After Action Review

Sustains - I made the plexi glass and the brass in the die match perfectly.  Originally, I started with masonite and plexi glass, but I messed up the plexi glass so I threw out the masonite.

Improves - I tried to use the masonite later because I thought I would need more room to press, but instead of cutting a new one, I used the one that didn't match the plexi glass and brass plates.  This made gaps, bending the brass and making the forms uneven.  Also, one of the sides of the die  did not have filed edges, which wasted a lot of material (I used a lot of copper because my die is big) and left less room for mistakes and learning.  I didn't anneal enough either.  In the end I took the masonite out and hammered the brass flat, and the plates matched again.  Then I just used the plexi glass and brass together.

What Ifs - The project would have been more successful if I made all parts of the die together.  Making part of it uneven ruined the integrity of the rest.  Also, I could anneal more and try to push my forms further.

Hey!  So, a lot has been going on lately.  I recently took photos of "iconic hollow" things.  It was very hard for me to do at first, and all I could think of was cars, and houses.  I went to DC weekend so I happened to take a picture of the national art museum and the library of congress.  At least I think thats what it was.  Then I went to Royal Farms the next time and took pictures of everything.  It was fun, but I think people were looking at me wierd.  Like, "does she really think that bag of chips is a good photo?"  NO!  It's an idea.  Oh well.  

Creative Caffiene

Hi!  I'm Jamie Hofmann and I'm currently enrolled in Jewelry III (Art 419) at Towson University.  My first assignment is called Creative Caffiene, and the idea is to find fabulous form so that we can translate it to metal through a hydraulic press.   The challenge was, finding out how to get into the project and really get excited about it.  At first, I just looked for shapes that were pleasing; a rock, a flower, or a rounded outdoor light.  These were pleasing to the eye but they were not so challenging mentally.  What could I do?  Well, to entertain myself, I started finding people with interesting hair and asking if I could take a picture.  It was very good for me.  I don't know a lot of people around here, and I have a little trouble being social sometimes.  I forced myself to walk up to complete strangers and ask them random questions like, "can I take a picture of your hair?"  It was pretty amusing to figure out how to explain why I wanted a picture of their hair.  "It has a nice shape," I'd say, or "It's for a jewelry project."  Some people thought it was funny and some were annoyed.  I don't care cause I got their picture!  Who knows what I will photograph next.