Diamond In The Rough—Peter's Self Portrait

For my eighth grade project I chose to re-wire, buff, and repair the skeletal frame of a mid-1930s light fixture that had been removed from a large stone estate on the Magothy River. From the beginning, I wanted to repair something because I have always been interested in my father's line of work, antique sales and restoration. As soon as I saw it I knew it would not only be a good representation of me and the great satisfaction that comes with working with your hands, but also of early twentieth century architecture and culture.

When I started working on the light it looked a lot different. It had been sitting for quite some time and the moisture in the air made for a corrosive environment that had not only eaten through areas of the silver plating but had caked on dust particles that had accumulated on the light over the years. I started by using fine steel wool and dilute acid to remove the dark coloration that covered the entire light. Once I had finished I removed the old wires and replaced them with new ones. This proved to be the most difficult aspect of the project because it was tricky to navigate the wires through the arms of the fixture. Once I had finished running the wires through, I then soldered the negative and positive wires together so the light would have the capacity to turn on. I hung the crystals and then it was done.