 33) I made a titanium hook that holds two parts for stripping in the caustic bath, a small press tool for use with the fly-press to press fit the bearings into Figure 34 - Drilljigs, steel. the laser-cut armbands, a drilling jig for the buttons used on the pendants, and various Delrin holders for milling and lathing operations. Figure 34 shows two such drilling jigs.

41 7 CONCLUSION

7.1 TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

The focus of this project is on the creative potential of new technology and multiple object production, in particular the potential of new technologies to assist the small studio maker to produce multiple originals through batch production. Digital technologies however, advance at what seems an ever-increasing rate. Inevitably new technologies become faster and more affordable.

For example early in the development of typesetting using personal computers, graphic designers would take their layout to a bureau to produce a bromide, a high quality print of the text and artwork, which the graphic designer would physically cut and paste to create their ‘finished art’. Today of course the graphic designer can paste up the artwork in desktop publishing software, print out the finished design on a laser printer for proofing and email the final design directly to the printer.

Likewise new technologies such as laser-cutting, laser- welding and rapid prototyping, now better described as additive fabrication, are becoming within the reach of the small studio as the technology becomes physically smaller and cheaper. During the period of my research a number of TAFE and University workshops have purchased wax printers and it is common for jewellers to use the services of laser cutters, water-jet cutters and rapid prototyping bureaus.

7.2 HYBRID PRACTICE

In the digital age new materials and processes have become available to the studio crafts person. Many of these processes can be used to replace hands-on making or hand operated machine processes and simply replicate what was previously done by hand, perhaps more accurately or faster. At the same time when

42 traditional crafts practitioners add these new technologies to their practice the result challenges the idea of just what it means to be handmade.

It follows that the value of these new materials and processes is not just to replace traditional ways of making but in the creative potential of digital technologies to explore new forms and ways of working for the creation of objects that previously may have been too tedious or simply impossible to make by hand.

Like many adaptations of new technology the truly exciting developments will not be the predicted results but the unexpected outcomes and the ways in which new technologies will be used that were never the intention of its inventors.

Artists and craftspeople are already experimenting with these new ways of working. Cinnamon Lee’s rapid prototyped rings generated from computer drawn morphed units, are an example of objects that would be impossible to make by hand but are nonetheless grounded in hand making. This kind ot approach to the traditional practice of goldsmithing might be described as a hybrid practice and strikes me as the emerging new approach to small studio manufacture.

My own personal journey researching these issues has challenged me to develop new skills, for example to draw using 3D computer software, operate the rapid prototype machine and to laser weld, however the most interesting outcome has been to deeply engage with what it means to apply these to making in the studio.

One of the outcomes of this engagement, the system of using common components, possibly with the assistance of industry, strikes me as having much potential for further investigation. This system might be applied as an approach to other personal projects and has potential for collaboration with other makers as a kind of open source standard for others to use creatively.

43 7.3 FURTHER RESEARCH It is not possible for a research project of this kind to fully explore every aspect of making with new technology and the issues that arise from this exploration. Several avenues for explorations arose but were outside the direct focus of the project. These would be useful starting points for further research. There is potential for further manipulation of the laser- cut shapes by bending, folding, pressing, texturing or otherwise distorting the original flat shape. This includes investigation into the emerging technology of laser bending.

Advances in CNC technology also present the studio jeweller with creative opportunities. These advances are currently being exploited by industry with, for example the Apple computer company using CNC technology to mass produce its most

recent version of their laptop computer.24 This “unibody” laptop is CNC machined from one block of aluminium, providing a stronger, lighter chassis and reducing size and complexity of components. As Apple points out, building their computer in one piece, rather than assembling it from multiple parts, and repeating the process many times over, requires the kind of precision that CNC machining can offer. This is also a more flexible approach to manufacturing that enables better use of materials when the material that is cut away is collected and reused.

Research into the environmental impact of batch production is a worthy topic for examination. Aluminium is readily recycled and requires less energy to do so than is used in the initial manufacturing process, however the anodising process, even in the small studio, uses relatively large amounts of water. W hat are the environmental and energy issues of working with aluminium? W hat are the ethical issues associated with using

24 Apple, “Redesigned. Reengineered. Re-Everythinged.,” Apple, http://www. apple.com/macbookpro/design.html. accessed Monday, 24 May 2010.

44 new technologies? Conversely, can using processes such as laser-cutting and laser-welding reduce the small studio jeweller’s exposure to dust and chemicals that are part of traditional cutting and joining processes?

The creative potential of new technologies to assist batch production inevitably leads to the question of cost and pricing. How should the small producer amortise the cost of expensive new technologies or pass on the cost of subcontracting work to industry? If laser-cutting saves considerable time over saw- piercing a jewellery work, should this make the final piece less expensive than an entirely ‘handmade’ work? How might makers and consumers value works that incorporate new technologies alongside traditional ways of working?

The studio jeweller needs to balance the convenience of traditional ways of doing batch production using processes such as die-forming which can be achieved in the studio with less setup cost, with the potential of new technologies such as laser-cutting and rapid prototyping that can be achieved by subcontracting to industry. The individual practitioner will need to weigh up the creative benefit to their practice against the cost of new technology both in subcontracting work to industry or purchasing the equipment, and the opportunity cost of learning how to use it.

45 8 APPENDICES

8.1 FIELD TRIP ITINERARY

March/April/May 2008

Frankfurt — Monday 24 March

Sachsenhausen Museum precinct includes the Stadel fine art museum, the D AM or Deutsches Architekturmuseum, Deutsches Filmmuseum and Museum der Weltkulturen featuring an exhibition of carvings from the Sepik district of PNG, among others.

Museum fur Angewandte Kunst (MAK) — Museum of applied art modernist building by Architect Richard Meier, diverse range of work from Biedermeier metalwork to ancient metal, ceramics and icons, collection of 20th century design icons including a large representation of furniture. http://www. khi.uni-heidelberg.de/projekte/neueabt/museumsfuehrer/mak. htm

Musueum fur Moderne Kunst (MMK) — designed by the Viennese architect Hans Hollein.

Frankfurt — Tuesday 25 March

Schirn Kunsthalle — an exhibition hall, ie it doesn’t have a collection as such, designed for blockbuster type shows. Exhibition All Inclusive’, Tracy Moffett etc.

Portikus — Exhibition hall for contemporary art on an island in the River Main. It is reached by the bridge over the river and is the surviving portico of the public library that was destroyed in WW2.

Feinform — Met with Rena Jarosewitsch owner of jewellery gallery. She spent 12 years in New Zealand and comes from a glass and jewellery background.

46 Deutches Arkitektur Museum (DAM) — current exhibition, an Architectural model-making display. Detailed dioramas illustrating architectural archetypes from prehistory to modern times, the industrial revolution in Europe featured heavily. Manga, anamie and Japanese pop culture figures are featured in many of the exhibitions of the Frankfurt galleries. The DAM had manga books and cartoons as well as anamie inspired architectural models looking at imaginings of the architecture of the future, http://www.dam-online.de

Museum fur Kommunikation [http://www.mfk-frankfurt.de/]

Collection of objects related to communication. Also vehicles to do with postal delivery.

Schern — Bookshop has an extensive collection of art books.

Frankfurt/Oberursel — Wednesday 26 March

Oberursel — Zimmer £sf Rohde (ZR) German Textile Manufacturer. Visited the showroom for international textile buyers. Met with the International Marketing Manager, Manfred Rusche.

Linnich/Düsseldorf— Thursday 27 March

Visited the original Workshop Bilk in Düsseldorf

Linnich — Herbert and Ursula Schulze who live in an old farmhouse which was partially destroyed in WW2, in a small village 50km out of Düsseldorf. The home has a cobble stoned central courtyard surrounded by high walls, horse stables, storage, jewellery studio, painting studio and guest accommodation.

Linnich/Düsseldorf— Friday 28 March

Gallery Detail 3 — Met Heike Schirmer and Doro Eicker, two of the three partners in Detail 3.

47 Barbara Schulte-Hengesbach Schmuck Gallery — Met Barbara who studied under Friedrich Becker. As well as selling her own work the gallery stocks high-end artists e.g. Angela Hubei, Carl Dau and Niessing.

Reinmetall Schmuk und object— is a play on rein (pure) and Rhine (the river).

Düsseldorf and Aachen return — Saturday 29 March

Aachen — historic town not far from Belgium and the Netherlands.

Gothic Town Hall. The heart of the Cathedral is Charlemagne’s Palace Chapel. The octagon forms the centre. In the ancient world the octagon was the sign of perfection — something in between a circle and a square. The circle without beginning or end symbolized the eternity of heaven and the four corners of the square the earth with its four cardinal points. Beautiful mosaics, leadlight, metalwork and iron doors.

Düsseldorf— Sunday 30 March

K20 — dedicated to art of the 20th century, eg Pollock, Magritte, and Rothko. On display the only black and white Pollock created and a significant collection of the famous Düsseldorf artist, Joseph Beuys’ work.

Kunsthalle — Dedicated to showing the work of young emerging artists and the artists featured were those who had received scholarships from the Karl Schmidt-Rottluff stipend between 2004 and 2006. The work was diverse from bronze sculpture to fine pen and ink drawings.

Düsseldorf— Monday 31 March

Fachhochschule Düsseldorf— I was able to sit in on Herbert Schulze’s fabrication class. The class will be doing a teapot project in tandem with Cinnamon Lee’s class at the ANU, Canberra and at some stage Herbert will show the class the

48 progress of ANU class. Several students will be coming to ANU on an exchange and I met Anka Kruze who will be doing a residency at Workshop Bilk, NSW, for three months starting in July 2008. Viewing of the rapid-prototyping workshop in Engineering department where there is a similar but smaller machine to the one at ANU. I was also shown a new material used for rapid-prototyping that is gypsum based, that Herbert Schulze believes has possibilities for making moulds for porcelain production.

Düsseldorf and Essen — Tuesday 1 April

Frank Gehry apartment buildings. One is red brick and repeats the harbour building shapes, the white building correspond to the houses on the Rhine riverside and the third is sheathed in stainless steel, which is slightly bent to distort the reflections. This area was a disused port and the redevelopment houses TV stations, advertising, printing, computer offices, restaurants and some residential apartments.

K21 Museum — dedicated to contemporary art with a spectacular glass roof and a collection with a focus on video art.

Orfevre jewellery gallery, run by Marie and Peter Hassenflug, famous in the 60s Scyo’s for contemporary jewellery.

Norbert Ferkinghoff Studio.

Galerie Cebra Schmuck Objekte.

Essen

Visit to Zollverein with Herbert Schulze. The former Zollverein colliery now converted to a large arts precinct with a variety of disciplines and used for exhibitions, movies, festivals and concerts. Designed by architects Fritz Schupp and Martin Kremmer early last century, new architects Ford Norman Foster, Rem Koolhaas, Christoper Mackler and Japanese architectural office SANNA. The most impressive spaces are buildings with

49 huge boilers, wheels 6m in diameter and an interactive site conversion of a building with a direct escalator 5 levels high.

Schmuckprodukt is a jewellery workshop and a gallery. Met Julia Stotz, a graduate of the Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences) Düsseldorf shares a group studio and gallery with Nicola Brand and Annette Wackermann.

Zollverein Industrial environment hosts the red dot Design Museum [http://www.red-dot.de/]

Attended a lecture on hydraulic die-forming. The lecture was located within an area housing a large student architecture project for modular housing.

Düsseldorf to Solingen and return — Wednesday 2 April

Deutsches Kilngenmuseum — a knife <$c scissor museum displaying antiquity collections to present day, encompassing swords, cutlery, medical instruments and scissors. Displays that cover a number of interesting manufacturing processes including one for making brass plaques that Herbert Schulze described as ‘a kind of rapid-prototyping process’.

Industriemuseum, the site of a drop forge established in 1886 that was important in the industrialisation of the cutlery trade. Located in the Ruhr, it is recognised as the birthplace of the Labour movement in Germany. The museum still operates a drop forge and trimming tools as used in the factory to produce scissors, knives and keys.

Düsseldorf— Thursday 3 April

METAV a trade fair for tube and pipe. There were numerous halls filled with products from companies all over the world and demonstrations of equipment. CNC wire bending machines making springs and wire parts in all scales and even a wire bender making an outline of a rabbit in 4 mm stainless steel. Viewed a new innovation in water-jet cutting in action that is

5 0 able to cut draft angles. The parts from this water-jet had a very smooth finish, apparently the sand used comes from Australia.

Linnich — Friday 4 April

Linnich Glass Museum

Linnich to Chemnitz — Saturday 5 April

Travelled with Herbert Schulze to Chemnitz to attend an opening of an exhibition of Herbert’s students. On route to Chemnitz we passed towns with an interesting design history in this area. Weimar, home of the Bauhaus. Gera, famous for glass making and home of Karl Zeiss of the optical famt.Jena, an introduction to the former East Germany — high-rise public housing.

Chemnitz — Sunday 6 April

Klaffenbach Castle [http://www.wasserschloss-klaffenbach. de/]

Exhibition 2008: 0.0203929 Tons of Steel -featuring works by German, Belgian and Dutch artists. Students of the Fachhochschule Düsseldorf participated. It will also travel to the Deutsches Klingenmuseum in Solingen and the Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus in Hanau. Met with the director of the foundation that sponsors the project and Dr Ruprecht Vondran who opened the exhibition.

Dresden — Monday 7 April

The Historisches Grünes Gewölbe (The Historic Green Vault). Elector of Saxony, August the Strong was a patron of the arts and architecture. He established the Saxon capital of Dresden as a major cultural centre, attracting artists and musicians from across Europe to his court. Dating back to 1723 this collection of over three thousand objects housed in the Dresden Royal Palace West Wing is August the Strong’s

51 expression of wealth and absolutist power. The pieces are displayed in a succession of ornate chambers.

New Green Vault — also an impressive selection of examples of the goldsmith’s art. The ‘new’ section features objects from the time of August the Strong but displayed in simpler surroundings.

Catholic Hofikirche Church — build by Augustus the Strong.

Franuenkirche Church — reconstructed after 1945, old sandstone fragments retrieved from rubble and used to rebuild the church, which were not cleaned and this exposes the vast devastation to the original building.

Dresden — Tuesday 8 April

Visit to the VW Factory, a futuristic building where only one type of car is manufactured, the luxury Phaeton saloon. The Building is situated on the edge of the Grober Garten Park.

Pfimd’s Dairy, built in 1892, entire interior covered in Villeroy and Boch hand painted tiles.

Yendize — built in 1907 in the style of a Mosque. Origionally a cigarette factory but now houses a restaurant.

Zwinger — originally planned as an orangerie, artworks were later housed in pavilions and galleries. Zwinger Porcelain Collection and Old Masters Picture Gallery.

Semper Opera House, Theaterplaz.

Travel to Hameln via Berlin — Wednesday 9 April

Hosted by Horst and lisa Ebert who started the jewellery manufacturer Manu. Ilsa Ebert still makes and designs jewellery for Manu, [http://www.manuschmuck.de/]

J2 Hameln — Thursday io April

Visited Pica jewellery packaging business run by Susanna Weege. Pica supplies innovative paper and timber packaging to jewellers and gift shops. They distribute all over Europe.

Visited Castles in the Hameln’s foothills, Schloss Muchenberg and Schloss Hämelschenburg.

Hameln — Friday ii April

Visit to Manu, met with Director Johannes Weege. The workshop and office is housed on the third floor above Pica and the family home. The on site workshop makes up new designs — patterns, prototyping and makes up special orders. A firm in Pforzheim does the casting while much of the hand making is done in Poland (Gerlitz). They have over 250 designs in their collection and create (and delete) 70 new designs every 6 months.

Hameln — Saturday 12 April

Huspelmathturm gallery — Pulverturm/Glashütte gallery.

“Old Westfalia” — Medieval framework style and Baroque buildings. Typical are lavish gable decorations, masks, gargoyle- type reliefs, borders, coats of arms and inscriptions.

Hameln to Düsseldorf— Sunday 13 April

Linnich/Düsseldorf— Monday 14 April

Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences) Diisseldorf- Interviewed Herman Hermsen about his approach to serial production. Herman lives in Anheim, Nederlands and travels weekly to the Fachhochschule. His work has a typical Dutch irony and often challenges the conventions of modern jewellery.

Fachhochschule library — research.

S3 Linnich/Düsseldorf/Munich via the Rhine — Tuesday 15 April

Munich — Monday 21 April

Pinakothek Der Moderne — Exhibition of the work of students at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Academy. The exhibition featured the works of past and current students of Head of the Department of Jewellery and Hollow-ware the Munich Art Academy, Swiss goldsmith Professor Otto Kunzil.

Niessing- Famous for its modernist approach typified by the tension ring, which was developed for Niessing by the artist Walter W ittek from Vreden in 1979.

Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein, Galerie für Angewadte Kunst. Tea and coffee-ware exhibition that included Australian ceramic artist Bruce Nuske.

Galerie Isabella Hund — Frauenplatz 13 Eingang Schafflerstrasse 80331 Munich.

Munich visit included a day trip to Innsbruck to see the Nordpark Cable Railway designed by Architect Zaha Hadid.

Munich/Berlin transit — Tuesday 22 April

Berlin — Wednesday 23 April

Major buildings — sight seeing by tour bus

Jewellery gallery Treykorn — Savignyplatz 13, Passage [http://www.treykorn.de]

Philos — Goldsmith Nilolaos Tsavdaridis [http://philos- berlin.de/]

54 Berlin — Thursday 24 April

Stilwerky retail centre for architecture and design. Stilwerk brings together renowned brands and top-class design products under one roof. Highlights from leading manufacturers presenting latest designs, fixtures and fittings and architecture.

Berlin — Friday 25 April

Visited Martina Dempf at Atelier Martina Dempf. Jewellery Designer and Social Anthropologist [http://www.martina- dempf.de]

Berlin/Frankfurt — Saturday 26 April

Return to Australia via Kuala Lumpur

55 8.2 ORIGINAL PROPOSAL

1 Thesis title

Contemporary processes and historical precedents for hand made crafts practice in the context of technological change.

2 Outline of thesis

The condition of the technological age, new processes, new materials, globalization and its subsequent effects, mass consumption, consumerism and the rapid increase in demand for raw materials for emerging manufacturing nations, is presenting the ever-adaptable crafts with its biggest ethical challenge since the introduction of the Jacquard loom.

Does the hand made approach, rooted in the tension between the machine age and crafts that is the legacy of the Arts and Crafts Movement and later recast as a counterculture movement in the 60s 8c 70s, need to take a different philosophical approach to making in order for designers and makers to work ethically?

Can the contemporary crafts participate in a global economy with consideration for the use of resources and how what they produce contributes to consumption and consumer culture?

As makers, can we explore the potential for new methods of producing objects by creating a new aesthetic language rather than simply using technology to shortcut the traditional approach to making objects?

The studio practice component will examine the potential of new technologies, for example rapid prototyping and rapid tooling in the context of traditional studio practice in order to examine the potential for creating new forms and explore new ideas in jewellery.

The Dissertation will examine the context for this kind of approach to contemporary craft practice in the technological age.

56 3 Studio Practice

Component (66%) Investigating industrial processes in the studio: what can the technology do for hand-making in the jewellery studio?

3.1 Context

New technologies, and old technologies viewed from a new (technology) perspective, perhaps offer the studio jeweller opportunities to extend their serial production. These sorts of opportunities include:

Faster production.

Changeability, or in other words being able to adapt or customize parts in order to create a series of objects that are similar yet each different.

The potential to make works in the studio that would simply not be able to be made entirely by hand.

3.2 Issues

In this research I describe the technology used in the studio as Traditional, Transitional and New.

Traditional serial production processes (Blanking, Pressing, Lathe and Mill) are typically expensive, or in other words beyond the means of the studio jeweller.

W hat I call transitional serial production processes, Hydraulic Die-forming and Pancake Dies (also called RT Blanking), are adaptations of old technologies, perhaps initiated by discoveries of new materials or access to new processes, that in the jewellers studio are typically clever approaches to tooling cost.

New technology for the studio jeweller includes such processes as Rapid Prototyping, Rapid Tooling and CNC Wire cutting. Artists exploring new technology typically use these processes to

57 create forms and ideas previously impossible with hand making and old technologies.

Conventional wisdom for serial production in industry is to use new technologies to shortcut the production process of traditional approaches to making objects.

The overarching research question is then, how can the studio jeweller explore the potential for new methods of producing objects that are appropriate to these new ways of working?

M ethods and outcomes

The studio research aims to explore the potential of both old and new technologies that make it possible to exploit rapid prototyping and rapid tooling in the studio jeweller’s workshop in order to provide creative outcomes and improved ways of working.

The project will examine these ideas by looking at the following processes and potential outcomes in conjunction with hand-making;

W ire cutting (EDM) for rapid tooling

Steriolithography to make masters for tooling

FormZ (CAD) for communication and idea generation

Laser-welding assembly

Press tools

High temperature lost-wax casting for stainless steel and titanium.

These processes naturally lend themselves to serial production and the studio research will explore the creative possibilities for working in series. This naturally prompts the studio jeweller to ask the following questions:

How do these new methods and materials enable the studio jeweller to work in new ways? W hat is the design potential of working in series?

How do I go about exploring the design potential of working in series for making jewellery and objects?

The research question for my studio practice is then, is it possible for me to work in new ways with this approach and does this approach have properties that might lead to innovation in studio jewellery?

Planned Outcomes for the research are a body of work for exhibition in the Examination Exhibition and a Studio Report.

The Studio Report will give details of the studio work and working methods. The concepts and contexts for the work will be explored through case studies of makers examining how other studio jewellers/object makers have approached the idea of serial production and the methods of their time. Potential case studies include Friedrich Becker, Johannes Kuhnen (Artifact study Signet ring tool) (old), Robert Foster & F!NK (transitional), Studio Hacienda (General Assembly, wire cutting and anodising), Cinnamon Lee (rapid prototyping) (new).

4 Dissertation (33%)

Is “Craftism” (craft activism) and a resurgence in DIY (do it yourself) the contemporary context for craft production in the post-industrial age?

4.1 Topic development

Studio crafts practice is evolving as makers take advantage of new and emerging technologies that force us to re-examine just what it is to be hand-made and at the same time the internet is allowing makers to connect with markets in new ways.

These factors offer consumers who are concerned with the social and economic impact of a global change in the production of consumer goods the opportunity to make choices about what they purchase, or to not purchase.

59 Peter Day25, key note speaker at the recent Smart Works symposium spoke of issues that are influencing a global economy typified by the emergence of the rapidly developing BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) and by opportunities for small scale specialized producers to reach an ever more discerning market through the Internet.

Day warns that the effect of the BRIC economies is to provide cheap well-made products to Western markets at the cost of the export of unskilled jobs from Western economies, fuelling a huge increase in demand for raw materials to support increased production in these countries and the associated issues of human rights, environmental standards and impact on traditional cultures.

4.2 Context

Socialist and a founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement William Morris had similar concerns about the effect of the industrial revolution on factory labor, advocating for a return to meaningful work. Morris also believed that crafted objects had a kind of virtue, and that living amongst them made you a better person.

In the context of the effects of globalization contemporary craftspeople are perhaps uniquely placed to consider their making in terms of the impact that manufacturing has on the environment and how the use of overseas labor might provide opportunity or exploitation.

4.3 Issues

In this context three important issues are raised. Firstly craftspeople continue a tradition where hands-on skill and understanding of materials is important. W hat does this mean

25 Day, Peter. Design in the Global Economy. Sydney: Radio National (ABC), 2007. Podcast.

6 0 for production in the post-industrial age when it is possible for technology to produce objects that could not be made by hand or to produce objects entirely by machine that look like objects made by hand?

Secondly, the creative potential of collaboration with industry, both locally and overseas is leading to innovative and creative outcomes for artists and industry.

Thirdly, participating in the global economy means that contemporary studio practice faces a new set of ethical issues and has the opportunity to address these issues in a way that has never been offered before.

4.4 M ethods and outcomes

Handmade and the ethical approach, what are the implications of working this way?

By examining the historical context of contemporary craft practice and through case studies of contemporary designers and makers whose practice actively seeks to address the crisis that globalization has presented craft, the dissertation will explore if it is possible for designers and makers to work ethically, that is, with consideration for use of resources and how what they produce contributes to consumption and consumer culture.

5 Bibliography of key works

Benvenuto Cellini, Saliera (Salt cellar) http://www.khm.at/system2E.html?/staticE/page842.html

The F!NK Jug designed by Robert Foster http://www.finkdesign.com/products/productEhtml

Work by Friedrich Becker credited as the inventor of kinetic jewellery

6/ Gijs Bakker, Porsche bracelet, bracelet, 2003 stereolithography http://wwvv. g i j sh a k ke r. co m / http://www.crattscotland.org/gijs bakker interview

Ted Noten Lady-K-Bag, http://www.tednoten.com/work/portfolio/ladykbag/

6 2 8.3 CURRICULUM VITAE

ANDREW WELCH Born 1962 Goroka, Papua New Guinea.

EDUCATION 2008 Currently a Phd Candidate, Gold and Silversmithing, Canberra School of Art, Australian National University.

2003 Master of Design Research Masters Degree, University of South Australia.

2002 Graduate Certificate in Teaching (Higher Education), Queensland University of Technology.

1995 Graduate Diploma in Management, University of South Australia.

1984 Bachelor of Design [Metalsmithing Sc Jewellery], South Australian College of Advanced Education.

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY 2006-2001 Studio Head of Jewellery and Metal, Bachelor of Visual Arts at the South Australian School of Art, University of South Australia.

2003 Joined Zu design Jewellery + Objects as an access tennant.

2000-1998 Course coordinator Jewellery core courses and electives Bachelor of Applied Art.

1991-199J Part time lecturer in Design Studies at the School of Design UniSA and private jewellery commissions and designs for corporate gifts. Corporate clients included Western Mining Corporation, Peter Rumball Wines Pty Ltd, ETSA Advertising and Creative Services, EOI Foods, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, St James Anglican Church, The Royal Australian Institute of Architects and The Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

63 SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2004 Salacious — a solo exhibition of recent work as an Access Tenant at Zu design Jewellery + Objects. SALA (South Australian Living Artists).

2003 Pod Neckpiece, Lucy Neckpiece and Diabolo Neckpiece — at the Tasmanian School of Art Hobart in conjunction with ACUADS Annual Conference.

2002 Z itto!— Exhibition of Jewellery and Artefacts at Zu design Jewellery + Objects. Catalogue essay by Wendy Walker.

1998 ‘Work In Progress' — Masters exhibition, The Chancellery, University of South Australia.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2oo# Hooked — SALA Group exhibition at Zu design Jewellery + Objects.

2007 Contemporary Wearables 07 — exhibition and touring exhibition.

2007 Dine exhibition — DIA Xperiment Design Symposium South Australian Museum [xjpresso fork and spoon (in collaboration with Jane Bowden — spoon).

2007 Bright Shiny Things — Zu design Jewellery + Objects Christmas exhibition.

2007 Catch-On-2 — Contemporary Australian Jewellery exhibition in Korea.

2006 Wish List 2006 — Craftsouth Members Exhibition, Pepper Street Arts Centre, part of SALA Festival (sacred heart series).

2006 Catch On — Zu design Jewellery + Objects SALA Festival group exhibition (enamelled donut series).

2006 Survey — Postgraduate Coursework students and staff exhibition, SASA Gallery UniSA City West Campus. 2005 Full Circle — 2005 SALA (South Australian Living Artists) Festival at Zu design Jewellery + Objects.

2005 Time Exhibition — South Australian Museum, part of the Design Institute of Australia (DIA) Xperiment Design Symposium.

2005 Zuest — Zu design Jewellery + Objects Christmas Show.

2004 Christmas Show — Group exhibition at Zu design Jewellery + Objects.

2005 Christmas @Zu — Group exhibition at Zu design Jewellery + Objects.

2002 Gwiadzka — Christmas group exhibition at Zu design Jewellery + Objects.

2000 Hammer! — Wildanvils 6th Group Show — 2000 Festival Fringe Exhibition Zu design Jewellery + Objects.

2000 Sight Specific — Eyewear by Artists — Craft Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

1999 Contemporary Wearables 99 — exhibition and touring exhibition.

1998 Annual Ring Show — group exhibition Zu design Jewellery + Objects.

SELECTED COMMISSIONS 2007 D.R. Stranks Medal — the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI SA).

2007 RAIA James Irwin Presidents Medal — awarded for exemplary service to architecture in SA, which has been conferred each year since 1992 for the Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

2006 State Gift to celebrate the Shandong and South Australia 20th Sister-State Anniversary.

65 2002 Anodised aluminum ‘wearable spoons’ — produced in

a limited edition of 5 0 . The 2 0 0 2 spoon: utensils by artisans’ for the Twelfth Symposium of Australian Gastronomy: The Edible City

— Ideas for Urban Gastronomy. Adelaide, 1 0 -1 3 March 2 0 0 2 .

AWARDS 2005 University of South Australia Supported Teacher Award.

200/ One of six finalists in the Georg Jensen Jewellery

Design Competition, as featured in the January 2 0 0 1 edition of Australian Style’.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

1 9 8 8 Anderson, Patricia. Contemporary Jewellery: The Australian Experience 1977-1987’, Millennium Books,

Newtown NSW. P 1 7 7 -1 7 9 .

66 9 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Apple. “Redesigned. Reengineered. Re-Everythinged.” Apple, http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/design.html.

Australian Silver: Contemporary Australian Silver smithing Exhibition Organised by Rmit University and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Melbourne: Dept, of Fine Art RMIT, 2000.

Chadour-Sampson, Anna Beatriz. David Watkins: Artist in Jewellery. Stuttgart: Woodbridge: Arnoldsche ; Antique Collectors’ Club, 2000.

Christiane Arnold, Beate. “Kinetic Jewellery.” In Friedrich Becker: Schmuck, Kinetik, Objekte, edited by Hildegard Becker, 88-113. Stuttgart: Arnoldsche, 1997.

------. “On the Path to Kinetics.” In Friedrich Becker: Schmuck, Kinetik, Objekte, edited by Hildegard Becker, 58-67. Stuttgart: Arnoldsche, 1997.

Cohn, Susan. Cohn. Melbourne: S. Cohn, 1989.

Cohn, Susan. “The Crafts: On Their Own Terms.” In The Nature of the Beast: Writings on Craft, edited by Peter Timms, 22 — 24. Fitzroy, Vic: Craft Victoria, 1993.

Cooper, Jackie. “Jewellery: A Typology Examined.” In Techno Craft: The Work of Susan Cohn 1980 to 20 00, edited by Jackie &c James Cooper, Bruce. Canberra: National Gallery of Australia, 1999.

Falk, Fritz. Schmuck Der Moderne 1960-1998 = Modern Jewellery 1960-1998. Stuttgart: Arnoldsche, 1999.

Gates, Merryn. “Studio Hacienda.” In Smart Works: Design and the Handmade, edited by Grace Cochrane, 56-59. Sydney: Powerhouse Publishing, 2007.

Kingsley, Susan. Hydraulic Die Forming for Jewellers and Metalsmiths. ist ed. ed. Carmel, Calif: 20-Ton Press, 1993.

67 Königer, Maribel. Des Wahnsinns Fette Beute = the Fat Booty of Madness. Stuttgart: Arnoldsche Art Publishers / Staatliches Museum Für Angewandte Kunst, Munich, 2008.

Kuhnen, Johannes. Johannes Kuhnen :A Survey of Innovation. Canberra: The Australian National University, 2009.

Legge, Margaret. Three Centuries of Wedgwood: Art, Industry & Design. Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, 1995.

McAuliffe, Mark. Freestyle [Videorecording]: Nevo Australian Design for Living.-. Video Education Australasia, 2006.

Ramshaw, Wendy. Wendy Ramshavo, David Watkins: Schmuck = Jevoellery. Pforzheim: Schmuckmuseum, 1987.

Sparey, Lawrence H. The Amateur s Lathe. Herts, England: Argus Books, 1994. ANDREW WELCH BODY OF WORK 13 '> s c C f)

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