In the FB Chasing & Repousse group, we have quarterly challenges. They are just that; a way to be challenged and pushed outside your comfort zone but most of all, they should be fun to do.  When the challenge is done, the group members vote for their favorite and the group banner is updated with an image of the three most popular so those artists get bragging rights for the next few months. 

The most recent challenge was FISH and I thought I would share the banner I just posted.

Back in January, I made a musical tin for my friend Lisa, who is not only an awesome DBA (database administrator) but a musician too. If you did not read the blog post, I have to tell you the following so you are up to speed on this next part. I made the tin so it could hold her guitar auto-tuner and then we found it that the tin was a bit too small and so it would turn on and drain the battery in the tuner.  I knew I had to make a new tin for her and her tuner.

Then, in April, I then "borrowed it" so it could be photographed for an article that will appear in the November issue of Art Jewelry magazine and they have had it since then.  

Since Lisa's birthday is this weekend, I decided to make her that new tin and do my entry for the Facebook Chasing & Repousse group challenge #4 - FISH at the same time.  

I decided that I would do a pun based upon the REO Speedwagon album "You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can't Tuna Fish"  and put a Blue Fin TUNA on the tin and this time I would dome the lid of the Altoid tin so the TUNER not TUNA would fit inside.

Two weekends ago, I started. I removed the paint from the lid and domed it. I then located some line art of a Blue Fin Tuna and scaled it to fit on the lid.  Then I put the lid in the pitch bowl and lined it. After the lining, I flipped the lid in the pitch bowl so I could to the repousse and form the fish.

This past Friday, I did the repousse and then flipped the lid again and put it back into the pitch bowl so I could to the final chasing and detail work. On Saturday I finished the chasing, pulled the lid from the pitch and cleaned the extra pitch from the inside and outside of the lid. Sunday I was able to apply the solvent dye patina to create a sea blue background and get the coloring on the Tuna correct. 

While all of this was going on, I was posting images of the tin lid to Facebook and tagging Lisa with the comments about ....Tuna Fish. 

We then made arrangements to go to dinner, for her birthday, yesterday after work. We of course went for Sushi (get the fishie theme going on here?).  At Lisa's I showed her the tin and she just loved it - and she still did not know it was her present. I asked her to get her TUNER, not a fish, so we could see if it fit without turning it on; and it did!!! That is when I told her that she now had a TUNA fish for her tuner - and the evil deed was done. Lisa then got the pun and her present all at the same time.

and oh, by the way the musical tin was waiting for me when I got home YESTERDAY. 

Back in March I wrote about starting a FB group just for Chasing & Repousse.

That group has now grown to 260+ members.

There are 15 members participating in our challenge as well.

And this weekend I made NO progress on my entry in the challenge. 

BUT I did spend lots of time with other friends who I know via metals or the local gem & mineral clubs; the converstaion and company was excellent so  who can complain. 

That's all I got for you this week and hopefully next week I will have more.

In the Chasing & Repousse group we are having a challenge, our first one, and the subject is Octopus.  

Having come back from my travels and finished a few things, I am now focusing on the project for said challenge.   I won't tell you what my finished piece will be but I have been doing some practice work to figure out an important element - the sucker.

Here some items we have posted in the group for inspiration

First up a link to an exhibition at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Next two videos, the image I found that started the challenge  and then at the bottom my sample work