Champagne Bubbles

Bubbles on the brain...

Whilst at tech, we students had to enter a Platinum competition for AngloPlat (2008).
The brief was 'Celebration'.
I chose to make a platinum ring made of champagne bubbles in glasses.

I experimented first in brass and silver.
I made domes out of beeswax and fused them to make bubbles.. I then cast it in brass. I liked the look but the process took too long. I was too impatient. The bubbles had a rough, fingerprinted look.. organic and lovely but not enough like the smooth shiny surface of liquid.

Then I got cleverer. I used the disc cutter to cut discs of silver and soldered them together after much effort and patience getting the cutaways right (also made with disc cutter).

I soldered the bubbled plate to a base and made it into a ring.
Then I decided to try it with 2 glasses. I drew it first, to see it more clearly..

Platinum:

What a great metal to work with (:
Perfect for making bubbles because I can make the plate really thin.. and they glow when soldered, defying the shift into liquid form. A noble metal of note. It must surely vibrate at a fast frequency. Otherworldy.

Platinum is great because of its durable strength and lustre.
Silver, however, would darken in the crevices and create an added dimension of light and dark surface. These bubbles are raised from the inside of the domes to creat a sense of depth and shadow under the bubbles. Also obviously to save on metal, considering the cost of platinum !