Flowers Mechanisms

I have started constructing the flower mechanisms to create the three kinetic flowers with fully movable parts. To create the moving hinge systems, the flower bases (the part where the petals are slotted into) need to be cut out large enough to have 16 x 2mm long slots and small enough to fit into a bud to hold it in place. On these bases, tiny slots need to be cut so that the petal can be slided into the opening. each petal has a 2mm x 10mm long tongue that is rolled up once it has been slotted into place, this prevents the petal from slipping out, but also allows the petal to move about in a wide range of movement depending on how tight the tongue has been rolled up. To decorate the flower base, I have punched tiny beads into a second plate, which I have soldered onto the base to resemble the center part of the flower carpels. After tumbling the bases, I rose gold plated them to create a contrast to the whiteness of the sterling silver petals.

Construction of the slots for the petals

Construction of the Carpels to be placed on top of the base