Final Project
Final Project 2.0
This is the second version of the Final Project. I removed the desk toy aspect. It was too complicated and the lack of tools and resources made it too difficult to work consistently. I am refitting the box to hold jewelry. I plan to buy foam for the box to hold my jewelry and trinkets that I make.
Original Inspiration:
My inspiration came from the wonderful designs of rail tracks. Numberphile did a wonderful explanation on how this physics phenomenon works.
This combined with the Marble Olympics run by Jelle’s Marble Runs inspired me to want to use these fun and creative use of rails and toys to make a desk toy.
Vision:
The form of the base of the desk toy was to be simple and satisfying. I wanted to utilize my jewelry skills to make a linear Celtic knot around the side of the box. The Celtic knot was the design posted by Erin Silversmith/ AnonMoos from Wikipedia.[1]
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Celtic-knot-basic-linear.svg
I knew I wanted to use a salt ammonia patina. This is because it’s one of my favorite patinas, plus the lack of resources, is one way to protect the metal from rust and discoloration. The salt ammonia patina creates a nice dark blue color which pairs well with the Celtic knots.
The toy desk aesthetic was difficult to create. I knew that making the object with rails during the out break would be difficult. I decided to try it out anyways with back up plan in case it failed. The clay acted as the rails, a cheap, but easy way to mold and remold the rails. The marble was a simple choice especially since Jelle’s Marble Runs was my inspiration. 
Ultimately this did not work. If I had put in resources for better rails I could make this work. I decided I rather refit this after growing very fond of the Celtic knots. I decided to refit the box to hold my jewelry and trinkets. I decided to replace the location of the hinges and recut the top.
Sources
[1] Wikipedia. “File:Celtic-knot-basic-linear.svg”. Accessed May 6, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Celtic-knot-basic-linear.svg#filehistory.
2 Comments. Leave new
Hey Justin,
The box looks really cool. Everything came together pretty well. Just a curious question, how did you spray paint the spirals? And what do you plan on using this as?
Great job.
Thank you, I actually didn’t spray paint it. I used a salt ammonia patina. You use a fume chamber (you can easily make one at home) and raise the piece of metal covered with salt over a small bath of ammonia. The most important part is being careful with the ammonia. I’m going to refit the top and buy foam. This way I can refit the box to keep all of my jewelry and trinkets I make safe.