Chandelier Saga Part 4: The Big Day

Chandelier Saga Part 4: The Big Day

Seeing this installed and lit up was fantastic. It was hung in a big tent for a fundraising gala banquet, and it really held its own in the big space. I don't know who it was who had the idea to scatter the smaller paper lamps around the chandelier, but it was a fantastic idea.

I went in before the event started to take photos, and they had lit it up beautifully with color-shifting spot lights. The effect was really cool. By the time the banquet started, though, they'd toned that down to let it illuminate itself. I did very much enjoy seeing the play of colored shadows across the textured surface, but seeing the light seeping from below the scales, making it glow from within as I'd hoped it would, made all that work worth it.

Everyone seemed to love it, which was awesome. The Possible Project, who had commissioned the design, made a couple of these available on their Kickstarter, and two people ordered one. So there will be a couple more of these made!

This project is the reason I kind of dropped off the internet for a couple months there. But isn't it beautiful?

It's a chandelier I was commissioned to design and build for a big fancy fundraising gala. It's being installed in two days.

I'll make a longer more in-depth post with in-progress shots and explanations later, but for now:

laser cut

1/16" thick okoume plywood

bolted together

1/8" birch plywood internal frame

14 light bulbs inside

about 50 lbs

about 50 inches in diameter

currently taking up most of my living room

f***ing awesome.

This dragon tail has a fading amber color pattern. It's composed of actual bronze down the center, blending into brown and orange anodized aluminum. The underbelly is standard uncolored aluminum. Also featured in the design is a full like of spikes down the spine.

The bronze when it's new is a shiny-penny copper color, and over time it oxidizes to a more matte and muted brown. I like the material a good amount, and I'm glad the commissioner for this was also excited about it. I don't get much chance to use the material.

I'm including the pattern I drew up for this coloration, in case people are curious. I'll also see about getting someone to model it before I ship it out, because I really liked the blend of colors on this tail and I'd like to get more photos.

Chandelier Saga Part 3: Assembly

And here's the exciting part--putting everything together!

We have:

Pieces being cut on the laser cutter

Treating all the wood with flame-retardant

Sorting all the pieces back out (I etched a label on every piece so this would be feasible.)

Beginning to construct the skin, expanding radially from the bottom center

Assembling the parts for the support structure, along with getting the bulb sockets in place.

Attaching the substructure into the skin

Testing it out (and replacing the bulb that released the magic smoke)

Moving it upstairs and finishing construction in the living room

Just barely fitting it into the car.

And that was it! I was done! It would be hung by rigging professionals, and it would be beautiful! Photos of it installed will be coming in another post.

Here's a quick photo of this dragon tail commission I just knocked out. It's done in anodized aluminum, primarily black with a purple underbelly.

I just finished the scale shirt I was slogging away on for a long time, and was feeling like I hadn't finished very many things for too long of a time, and was antsy. So I pounded this out in a day and a half.

Tomorrow I'll take some nice photos of it being worn outside in some natural light, but today it was rainy.

If you're curious about these, check out my tail commissioning guide!

Craft Fair!

I'll be vending at a craft fair in Cambridge MA tomorrow! It's called Cambridge Open Market, it's located at the plaza at Harvard, and runs from 11-5:30. This is my first real live full-scale regular craft fair! (Though I have done a real live full-scale non-regular craft fair.) It runs weekly on Fridays through the summer, with tomorrow being the opening day. I'm signed up for three days over the course of the summer: tomorrow, then once in July and once in August.

Here's hoping it goes well!