making rose info

[Ernie Ferrucci]

Hi Steve
Another way to make the stem is to use a 1/8" brazing rod. Solders well to copper or brass.

Darn I never saw these replies, I need to check back sooner. I picked up 2 feet of the 1/4" copper tubing and I will keep it on the side to see how it looks. I will look into getting that 8ga wire or 1/8" brazing rod this week to use instead.
Pictures will come as soon as I make more progress. All I have done is cut the pieces out.

[fluxcoreit]

these are awesome thank you,john

[butch foster]

Here's some work in progress.

First pic; 3 patinated, copper roses about the size of my thumb.



Next pic; a cluster of five in a leaf. Yellow oxide patina with sterling centers.



Next one is polished copper with a sterling center. Still needs a patina.



Last pic is a yellow oxide flower with a pearl center inside two leaves.



Happy Easter.

Butch

[jlrussell4]

Hi Butch,

Those roses look great. I do have a question though. I had always thought of patina as a natural oxidation or corrosion. I don't think that is right - not completely right that is. Can you tell us what you used to get those colors? The color really sets off those flowers. Thanks.

[dauer]

Great work Butch I really like the coloring. I made a rose for my girlfriend on Valentines day now I have orders for 6 more. I haven't tried any coloring yet but you have given me some incentive to give it a shot, thanks for posting...


Dave

[Ernie Ferrucci]

Butch, fantastic job, very creative. I would also like to know more about how you achieved the colors.

[butch foster]

I thought the patina thing might spark some interest.

Jim - Your initial thought that patina is a naturally occuring oxidation is essentially correct. Over time I guess the definition has evolved to include coloring induced by chemicals, which is what you see here.

I started playing around with patinas several months ago in an effort to make the flowers a bit more realistic. I still don't have a clue what I'm doing, but I'll share what I've learned so far.

Copper is the metal of choice. There are a number of chemicals with which it will react in order to get a fairly wide range of colors. Brass and bronze can also be used, but I have no experience with them. In order to get good results, the metal must be clean.

There are hot patinas and cold patinas. Some are meant to be applied with heat, others are applied without heat. Temperature has a dramatic affect on the results and each patina reacts differently. You can layer patinas in order to achieve certain affects or you can mix them. The time you can spend dicking around with various combinations and temperatures is endless.

The red in the roses is a number of applications of a red oxide applied with heat. The green septals are cupric nitrate applied cold. Add some heat to cupric nitrate and you get the classic mint green copper oxide. Although the picture sucks, thats what I used for the leaf and stem in the pic with the 5 yellow flowers.

The yellow is a yellow oxide patina applied hot. If you go too hot, it will turn red on you.

Controling the heat and the application of the patina is nothing short of a ***** so don't expect good results the first time out.

Once you have the color you want. Hit the piece with a clear to hold the color and stop any further oxidation of the piece.

I got the patinas from www.sculptnouveau.com

Butch

[dave r]

todays attempt

the box is an old telephone ringer generator box that i got given
was missing its genny and its been in the workshop a while

cleaned up ok and the wife is very happy with it!

the leaves on the corners hide a couple of patched up holes in the box
it just wants lining with something now

When I heated them up they turned a DULL orange rusty color. Nothing like the "old" copper look the tutorial showed on the first page. How do I achieve that? Here is a picture of what I want: