genesis

First you cut 550 pieces of metal. Then you drill 880 holes. And then you start welding them together again....

 As they grow larger I'm giving up on neutral background photos:

One third done....

more small steps

Once I have a few bolts glued in place I can measure the distance between the bolts and start designing the frame. Of course, I could measure the shrinkage of clay and try to work it out mathematically instead, but this is much safer option.

 It is really important to get distances and angles right, or nothing will fit together.

Looks about right. Now I can do the cutting list and chop 60 m of flats into small bits. FUN!!

small steps

The tile production is going smoothly,so it is time to start thinking about the next step: fixing the bolts in the holes at the back of the tiles.
I know that it sounds simple: you glue them in, right? 
There are a few things that need to be considered. Without some sort of support the bolts will not stand straight (as you can see on the left):

Previously I had 3 bolts per tile and a simple template with 3 holes was enough to keep them where I wanted them to be. With 2 bolts per tile the situation changes as they can still topple forward:

After a few ( a good FEW) trials and errors I have settled on this template:

That will keep them in place! 
Well, that took the whole morning. I'm using recycled aluminium printing plates for making templates.Now I need to cut about 25 of them, and precisely drill the 4 holes in each one.  That will take care of the afternoon.

the third project

The third project is very different. I am making objects that are reminiscent of Victorian European ceramic, yet decayed and malformed.
It is a great project, very different from what I normally make and I'm thoroughly enjoining it.
You would not believe how difficult it is to make malformed pots!!! I'm throwing them on a potters wheel, which doesn't take kindly to uncentered clay,  but than my instincts are to smooth, even out and perfect. Which is quite strange as I don't usually strive for those qualities. All of the sudden, with coil throwing larger vessels, I am transported right back to the student days at art school...and I have to very consciously move away from it.
The thing is, although objects are meant to be decayed and malformed, I still want them to have a beauty within them.
Here are some bisque fired surfaces:

And some drying:

And some that didn't make it:

I was going to keep it, but by the afternoon the whole top has collapsed inside the vessel.

So I went and bought a new hose for my gas bottle blow torch. I haven't used one of them for a while. It certainly speeds the drying process!!