"Porthole" for Planeta Design Group
For this commission, I was asked to include a metal element. So keeping true to the sculpture's infinite pattern, I decided to design oar locks to not only keep the entirety of the rope in view, but to also mount the piece to the wall. This detail was inspired by the Dory fishing boats that were first built in Gloucester, Massachusetts and later adopted throughout New England. The oar locks themselves were fabricated from 1/4" thick by 1 3/4" wide copper bar. I hammered the texture into the heated bar, and hand forged each 14 inch length into shape. From there I cultivated a patina in order to achieve a nice contrasting color that would bring out the texture of the rope, and not get lost the way a natural copper tone would against the manila rope. Mounting to a tile wall was something new, but I always welcome the engineering challenges involved with the installation process.