Ramus 2

Description:

Ramus 2 is the small branching candle holder. It takes the logic of the branch, the way a tree grows by splitting, and casts it in brass. It is the entry to the Ramus family, and it is made as an open edition.

 

The geometry:

A tree branch splits by a rule. Leonardo da Vinci noticed it first: at every fork, the two new branches together carry the same cross-section as the one they came from, so the daughter stem is about seven tenths the width of the parent. Trees obey this rule because they are cantilevers in the wind, and the rule keeps the bending stress even along the whole tree. Ramus follows the same rule. Brass never had to obey it, since the metal is far stronger than wood, and that is the point. I took a growth law and executed it in a material that never needed it.

 

In the room:

Ramus holds a candle at the tip of each branch, and the flame sits where a leaf would. One piece stands on its own on a dinner table. Two or three cluster into a grove, and the branches cross in different configurations each time they are set down. The brass holds the light the way the branch holds the leaf.

 

The life it enters:

This is the piece for the center of a dinner table. It goes out with the candles lit, and the branches throw shadows on the wall that move through the meal.

 

Specs:

Solid cast brass, lost wax process
Finish: 14K gold plated. Polished brass and custom finishes on request.
Height 127 mm, width 127 mm (5 in by 5 in)
Weight 211g (0.47lb)
Open Editions

Made to order: 4 to 6 weeks
Made in New York