Stock Up!

With the upcoming Buffalo State College Student Sale, I am announcing that JPHii Design will be releasing a brand new line of designs! December 7 and 8 at the Czurles-Nelson Gallery in Upton Hall at Buffalo State College, the Define Refine line will see its first sale! I have updated my Previous Work: Production Page with pictures of some of the Define Refine designs. So check them out!

See you space cowboy...

JPHii Design Partners with the Horror Experts!

For this Halloween season, JPHii Design is doing a contest along with the horror experts at Frightworld: America's Screampark in Buffalo, NY. All you have to do to win one of the 5 custom Frightworld Cymbal Pendants is post a review on Facebook of your favorite Frightworld house! Head over to facebook.com/Frightworld to enter the contest!

See you space cowboy...

Big Contest

JPHii Design in conjunction with Frightworld: America's Screampark is doing a big contest this Halloween season!

I decided to give the avid JPHii fans a sneak-peak at the prizes!



There are five Frightworld JPHii Pendants that will be given out as contest prizes. Each is inspired by a different one of Frightworld's five 2011 haunted houses!

Contest details coming soon!

See you space cowboy...

Took Some Time...

Well, as everyone can see I have not posted to the Blog in a bit. But with the return of Halloween comes the return of regular posts! So be ready for news, pictures, and more!

See you space cowboy...

Lip Service Magazine Article

Lip Service did a feature article on my jewelry and metalwork.

Give it a look!



See you space cowboy...

Updated Blog Content

I finally got around to updating the content on my blog. I post to it regularly, I just haven't changed the things like the links on the side for a while, so I did that. So feel free to check it out here.

Also, this would be a good time to tell everyone to go "like" JPHii Design on Facebook. It gives you a chance to get quick updates and coupon codes for the JPHii Etsy Store.

See you space cowboy...

In The Press

Well there were a couple of great write-ups and mentions of the Slime City Double Feature benefit back on May 9 where JPHii design was mentioned by name, but I haven't had a chance until now to share them. So here's two of them:

This is a blog entry by Jen Heppel, the mother of Ben Heppel who is the 8 year old boy that the benefit was for.

"Back to Roswell this am for a spinal and chemo. Ben is in great spirits this morning and is having lots of fun goofing around with the nurses and docs. Such a goofball!

Went to the Slime City/Slime City Massacre double feature last night. Had a fantastic time. Can't thank Greg Lamberson enough for putting together the double feature. The entertainment valu for Tom and I last night was priceless. Enjoyed myself far beyond my expectations of watching the fim through my fingers! The people there were all amazing as well. Fantastic raffle of a variety of treats, bookd, movies, etc. Who knew that kind-hearted and "horror" go hand in hand!

Ben even got a special piece of jewelery designed and given to him by John Harris, a pharoah symbol, which funny enough Ben recognized right away from an epidsode of Scooby Doo! He loves his new charm!

The film Slime City was made in the late 80's and the follow up film Slime City massacre is being released today. We will be in line for our copy! Want to be able to show Ben...someday when he is a bit older :)"

This next write-up is a small portion of an online horror publication called The Bloodsprayer and can be found at Bloodsprayer.com:

"Following SLIME CITY Greg held the “Non-Horror Raffle,” giving away items such as a signed Buffalo Bills lithograph, gift baskets for massages and “chocolate facials,” (we all snickered too) etc. One of the high points of the night was during the Non-Horror Raffle, as Greg raffled a one of a kind piece of jewelry, a pendant made from a recycled drumkit cymbal by John Harris of JPHii Jewelry, bearing the SCM title. John also made a singular piece for Benjamin in the image of an Egyptian Ankh, which he presented to Benjamin’s parents for him. It was a really touching moment, and the whole audience was silent as the grave for it."

So there you have it, some great mentions there.


See you space cowboy...

Alloys and Ankhs

So I have been playing with alloys lately. With my playing has been a load of research and math, but I decided to cast a single piece in every alloy. Here they are: The Alloyed Ankhs!





Because of what this symbol means to me, each alloy is an individual piece. The reason that I originally designed and created this piece was because I never felt as if I belonged in any group. Throughout my life, I struggled with social settings and situations. However, I found one place where I fit in and where I mattered: Frightworld. Frightworld became my home, and my co-workers my family. I designed this piece to give to people close to me at Frightworld. They were cast from brass and given to people that I greatly respected. I then cast multiples in Sterling Silver to share with the rest of the world, and make everyone my family. This piece is actually so important to me that I had it affixed to my body in a tattoo.





So the pieces are all given a name based on the alloy. These are the names from left to right of the picture above.





The Steampunk Pharaoh's Ankh (Sterling Silver), The Frightworld Pharaoh's Ankh (Jeweler's Brass), The True Pharaoh's Ankh (Custom Brass Alloy), The One Pharaoh's Ankh (Shibu-Ichi), The Divine Pharaoh's Ankh (Tumbaga). The reason that Jeweler's brass was used for the ones given out was purely because brass reflected the Egyptian gold the most. The custom brass alloy, the Shibu-Ichi, and the Tumbaga were all mixed and poured by me.




See you space cowboy...

Experiments of an Alchemist (Kind of)

So I decided to play with some things that I haven't, and many people haven't, played with before: Alloys. There are many common alloys out there, but I came across one that peaked my interest. As many people know, I am not only a jeweler, but I am also an Anthropologist working on my BA in Anthropology with a focus on Cultural Anthropology. In some research that I was doing for my class on Mesoamerican Archaeology, I came across an alloy called Tumbaga. Tumbaga does not have many set standards for it, but is an interesting alloy because it essentially fire scales with gold coming to the surface. In fact, the gold is so strong in the alloy that the Spaniards confused it for solid gold upon its discovery in Central America.

In some journals written by early explorers, I came across the magic numbers of 5:15:80. That is, 5% gold, 15% silver, 80% copper. So I decided to figure this out for myself.

Here is an image of the math that I sat down and figured out to make the Tumbaga using scrap gold and sterling silver into the mix. This math accounts for the varying qualities of gold, as well as the dillusion of gold using silver and copper.



So those of you who don't care so much about this topic, I recommend that you turn away now. Because this will get long and drawn-out. But feel free to stick around as I explain why I used the math that I did.

First and foremost, I weighed out my gold in grains.

18k:10grn
14k:70grn
10k:8grn

From there, i figured out the perecentage of gold in each part of alloy. I did this by using the standard of 18/24, 14/25, and 10/24. This means that 18k is 75% gold, 14k is 58% gold, and 10k is 41% gold. These alloys are cut using silver and copper, meaning that in 18k, 12.5% is copper and 12.5% is silver. This division of remaining percentages was also used on the other alloys to figure out those contents.

So then I figured out just how much of each metal I actually had.

.75 x 10 = 7.5grn gold (1.25grn copper, 1.25grn silver)
.58 x 70 = 40.6grn gold (14.7grn copper, 14.7grn silver)
.41 x 8 = 3.3grn gold (2.333grn copper, 2.333grn silver)

7.5 + 40.6 + 3.3 = 51.4grn gold

The total amount of gold that I had was 51.4grn, meaning that 5% of the total alloy was 51.4grn. So to figure out the necissary amounts of the other metals, I used 5% (using a root 20, essentially, which is ironically the root of Maya calculations), to figure it all out.

51.4 x 1 = 51.4grn gold
51.4 x 3 = 154.2grn silver
51.4 x 16 = 822.4grn copper

Now, that's how much metal is needed. However, because of the varying qualities of gold, there is already a base amount of copper and silver. So add those base amounts up.

1.25 + 14.7 + 2.3 = 18.25grn silver, 18.25grn copper

Then subtract those base amounts from the total metal required.

154.2 - 18.25 = 136grn silver
822.4 - 18.25 = 804grn copper

So the total of metals necissary is:

51.4grn gold
136grn silver
804grn copper

Add those up to find out the total amount of alloy available.

991grn of Tumbaga.
991/24 = 41dwt 7grn = 2ozt 1dwt 7grn

The other major issue that I came across was the issue of specific gravity. There is no standard for the specific gravity of Tumbaga. So I worked for hours on trying to figure this number out. Here's how I did it. Now, I don't know for sure that this will work. But I will find out.

Specific gravities:

Gold: 19.3
Silver: 10.4
Copper: 8.9

I took these numbers, and applied them to the alloy in relative proportion of the metals. I did this again by using a base root of 20 (based off of the 5% gold).

19.3 x 1 = 19.3
10.4 x 3 = 31.2
8.9 x 16 = 142.4

Add them up
19.3 + 31.2 + 142.4 = 192.9

Divide that by the root of 20
192.9 / 20 = 9.65

It appears that 9.65 is the specific gravity of Tumbaga, if this math is even remotely applicable. I guess we'll find out!




See you space cowboy...

Blue October

So this past Wednesday, we went and saw one of my all-time favorite bands in a small venue in Rochester called the Water Street Music Hall. It was an amazing show. Nice and intimate.

Here's some pictures:

It really was an amazing set, and they played songs that I did not expect. They opened with Ugly Side, which is an awesome song. But they also played Come In Closer, X Amount of Words, and The End, which are songs that I did not expect to hear but was super happy to hear them. Especially X Amount of Words.

Definately check this band out if you get a chance. Look them up online, go to a show, whatever it takes. Their newest album, Approaching Normal, is an amazing album but I first heard them with their album Foiled, so I really highly-recommend that one.

See you space cowboy...

Charity Time!

Wow. Well the world has needed some help lately! Yesterday was the Bijutsu sale at Buffalo State College. I'll tell you, I went to help set up the sale and was astonished and awed by the amount of artwork that was donated. The sale lasted several hours, and resulted in a total of about $7000 for the Japan Relief Fund. 100% of that is going straight to the fund, so Buffalo made a difference this week! I'd like to thank Sumiyo Roland and Megan Cosgrove for their tireless work on the event, and I'd like to thank all of the artists and patrons that made the sale a huge success.

The next charity that I am involved with is the Slime City Double Feature benefit this coming Monday (May 9) at the Dipson Theatres Market Arcade Film & Art Center (639 Main St. Buffalo Corners, NY). I really encourage everyone to come and support this cause which will help Benjamin Heppel, a local 8 year old boy with lukemia. There will be give-aways, raffles, and a back-to-back viewing of Slime City and Slime City Massacre. These are two amazing horror movies, both filmed right here in Buffalo.



One of the prizes that you can win at this event is a custom, one-of-a-kind Slime City pendant from my A Cymbal as a Symbol series. I enjoyed making this piece, and I can't wait to see who gets it! Here's two pictures of it.



It will be on a genuine leather cord.

So come support some great causes and get some great artwork!



See you space cowboy...

100th Blog Post!

Well, this is the 100th blog post that I've done on this blog. So for this one, I will cover some up coming information!


On May 4, (Yesterday), a large collection of my work (which includes the Myconocle: The Eye of Psilocyborg, The Amazing Extending Body Poker, The Lost Archaeologist's Amazing Digging Device, the Mechanical Eye of Aman-Ra, and the Frightworld Pharaoh's Ankh) are being photographed in LA and in Death Valley, CA for a spread in Lip Service Magazine. The article is on the top Steampunk designers in the world. I feel privelaged to be among that category.



On May 6, a charity event called Bijutsu is going on. It is being organized by Megan Cosgrove, Sumiyo Roland, Sunhwa Kim, and Bob Wood and will feature a large amount of artists and designers that have donated work to sell in an attempt to raise money for the Japan Relief Fund through the Red Cross. At this event I will be revealing and selling a new line of jewelry that is only for charity. It's called A Cymbal as a Symbol and is based on my previous cymbal pendants.



On May 9, I am involved with yet another charity for a young boy with lukemia. This event is taking place at the Dipson Theatres Market Arcade Film and Art Center on Main Street in Buffalo. This event is going to be fun because it is a double-feature of two locally-made horror films called Slime City and Slime City Massacre. I am good friends with one of the special effects designers for these movies, so I was excited to get involved. For this event, I am donating a custom Slime City A Cymbal as a Symbol pendant to be auctioned off.



On May 13-15 I have a weekend full of photo shoots for Rio Grande in order to show the new Steampunk Components line that they recently released and had me test and review. Modeling my work (which is essentially the collection that Lip Service is shooting plus a few extras) will be two fellow designers. Furniture Designer Eric Rose and Jewelry Designer Natasha Horeth will be modeling for this shoot.


Tonight I also updated JPHii.com to include a feed to my new Etsy shop! The site also now has a link to the Etsy at the bottom, as well as an updated contact page and some new pictures. So things have been crazy!


See you space cowboy....

Website Update

I recently updated JPHii.com. There's is now a page where I will be adding images of exhibitions and special events. So keep an eye on it. There's also images of new work, as well as new accomplishments added.

See you space cowboy...

New Piece

I've been very busy lately, but I decided to make a new piece with some very heavy cultural reference. One of my recent pieces (the most recent) is called The Lamellain Barb and Thread of Autosacrifice. This piece is modelled after the needle and barbed thread used by the Maya in autosacrifices of bloodletting where the spine and thread were pierced through the tongue, forskin, or labia of a person. The thread or paper on the ground would collect blood. In some cases, the thread or paper was burned. In some cases, the blood would fall or or be applied to corn which was then used to bake sacred breads. This piece is made of copper, brass, leather. and hemp.



Dark? Yes. Creepy? Yes. Just my style? You bet ya!

See you space cowboy...

Another Happy Customer!

I recieved an email the other day from a happy client. At the time, I was pretty tired from working overtime on production pieces for the upcoming sales. My morale and motivation was low, and this message really picked me up and allowed me to get that extra umph into my step and finish what I had set out to accomplish. So here is the message:

"Cheers on the tattoo. just for the record, since you went ahead and got the tattoo,I figure I should let you know that the necklace you gave me is one of maybe half a dozen pieces in my life I have totally fallen in love with and almost never take off. not because of some weird obsession with you, the artist, cause really I don't do that. just because the piece really strikes a chord with me on a number of levels. it's perfectly appropriate for the here and now and i totally ♥ it."

She also sent me a picture of the pieces that she is talking about, which is The Steampunk Pharaoh's Ankh. This is an image of her wearing it.

The tattoo that she is referring to in the message is the tattoo that I recently had done of the Steampunk Pharaoh's Ankh. This is a picture of that:

So anyway, we get little victories where we can. Take those victories and use them as fuel, because if you're doing it right, you'll need all the fuel you can get!

See you space cowboy...

Site Updates

So there's a lot of new content and features on the site.

To start off, the image gallery has now been split into two separate galleries. A Conceptual Metalwork gallery and a Production Metalwork gallery. Both can be found through the Home page, and every other page, of JPHii.com. With the splitting of the galleries, there is also now a third gallery of Videos that can be accessed through the image galleries. You can also choose your media player on the Video gallery.

See you space cowboy...

SIAM Postcards

We (The officers of SIAM) have officially finished and put the order in for the first of two official SIAM postcards of 2010! SO we will now release the images to the masses!
(Front)


(Back)

So congrats to Vincent Pontillo for having both a piece and a photo credit on this postcard, as well as Aric Verrastro for his postcard debut. Also, I feel like an egomaniac congratulating myself here, but congrats to me for having a photo of my piece on the back of the card as well as designing the post card!

Oh yeah, and congratulations to Simon Frysz for being the only model on the post card.

Expect to see these within the next week in person!

See you space cowboy...

Design Student Exhibition

The design student exhibition is up at Upton Hall on the Buffalo State College campus where a few of my pieces can be seen! Here's some images of the jewelry in the gallery.

The Amazing Extending Body Poker and Myconocle: The Eye of Psilocyborg

Dance for Me, Mycomistress and The Steak Knife of the Steampunk Serial Killer

Here's the two name plates.

See you space cowboy...

Updates

The site jphii.com is now fully updated!

New images are up, as well as a newly-formatted photo gallery, and a new page specifically for production pieces!

The Achievements page is also completely updated. So have a look around!

See you space cowboy...

Updates

I will be updating my site today with all new content. So please be patient when trying to view it. This will likely take me all day. Thank you.

See you space cowboy...

Need for Updates

I really need to update my webpage. So just for everyone out there, the image gallery will be updated this week with all new images, as well as new videos.

Keep an eye on www.jphii.com for more.



See you space cowboy....

Production Work

Well, as many of you may know, I've been working on some production pieces for the past couple of weeks. Well, they've been a huge success! Not only are they selling faster than I can make them, but I'm oddly entertained by the variables that can be utilized in these pieces.

Here's pictures of some of the pieces:

So those are a bunch of the production pieces. Most of those are sold.

And that's a happy customer!

See you space cowboy....

Change in Plans

Well, because of this crazy a-typical pneumonia, I will not be working on the Emerald Ripper for the Blizzard competition. I need to give myself a little more time to heal.

However, I will have a load of new pieces and designs coming soon. So stay tuned!

See you space cowboy....