The Dragonfly Lamps – Marqueterie et Tiffany

Dragonfly lamps delivered

Alix’s lamp delivered and in place, colours seem to blend in

Celia’s lamp in place too

2 Years of Lamp work

Before I gift the two dragonfly lamps, here they are for the last time together and with the Elaborate Peony in the background.

Alix’s Lamp finished

Here it is, Alix’s lampshade finished before cutting the upper attachment to size. Darker colours as requested. And yes those wings, long and straight on the curved surface are not easy.

The shade had been damaged ( falling to the floor) after completion but before the filigrees stage, necessitating the removal and replacement ow almost all of the wings.

Alix’s Lamp ‘Filigree Time’

Filigree Time, Check it out against Celia’s lamp at the same stage.

https://marquetryandtiffany.art.blog/2024/09/09/celias-lamp-filigree-time/

Celia’s Lamp finished

Well here we are after all that work.

I had originally bought generic filigree wings which I then cut to size and tried to solder in place.

But the wings were difficult to solder in place and needed a large build up of solder.

So… I took the filigrees off and removed the excess solder.

Then I bought new filigrees made for this size of lamp that were more flexible from Tiffany Reproduction Hardware. Chose to deform them locally to fit the actual assembled glass parts and feel that this is a much better inal fit.

Celia’s Lamp ‘Filigree time’

Lamp all cleaned up, washed and brushed out using washing up liquid, numbers removed, ready for the next step

The wings cut to the top shape before applying a coat of solder to both sides ready for assembly

First two wings in place!

Celia’s Lamp – Demolded

First glimpse of the lamp to come, outer surface only soldered. The colours seem to work although the dragonflies are rather bold

So here I’ve taped on the filigrees of the wings to get a better idea of the final wings, toned down just enough, it should work.

The next step is then to solder on the upper ring, yes I forgot, then to solder the entire inner surface, tidy up the outer surface and finally to apply the filigrees and the finish.

Celia’s lamp – Tooled up

Well everything is ready, just need to wax up.
But wait what is that tool for keeping the mould horizontal at different heights?

Yes! It’s a round broomstick sticking through the hole in a drawer. But how do I adjust the height?

Well you’ve hung brushes, brooms etc in a shed maybe? Well it’s the same one way grip on the inside of the drawer.

Celia’s Lamp – Ready to go

Rings and filigrees delivered by Verrosaique ready to assemble and solder, glass from GK Techniques cut to size, ground and the edges copper taped.

So I need to finish cutting Alix’s wings and set up my workshop to accurately place the mold in a different horizontal position for each piece of glass and I’ll be ready to wax the mold.

The dragonfly lamps part 2

Celia’s idea of a lamp was more like this, nuances but also colour variants and a degraded colour scheme from top to bottom.

This should be easier right? Well I’m waiting for the filigrees to see if the wing colours are not too bright. Yes, more worries, well I guess I would just change the wing colours if they don’t work.