Monday, April 21, 2014

The Coldspot

After a great deal of work, time and expense the Coldspot Belt Buckle is finally finished! This project was spurred by an evening spent with a couple close co conspirators looking at all the junk that had lying around in my studio! Rummaging around the Coldspot pressed graphic emerged and was deemed moderately appropriate . I originally rescued the logo 2 years ago from a 1950's refrigerator that had been run over by a bulldozer next to my old studio in Columbia, Mo and rolled around the studio, office desk and bench for the next few years. The piece is made up of 4 layers including the graphic.

First, the logo is mounted to a die formed copper plate outlining the Coldspot. There then follows a narrow copper frame that surrounds the die form and also has fastens all layers via rivets to the back brass plate. Mounted to the frame are 36 silver tube set 2.5 mm stones, 18 of which are clear CZ's and the other 18 are lab-grown sapphires. In the lowest point of the p sits a 5 mm Topaz. The back brass plate was acid etched from a photo I had taken and it was transferred via PNP. Finally, the bar and prong where lost wax cast with an end weight of 4 ounces of sterling silver.  They are hand carved and modeled off of a refrigerator handle from the era of the logo. This project roughly took 2 months to complete as there was a bit of learning needed in order to reach the end, but well worth it!

Copper, Brass, Cast Sterling Silver, Die Forming, Acid Etch, Cubic Zirconia's, Lab Grown Sapphire's, Topaz, Leather
7" x 7" x 0.5 "