ARCHITECTURAL & HOME Metalwork by DWIGHT BENNETT

Comedy/Tragedy Masks

FOUND THEATRE: I designed this set of white bronze comedy/tragedy masks on patinated steel plates specifically to

represent the four cultures residing around the theatre: African, top; Cambodian, second; Hispanic, third; Caucasian, bottom.

The first three cultures represented here, have rich histories of mask making from which I was able to design original masks,

and cultural experts from these three groups were consulted to allay any inadvertent cultural indiscretion from these three

groups. Unfortunately the fourth group, the Caucasians, do not have a rich history of traditional mask making, and the Found

Theatre being rather unconventional, took my offhanded irreverent suggestion that we use the infamous ‘Smiley’ (and

‘Frowny’) Face. This actually did offend somebody who took the time to write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper!

Look in the RECOGNITION portfolio to view a closer, more detailed look at these comedy/trgedy face masks.

Consider purchasing a coin-sized medallion replica of any of these face masks through

looking in the SILVERSMITHING portfolio for the original matching grant fundraising program brochure that follows the

pictures of the medallions.

See the next image to view these plates on the sides of the theatre's entry.

Found Theatre's Entry

FOUND THEATRE: My signage on both sides of the theatre’s main entrance.

Rather than produce traditional Comedy/Tragedy theatrical masks, the late founder of The Found Theatre, Cynthia Galles,

asked me to produce original sets of comedy/tragedy masks that would reflect the four predominant cultures in the newly-built

theater’s neighborhood. I designed four pairs of face masks, look in the RECOGNITION portfolio, representing the African

American Community, the Cambodian Community, the Hispanic Community, and the Caucasian Community.

All the masks are 4.5” diameter sand castings in white bronze, fastened to two steel plates on which I applied a thick patina of

rust, and that were fastened to both sides of the main entry, Comedy on the left, and Tragedy on the right. These face masks

also embellish the exterior display case windows (not shown) on both sides of the Theatre.

See the previous image for a detail view of these plates.

Classic Handle Design

CLASSIC HANDLE DESIGNS: Inspirational for custom architectural hardware: A Duesenberg door handle, above; and

Cadillac, below; both with custom coachwork.

When customers want custom hardware made for their houses or businesses, it pays to look at sources other than standard

hardware catalogues for inspiration. Here are two door handles taken from some classic cars from the 1930s. Derivations of

these handles would look great “out-of-context” on a client’s house doors, or even window locks or drawer pulls.

On the other hand, there are car fanatics out there who may have such a penchant for one particular make of automobile that

they might want custom door hardware that reflects their favorite make. And made on a smaller scale, these could become

custom window hardware or drawer pulls.

Replica Speaking Tubes

VICTORIAN ERA SPEAKING TUBE: My reproduction is shaped like the original one I was given to copy, above; compared to

a mounted (different brand) antique, below.

A client was restoring her 1903 Victorian. In the process of removing drywall from the walls that were once plastered, the

contractors uncovered rolled sheet metal tubes that ran from downstairs to the upstairs bedrooms. These were the remnants

of an early century ‘intercom.’ The holes on the ends of these tubes (that took right angle bends coming out of the wall) had

long been covered over. But at one time in the past, these holes had speaking tubes mounted into them. And so it was that

my client had me reproduce these speaking tubes so she could use the original system once more.

My reproduction speaking tube, top; is proportional to, and shaped like the brand I was given to copy (and failed to get a photo

of). Therefore, I am showing another brand of antique speaking tube for comparison, bottom; that is mounted on a wall in the

historic Marston House in San Diego, CA.

See the next image to find out how these work.

Victorian Speaking Tubes

VICTORIAN ERA SPEAKING TUBE: The cranks open/close a teapot whistle ‘door’ enabling a conversation with someone on

the other end in another room. My reproduction piece, left; an antique, right.

This front view of the speaking tubes shows the teapot whistle diaphragm ‘door’ at the base of the flared bell, that opens 90º

with a turn of the crank, and allows a person to blow a puff of air into the tube, which in turn summons somebody in the other

room by whistling through their teapot whistle diaphragm from the backside of their speaking tube.

That person comes to their speaking tube, and opens their teapot whistle door, thus opening the system at both ends through

which they can have a two-way conversation. Presumably when the door is closed on the other’s end, one cannot hear the

goings on in the other room.

See the profiles of these two speaking tubes in the previous image.

Ball Chain Acorn Finials

1920s ERA BALL CHAIN ACORN FINIALS: Original “Hubbell Removable” acorn finials are on the left chain; and two of my

reproductions are on the right chain. And on that right chain, one of my finished acorns, left; and one of my unfinished acorns

with a sprue, right.

See how they appear on the lamp for which they were made in the next image.

Acorn Finials on the Lamp

1920s ERA BALL CHAIN ACORN FINIALS: Both are my reproduction "Hubbell Removable" acorn finals on the lamp's ball

chains in the Historic Rancho Los Alamitos.

See details of these acorn finials in the previous image.

Craft's Era Hanging Light

ARTS & CRAFTS ERA HANGING LIGHT FIXTURES: I designed and custom built two hanging light fixtures contemporaneous

to the illustrations in the house's original blueprints.

I was called by the owners of a well-maintained, very original 1913 Crafts era bungalow house with lots of original premium

built-ins. Instead of the typical columns atop the ends of the half-walls separating the living room from the dining room, the

original blue-prints for this house showed light fixtures with hanging hardware from the overhead beam. But when the couple

moved into the house, they found the leaded-glass-on-wood-panel light fixtures up-side-down with copper liners, being used

as ‘flowerpots’ atop the half-walls right below where the lights had once hung. They couldn’t find any of the original hardware

associated with the original fixtures; but there was evidence that the lights had once been mounted above, like the blue-prints

illustrated.

They asked me to ‘reproduce’ hardware from the ‘featureless’ line drawings in the blue-prints, and to embellish the hardware

with period-appropriate detailing.

See the next four images regarding these light fixtures.

Craft's Era Hanging Light

ARTS & CRAFTS ERA HANGING LIGHT FIXTURES: As mounted from the overhead beam, and a detail of the electric source

box cover with the period correct cloth covered cord emerging, middle.

This detail image is the second of five images regarding these light fixtures.

Visual Detailing Source

ARTS & CRAFTS ERA HANGING LIGHT FIXTURES: The motif details of the original light fixtures was unknown (see the

previous four images regarding these light fixtures). So I mimicked detail ideas from their dining room's plentiful, original

Pacific Hardware Company's drawer pulls.

The ‘I See You’ Sentry

THE ‘I SEE YOU’ SENTRY: Was the result of the combination of two unrelated events. I had just discovered a public display

of fictitious sculptural metal animals made from old garden tools, and I felt inspired to 'loosen-up' and spontaneously create an

animal of my own with a bunch of old rusty found objects I had. The other was a gesture used by Robert De Niro in the movie

“Little Fockers” in which he takes his index and middle fingers and first points to his own eyes, then turns his hand around and

with the same gesture, points away from his eyes as if to say “I see you,” or “I’m watching you.” Hence the telescoping “I see

you” eyes on my animal, that’s perched up high to watch those who use our spa!

Casement Window Struts

STEEL-CASE WINDOW STRUT HARDWARE: Original broken pot metal mounting case, above; and my ‘reengineered’ bronze

reproduction case, below.

A couple moved into a 1930s era house with three-dozen steel-case windows that utilized these window strut units to hold the

windows open, or locked when they were closed. The original units were made of a strange mix of metals: Some bronze

castings, rectangular brass rods, pot metal cases and stamped-steel brackets, all plated to look like brass/bronze. After about

seventy years of use, most of the pot metal portions had long broken, the steel had lost its plating and was rusting, and many

of the rectangular rod struts were outright missing. Additionally, the units had been painted over with many coats of gold paint.

I reproduced the left and right units, making every part out of brass or bronze for all three-dozen units, while utilizing any of the

original brass and/or bronze parts that were not lost. In the long run, this was more cost effective than the owners trying to

find compatible replacement window hardware that would look contemporaneous to the era of the windows in the house.

38' Copper Stair Railing

COPPER STAIR RAILING: I hand-hammer textured six sections of solid copper rod totaling 38’ in length.

I was primarily responsible for designing and making a six-segment hand-hammer-textured, solid copper rod exterior stair

railing totaling thirty-eight feet in length. The other three segments (nineteen feet of railing) are on the left side of the porch,

mirroring the right side shown here.

See the next two images regarding this house's stair railings.

Stair Rail's Custom Finials

COPPER STAIR RAILING: A detail of the hammered rods, and the end and side views of the bronze finials.

Here you see how the round copper rod nests in, and is riveted to a U-shaped channel of brown powder coated wrought iron,

which is the same length as the rod. You can also see the method of mounting the rail to the top of the wall. I made sure all

the mountings were secured with round headed, slotted screws, which are what would have been used had these railings

been installed in the 1930s when the house was built.

This is the second of three images regarding this house's stair railings.

Visual Source for Finials

COPPER STAIR RAILING: The rod finials, right; were designed to mimic the bottom of the column finials that are a prominent

feature on the façade of the house, left.

This finial motif on the bottom of both columns on the façade of the house is a prominent feature clearly seen when ascending

the staircase. It seemed fitting to mimic this finial design on the railing ends (right), which would clearly indicate the railings

were ‘custom-made’ for this house. Hopefully visitors will someday believe the railings are original to the house after the

railings turn green from aging and exposure to the salt air.

See the previous two images regarding this house's stair railings.

Repro Plumbing Manifold

BATHTUB MANIFOLD: I copied this unavailable side-tap water manifold in bronze.

This client was restoring her Victorian era bathroom, and wanted one of the over-length Victorian era claw-foot tubs that had

the faucet and drain in the middle of the side. The client, who was extraordinarily resourceful, found all ‘new-old-stock’

hardware for this tub except this one ‘hot/cold side-tap water manifold,’ which has not been available for a century. I copied a

borrowed original unit in wax, and had it cast in bronze. She then had it machined.

Hite's Doorbell Button

HITE’S LIT DOORBELL BUTTON: Copper, brass and a bezel-set carnelian button in daylight, left; and in the dark, right.

The Hites wanted a lit, personalized doorbell button for their house. This one is actually three separate box-like sections made

of copper and brass. Note that the forms are fabricated with checkerboard sheets on the sides. The picture on the right is

how it appears at night. A bezel-set cabochon carnelian is the button.

Original Lion's Feet

LION’S FEET: Made of composite wood, the top side and bottom of the 'better' foot in 'as found' condition, left; and top side

and bottom of the poorer-conditioned foot with the voids filled so it can be molded, right.

The historic Rancho Los Alamitos had a tippy floor lamp that only had two of its five original lion’s feet under the edge of the

lamp’s round base. These feet were made of some sort of compression-molded glued wood-composite, faux finished to look

like bronze with gold accents. These feet could not stand the everyday abuse from the weight of the lamp, and based on the

way each foot was allowed to swivel because of being mounted with a single countersunk wood screw, I do not believe these

feet were original to the lamp. But this adaptation occurred while the Bixby family owned the ranch (and lamp), and therefore,

the feet on the lamp’s base were considered historically significant, and needed replacement. Of the two only remaining feet,

the one on the right had just fallen off because the back/bottom with the screw hole had totally ‘blown’ out (no doubt that this

was the fate of the other three missing feet). I filled the voids and sharpened the claw tips on this poorer-conditioned foot on

the right with white epoxy so that it could be molded. The better-conditioned foot on the left, I left untouched for posterity.

See the next two images regarding this lamp's feet.

Repro Lion's Feet

LION’S FEET: The bottom, the edge and the top side of my reproduction feet cast in bronze and patinated.

This picture shows three views of my five cast bronze replacements. There was one other alteration I made to the

reproductions: I added two nail points to the top of each foot, so that when the feet were tightened to the floor lamp base with

their single wood screw, the nails would bite into the bottom of the lamp’s round, wood base and then the feet would no longer

be allowed to swivel and loosen (which was part of what likely led to the original feet’s demise).

I faux finished them to the same finish as the originals.

This is the second of three images regarding this lamp's feet.

Lion's Feet on Lamp

LION’S FEET: My five cast lion’s feet, gold leafed, and mounted on the lamp's base. The two original feet were kept for

posterity.

See the previous two images regarding this lamp's feet.

Classic Handle Design

CLASSIC HANDLE DESIGN: An out-of-context inspiration for architectural hardware.

This is actually a finial on a wrought iron fence, turned horizontally. But out-of-context, it is an inspiration for door handles, or

on a smaller scale, this could become a window lock lever, or a drawer pull.

Reproduction House Digits

SEARS CATALOG HOUSE NUMBERS: The finished Sear's reproduction address numbers on my bench after finishing.

The client was having his house repainted. The original steel numbers were so completely rusted that they fell off in pieces.

He wanted me to reproduce the exact typography of the originals, so that his contractor could tack them up in the original

silhouettes left from years of painting over them. The first three digits were for his apartment above his garage, and the rest

were for his house (as seen in the next image).

Repro Digits on the House

SEARS CATALOG HOUSE NUMBERS: My Sear's reproduction address numbers on the house years later.

I’d have spaced them properly and in a straight line, but remember these were hung by the contractor in the same silhouettes

as the original numbers. Many years of being exposed to the salt air has created a green patina, but because they were

mounted with steel screws, the screws are rusting in the same salt atmosphere.

See the previous image to see all the numbers when new.

Door's Copper Panels

UPPER DOOR COPPER FAÇADE: For the top of the front doors, I designed a copper drop panel ‘reflection’ of the A-frame

window above it.

See a detail of this panel in the next image.

Repro Sandoz Rabbit

ARTS & CRAFTS ERA RABBIT: My reproduction of an Ed. M. Sandoz sculpture cast in bronze and patinated, left; and the

original sculpture, right.

See a detail of Sandoz's signature in the next image.

Craft's Era Bronze Fireback

ARTS & CRAFTS ERA FIREBACK: I cast this fireback in red bronze and hand-hammered all the background texture.

A client who had a really original Arts and Crafts era home wanted to have a custom-made fireback in his fireplace. This

fireback is a five-eighths inch thick casting of red bronze and has an Arts and Crafts era theme of pinecones and needles.

Back a century ago, the ‘high tech’ accessory to any ‘efficient’ fireplace required having a fireback standing vertically behind

the stack of burning logs to ‘reflect’ heat (otherwise lost to the rear of the firebox) back into the room. Judging from the fact

that firebacks did not continue in vogue is probably an indication that they were not really effective. But a fire back is a lot

more attractive behind the burning logs than the firebricks! Originally, this casting had a raw cast background texture similar to

a piece of sandpaper. But the client wanted the background to be a rich consistent textural surface of round ball-peened

divots typical of authentic Arts and Crafts hammer detailing. Some 300,000 hammer blows later, it was done.

See a detail of this fireback in the next image.

Fine Hammer Texturing

ARTS & CRAFTS ERA FIRE BACK: A detail of my hand-hammered textural patterns on the fireback.

This detail of the fireback (see the previous image) shows the consistency of the background hammering, and the borderline’s

perpendicular linear blows on the surface. Note the 45º ‘mitered’ appearance from carefully placed hammer blows in the

corner, and the barely visible chamfered border edge, which were both created with the same linear-headed hammer. Not

shown is the outside edge, which was also hammer-textured like the front of the border.

Doorbell Button With Logo

SIRACUSA’S DOORBELL BUTTON: Aluminum and brass, this client wanted a personalized doorbell button using his S-curve

sign logo as the button. This is as it looked when it was newly installed.

See the next image of this button fourteen years later.

Neon Address Signage

1330 NEON ADDRESS SIGN: I designed and fabricated this neon sign, shown here in daylight, with the tubes off.

I wanted a distinctive address number ‘sign’ for my house. I imitated design elements from a typical bungalow house gable

vent for the top of the sign. I embellished the sign’s back with more Arts and Crafts motifs, namely the repetitive copper

squares and screw heads.

See the next three images regarding this neon sign.

Details of 1330 Digits

1330 NEON ADDRESS SIGN: Some detail photos while the sign was on my workbench: Front view detail of my hand-

fabricated digits; the lower front view of same; and the end view showing the numbers atop the corrugated glass panel.

I applied my custom-made Art Deco numbers to an antique plate of thick chicken wire, corrugated glass and backlit it with two

colors of neon tubes (blue, green, green and blue) that pumped with different gases, yielded four different colors when lit.

This is the second of four images regarding this neon sign.

Lit Neon Sign at Dusk

1330 NEON ADDRESS SIGN: My neon address sign with the tubes lit at dusk.

The lower ‘tail’ is actually a design element to disguise the power line source that came from a porch light that was below the

top of, and next to the door.

This is the third of four images regarding this neon sign.

Treadle Sewing Machine

TREADLE SEWING MACHINE LEGS: Due to improper packing, these fragile cast iron pair of legs were broken into eleven

separate pieces, with two short pieces missing, left. I fabricated the two missing parts, had a copper strike plated on all eleven

pieces, brazed them back together, then had them powder-coated black, right.

Custom Table Hardware

KWAN’S TABLE DESIGN: I designed and made the bronze hardware marble corner units, above; and the side units, below,

for Kwan's specially built wood tables of his design.

James Kwan of Kwan Design designed a wood table that was basically a rectangular open frame with legs. These

components were screwed into the top edge of the frame (concealing the entire screw portion), and then the tabletop sat on

top of these units. The pegs on top of each unit went into a corresponding hole drilled into the bottom of the tabletop that kept

the tabletop from shifting. So the finished tabletop appeared to be sitting on top of each marble (within its circular bezel), only.

The top two pieces shown were used on the corners of the table, and the lower pieces were used along the sides, between

the corners.

Door With 550 Rosettes

DOOR WITH APPROXIMATELY 550 ROSETTES: I reproduced more than 300 of these in bronze.

This wonderful front door is on a Spanish style 1930’s home. Of the approximately 550 hollow-backed stamped rosettes that

graced its surface, about fifty-five percent of them were missing; presumably lost in the garden through the years. I altered

the backside of the three designs of the hollow-stamped rosettes so that they could be molded, and reproductions cast.

See a detail of these rosettes in the next image.

Samples of the Rosettes

DOOR WITH APPROXIMATELY 550 ROSETTES: I reproduced over half of these 3 designs on the door.

I copper plated these bronze rosette castings so that they would patina to the same color as those already on the door (see

the previous image). However, I patinated these particular samples to green (beyond those given to the homeowner), for my

display case.

Repro Window Cranks

POT METAL WINDOW CRANKS: My white bronze reproduction crank, middle; with two typically broken original cranks.

These low-quality pot metal window cranks, with articulated knobs, are from the 1950s. They are for steel-case windows that

are in the attic of a building at the Historic Rancho Los Alamitos. Through the years, the roughly two-dozen pot metal window

cranks have been breaking with all the stress of operating windows that have become increasingly ‘stubborn’ to open and

close with age. I reproduced them in white bronze (middle), which will gradually obtain a darker patina and that will stand the

stress. The originals are in typically broken condition below, and above is a glued together unit with the knob removed for

molding both parts individually. All the original cranks (broken or not) have been retired, and are now stored for posterity.

Repro a Clock's 3, 9 & 11

GRANDFATHER CLOCK DIGITS: My replacement numerals for the missing digits 3, 9 and 11.

A clock repair shop needed to reproduce some missing digits for an antique clock they were restoring. I pierced these out

from brass sheet. Note the slight curvature of the numbers to match the radius of the clock face. These are about three-

quarters inch tall.

Patio Furniture Foot Pads

PATIO FURNITURE: I cast and mounted non-ferrous bronze footpads to the patio furniture at the Historic Rancho Los

Alamitos to prevent rust stains on the flagstone like the remaining stain, upper right.