Friday, November 12, 2010

Robur Wedding Rings

I just married sculptor and mechanical extraordinaire Russell Anderson, and moved to acreage near Maleny.

We decided to make our own wedding rings and we wanted something that reflected our shared love of botany and the natural world and combined my jewellery skills with Russ's skills in 3d modelling. So we used rapid prototyping techniques and designed them (really Russ did all the slaving and swearing at the computer) and had waxes produced and cast in 18 carat yellow gold.




The original image was taken earlier this year during a visit to Cooloola National Park where a particular Robur Banksia (Swamp Banksia) caught our eye. Russ was able to overlay the image onto a model of the ringshank. On the morning of the wedding foul curses could be heard as I hunted though packing boxes for tools to remove the sprues and sharp edges from the castings in my brand new studio!
For a process so digital and printerly, the rings are satisfyingly heavy and tactile. Though the contour lines of production betray the method of manufacture, they echo the serrations of the banksia leaves and evoke cuttlefish patterning.






6 comments:

shula said...

WHAT?!

You got MARRIED.

That is fantastic.

(as are the rings. I love them).

Kay Cooke said...

WARMEST congratulations Rebecca - what amazing rings. Very special and precious.

kriket said...

wow is that the Russell Anderson of bubble machine fame? I worked with Russell on a few projects years ago - congrats to you both!!! And lovely Maleny - wow

Anna said...

What a beautiful collaboration and lovely way to start your new life together. Congratulations.

Rebecca-the-Wrecker said...

Thanks everyone! Kriket you do beautiful work - love the mosaics!

merlyn said...

Congratulations on your wedding! Wonderful news and I wish you both joy and happiness forever.

The rings are beautiful.