I am still at the coast, avoiding the heat wave currently blasting the Idle Talons home studio, but Larkin has been sending me progress photos so I don't feel quite so out of touch. I thought y'all might enjoy a start-to-finish glimpse into what goes into one of Larkin's pieces as much as I do!
Spoiler: Larkin was going for dragon-worshipping-the-sun vibes.
First step after coming up with a concept: deciding on size! Larkin cut some wing templates out of cardboard to help with the decision.
The middle size seems Just Right. Bonus glimpse of grubby teen jeweler paws.
Another cardboard template, this time a sunburst!
For this kind of detailed work, Larkin cuts the template out of sticker paper so it can be applied to the metal and used as a cutting guide. Here you can also see all the pilot holes they drilled through the metal so their saw has a starting point.
40 minutes of painstaking cutting later, and the sunburst is all cut out!
Hand polishing/grinding gets all the little burrs and sharp spots out of the cut-out so its edges are rounded and smooth.
Last check with templates before committing silver!
Silver wings! Cut out and textured.
Adding spines to the wings. Every little connection point and detail is another opportunity for the torch to cause the metal to slump which would require starting the whole process over.
Details are starting to come together!
This piece got a full rainbow finish after first heat!
The back of a wing after torchwork. The scorching is such a neat effect-- it's too bad it won't stand up to smoothing/polishing.
Veining is all done-- now for more details!
The tip of each "finger" gets a hand-sculpted talon. You can see the top one is the only complete one in this photo.
Talons and tails are cut, shaped, and ready for soldering!
Copper sunburst, talons and tails are all in place. Just need to add some attachment points for a cord on the back.
Pickled (Larkin uses a hot citric acid bath) and cleaned/tumbled to remove the torch scorch. A bit of hand-polishing and it will be done!
Taaaaaadaaaaaaah!
A quarter for scale and cord attached through hidden bails to show how it will hang!