If I Had More Time...

I'm not supposed to say negative things about my work at critiques so I'm getting it out of my system now... This is my chain project all put together. I hadn't polished it yet, HOWEVER, it doesnt look a whole lot different polished. I realized after I finished that it was terrible trying to sand the inside of this flower. I probably should have put it in the tumbler before I secured it to the chain... To be totally honest.. If I could make the flower over again I would, but I'm simply out of time. I think the two pieces would be a lot cleaner had I cut out the two flower shapes and soldered them together flat and then from there bent the petals upwards. I suppose we live and we learn though! Perhaps I'll get ambitious one day and take the necklace apart and remake it.

I ended up putting Liver of Sulfur on the flower to hide the imperfections. It actually makes for a nice contrast against the rest of the bright silver piece. Over all I am still happy with the finished project and I learned some lessons, which is in fact the purpose of school... learning.

My First Piece

Yesterday and today I've been collecting pieces for a portfolio review and couldn't help but reflect on how much I've grown as a person and a designer. When I first started college I was an Education major. I flopped around between Elementary Ed, Spanish Ed, and Art Ed. All along I knew that I wanted to be more involved with art though. At first, I took art classes for fun that were all taught by the same retired public school art teacher. While, I enjoyed every class entirely I really didn't learn too much about the actual skills behind the work. I think back to those classes and realize now that the biggest thing that I took away from them was a love for the work; Regardless of the quality of the kitchy crafts I was making.

I don't really even consider the work I did then as much of anything... In my mind the first real piece I made was this necklace here. It is... it was... by no means perfect and today I could probably remake the piece a lot better, but I'm still really proud of it. I say "was" because it was in my purse that was stolen a few years ago. This necklace was probably the saddest loss from that whole situation. Sometimes, I kind of hope that I'll see someone wearing it on the street. I know that's pretty unrealistic, but I like that thought better than the alternative of it being in a landfill somewhere.

And while I won't be able to take this piece with me to my portfolio review this week, I think it was important to recognize the piece. It was after all the first real piece of jewelry I made.

Investing

It's been a little while since I invested anything, but I am pleased to say that it went rather smoothly. I remembered all of the steps and my piece ended up casting well. I sorta just liked this picture I took for Instagram so I thought I would share it here as well. The piece I invested has been since cast in sterling silver and I have started to file and polish. Hopefully, I will have it done before the weekend!

Metal-morphosis

After spending much time trying to find organic objects to work into a piece I just wasn't coming up with a design I liked. I found that I liked the organic objects in their original forms too much to turn them into something else. So I found a somewhat tacky plastic wing and started sketching. At first I still wasn't loving these designs either, but decided to just start carving. Eventually, after a little give and take I came up with a design that I was okay with. Then a classmate commented on the design, referring to the object as if it was a skeleton figure. This new perspective brought me to my final carving with simpler and more delicate lines. Casting went well for the most part and all I have left to do is a bit of polishing and filing.

Finished Chain

Finally finished weaving my double loop and loop chain! I'm really happy with the finished product. Cannot wait to learn some new types of chain weaving! The piece is just shy of 17 inches in length... perfect for a short necklace/long choker.

I've started to fabricate a decorative clasp as well. I made a silver flower that's about the size of a dollar coin. I hammered out the ends of the petals and bent them to give them a delicate feel. I think the contrast of the delicate flower and the heavy chain will make for an interesting combination.

Shifting Gears

I started sketching my chain project with a floral theme linked to my over all Sentimental Value theme, but I started to take a geometric turn. The geometry started to remind me of an Arts and Crafts style... Which brought me to a new place. The Roycroft Movement holds a place in my heart. I grew up around East Aurora and spend much time surrounded by the style. The sense of home and where a person grew up is definitely sentimental. A simple image or smell can take a person back to their childhood instantly and for me the Roycroft definitely has that effect. So my sketches have taken on hints of the Arts and Crafts, as I'm trying my best to capture my love of the movement.

Chain Weaving

 It took me a couple tries to get the hang of fusing, but now the process seems to be moving much quicker and with less flaws. Now I'm enjoying this project a lot. I'd really like to work more with different types of chains and possibly merging fibers techniques with metals.

Sketch Concept

This week I'm starting a chain project. There's something so therapeutic about this kind of work for me and I enjoy being able to just sort of turn my brain off and follow the steps of the process. With that being said I've been working on sketches that build on my semesters theme of sentimental value. One thing in particular for me that I've always treasured was flowers. Ever since I was a little girl I've turn bouquets upside down to dry and pressed wild flowers between encyclopedia pages. It's an act I picked up from my mother who still has a jar filled with the dried remains of her wedding bouquet. For me the dried flowers serve as little reminders of the beauty of the earth and its warmer seasons. I want to keep my chain fairly plain, but tie in these little touches of summer. Updates to come.  

Etruscan Chain

I've been doing a little fishing around the world wide web for examples of Etruscan chains and stumbled across this bracelet on Etsy. I love the way the artist designed the clasp for the bracelet. I think these chains are stunning on their own and should not be out shined by another heavier design. This bracelet does a really nice job of letting the chain be the main focus and then just accenting it with a decorative clasp. Follow the link below to take a look for yourself!

Patrick Burt- Roman (Etruscan) Chain

Lost and Found... But Mostly Lost

Creating a piece with a found object...

Here's the process:

-Find a piece of junk (I.E. floor tile)

-create some kind of cohesive design our said junk

-realize that tile is not actually tile

-break DIAMOND drill bit trying to get through tile

-break tile by gently tapping the rivet into the one hole you managed to drill

-cry

-move on to new design

I ended up adding some fiberous craft to the metal that I found in my junk drawer. (Bless my Polish Grandfather for teaching me the value of a junk drawer) Stay tuned.

Hinge

I decided that I wanted to learn how to make a hinge on this project. I'd say all is well that ends well! I was a little nervous about soldering the tubing to my piece since it was quite large compared to the hinge itself. I was very careful to keep the focus of the heat off of the small tubing and it worked out just fine! 

Riveting

Riveting 101

New favorite. 

Texture

Just wanted to share some of the research I've been doing... I really want to play with texture on this project. Not so much one uniform texture, but multiple textures layered to create a more organic feel. Similar to that of the moons surface I guess. Here's just a few pictures I pulled from the internet... Also on a side note: Finding the right shell is proving to be much more complicated than I thought. I may have to take a trip to the beach this week...