{"id":1452,"date":"2014-06-11T20:13:35","date_gmt":"2014-06-11T20:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/?p=1452"},"modified":"2014-06-11T20:13:35","modified_gmt":"2014-06-11T20:13:35","slug":"pat-flynn-pursuit-perfection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/2014\/06\/11\/pat-flynn-pursuit-perfection\/","title":{"rendered":"Pat Flynn and the Pursuit of Perfection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Salvador Dali said, \u201cHave no fear of perfection, you\u2019ll never reach it.\u201d Don\u2019t tell that to Pat Flynn<\/a>. He is all about the meticulous pursuit of exactitude.<\/p>\n

He admits his workshops can be a bit demanding, but he\u2019s seen plenty of students come away from his classes with a new level of pride and confidence in their skills. \u201cIf you learn how to make a perfect sphere, or cube, or cone, that\u2019s saying something. To measure, cut, and work to dimensions is a huge skill to have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

$\"Forms\"$ <\/p>\n

Pat leads a five-day course, \u201c Precise Fabrication and Mechanisms<\/a>,\u201d July 9-13 at Metalwerx. Students will tackle a different project every day, beginning with the construction of the three geometric forms, followed by building a box clasp and tube-in-tube locking pin finding.<\/p>\n

$\"Mechanisms\"$ <\/p>\n

\u201cPart of it is learning how to see,\u201d he said. \u201cI look at people\u2019s work sometimes and it\u2019s sort of like a square, but not really.\u201d A trained eye can easily detect if something is off by even a half-millimeter or less, he said. He wants his students to be able to see where things go wrong, and how to correct it.<\/p>\n

The exercises incorporate the use of flat paper models to reproduce in metal, and improving the skills needed for accurate measuring, careful fitting, and proper soldering. After completing the hollow forms, the techniques are applied to creating the functional mechanisms. It\u2019s not about tricks, he said, but more of a \u201cdemystification\u201d of building the box lock or the pin. \u201cHang in there and work through all the samples and locks, and you\u2019ll have a more confident sense of how to approach things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

$\"Dust_Cuff\"$ <\/p>\n

Much of his jewelry is instantly recognizable: iron cuff bracelets dusted with gold, necklaces of hand forged iron nails set with diamonds, the famous heart pins. Functional, secure–and beautiful–findings are a signature element of Pat\u2019s jewelry. You will never find the \u2018figure 8\u2019 on any of his box clasps. That\u2019s basically saying it\u2019s a bad lock, he said. He prefers to spend time getting the catches right than to have it return later for repairs. He\u2019d much rather spend his time on production.<\/p>\n

$\"Striated_Cuff\"$ <\/p>\n

He has plenty of work to do, considering last year\u2019s sales were his best ever. It has been a hectic spring as work on a studio addition is nearing completion. Pat\u2019s vessel pieces are more than ever in demand, and he is trying to devote more time to creating hollowware. He once had a big gold cup that he\u2019d take with him to industry shows. He often surprised bartenders by asking them to fill it with beer, then hand over the precious piece to a friend who might need a break. \u201cI kind of miss that cup,\u201d he said, adding that the piece is now in the collection of Yale University.<\/p>\n

$\"4_Hearts\"$ <\/p>\n

Despite the anxiety that the pursuit of perfection might develop in some students, Pat sees a high degree of success in the workshops he teaches. \u201cTrouble shoot and problem solve,\u201d he said. \u201cThe ones who stick it out will feel proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are still seats available for Pat\u2019s workshop. Click here<\/a> to learn more, or contact Metalwerx at 781-891-3854.<\/p>\n

–by Yleana Martinez<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Salvador Dali said, \u201cHave no fear of perfection, you\u2019ll never reach it.\u201d Don\u2019t tell that to Pat Flynn. He is all about the meticulous pursuit of exactitude. He admits his workshops can be a bit demanding, but he\u2019s seen plenty of students come away from his classes with a new level of pride and confidence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1452"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1452"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1460,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1452\/revisions\/1460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/metalwerx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}