Table with copper plates
In the 17th century the Ottoman Empire was the height of its power. It included 32 provinces in the Middle East, southern Africa and south-eastern Europe, and numerous vassal states. The first attacks on the Slovenian ground happened in the 15th and 16th century. At the time Slovenia was a part of the Habsburg Monarchy, later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The attackers wanted to penetrate Vienna and conquer it. They nearly succeeded on several occasions. As the cavalries moved towards Vienna, they systematically destroyed villages, towns and farms along the way in order to drain the country, and cause hunger and panic in the countryside. They were notoriously cruel soldiers. The farmers couldn’t move to a relative safety behind the town or castle walls, so they hid in churches on the hills and tried to fend off the attackers. Later they fortified these churches with walls. The main building material they used was stone and wood. In the exposed areas oak wood was used as it doesn’t catch fire quickly. The most vulnerable spots, for example doors, were additionally protected with many metal patches that were nailed on with large nails or rivets.
/The most vulnerable spots, for example doors, were additionally protected with many metal patches that were nailed on with large nails or rivets./
table with copper-plates by creative iron
Many of these doors are preserved in some castles and church walls. They caught my attention and I often admired the way the metal had been fixed onto the wooden base, and I was amazed at all the different sizes and shapes of metal.
When making my table with copper plates, I wanted to capture the interesting structure of the puzzle of rectangles as seen on doors. But instead of sheets of steel I used copper. I depicted fire of burning arrows by exposing copper plates to different temperatures and then quickly cooling them in water bath. Copper was colored in a range of colors, from orange to pink with patches of brown. I forged copper nails with big heads and used them for fixing. I used chestnut wood, but it can be replaced with other wood type of customer’s choice. The table can be made in different dimensions.
/When making my table with copper plates, I wanted to capture the interesting structure of the puzzle of rectangles as seen on doors./
Table with copper plates
