Photographing

Started doing a little photographing recently. Photography is definitely an art form i'm not familiar with, but its fun to try!

Retail Hell

Thinking about projects today while I cash out 900 annoying customers that are SO EXCITED TO BUY $2.75 HAND SOAPS. I cannot wait to get out of here today, put on comfy clothes and get some work done for CEP this week. Only two more pieces and two more presenations.

Oh yeah... also.... been dreaming in color a bit lately. Expect to see some new shades in my jewelry this week.

Wheels of Motion

I'm working away at my last two projects! Just about finished with my Marketing paper and tying up all the loose ends. 4 mores days until CEP week!

Balancing Act

With only about a week and a half left of the semester my ability to balance life and all its madness must be unfaltering. As I wrap up my last 3 months of work, I am also starting choreography at the dance studio, on top of holiday retail hell, and advent planning in my office. I'm already sick and struggling to preserver without a good nights sleep, but I have faith in myself that I will get everything done! My weekend to-do list is as follows...

1. finish up some jewelry orders I received for Christmas 
2. Finish or nearly finish my 10 page marketing paper
3. choose artists for my FAR104 final 
4. finally tie together my production project
5. make a template for Furniture Design class 
6. drink a cup of tea

Inspiration

I went to see the Picasso exhibit at the Albright a few weeks ago. This piece stood out to me. When I stand back from it I almost see two people dancing. It feels very fun and fluid to me even though the shapes are very sharp and geometric. After looking at this painting for a few minutes I was feeling inspired to use some color in a jewelry piece.

Movement

I'm finding that without a very specific assignment I struggle to feel inspired for a project. I'm not exactly sure why, but I enjoy being able to research one topic and then finding an information gem that inspires me. One would think that as a dancer I would have no shortage of inspiration for a kenetic piece. I worry when I go into a project feeling so disconnected from my designs that my lack of inspiration will be apparent in the finished piece. (this is usually the case). Part of me wants to start over, but I know I don't have time for that. Here's to hoping that I will find clarity in the studio tomorrow.

iVote

I'm time traveling back a few weeks to a project titled iVote. Although I have yet to finish and polish the piece I am very happy with the way it is turning out. The piece was to be about a social or political issue. I chose to make a piece about life with addiction and recovery. It is significant that the plunger does not actually function on this piece and that the needle portion is clean, bright silver. These two factors show that the syringe is not being used. The dominant element here is time. I used an hour glass as the vial of the syringe to show the ever passing minutes. The hour glass is significant not only to show time, but to show some degree of power. Although one cannot stop the sand from flowing permanently, they can always turn the hour glass over before it runs out. People living in recovery are all to familiar with the concept of turning the hour glass over before the sand runs out. 

Etching

Made this sample of photo etching this week. It's a fairly simple process with a lot of possibilities. I think i'll use this process again.  

Assembling the Pieces

I need to assemble the pieces to a lot more than just this project right now... I have about half of these soldered. I initially tried soldering them with copper solder. I learned that copper solder isn't very strong... And had to rodo them with silver solder. 

Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming...

Dyes

For a production project I chose to use a hydraulic dye press to create the same shape repeatedly for a series of ear cuffs. I did this process a few weeks ago and have found it to be an effective way to create dimension in an otherwise flat piece of metal. The pieces were then all cut to size. Over all stamping the pieces out took me about 10 hours, but I definitely think I would become quicker the more often I used this process.

Value

Allow me to procrastinate a midterm paper a little longer by blogging. The paper I'm supposed to be writing is dealing with the jewelry works of Salvador Dali. Dali often challenged the value of precious materials with thoughtful designs and precise craftsmanship. At first, I didn't understand how he was protesting societies value of precious metals and stones because he uses all precious materials. If he was trying to challenge value why wouldn't he work with materials that are less desirable? What makes a river rock or a scrap of steal any less impactful if the designs are well developed? Then, I realized that so often commercial jewelry uses the value of materials and the ignorance of society as a crutch. Many people (not all, but many) are like fish, they are attracted to shiny and sparkly things. A ring could have absolutely no design at all, but people are drawn to the sparkly stones and shiny metals. Maybe they're not even drawn to the stones themselves, but the "value" and social status that is associated with them. Often times, commercial jewelry lacks design.  Ultimately, Dali's greatest protest is thoughtfully designing and then still choosing to work in gold. The value of the jewelry is not in the rarity of stones or the purity of the metals but in the meaningful designs, carefully selected details, and the attention to craftsmanship.

Ironically, I feel like writing this blogged actually helped me organize my thoughts for my midterm, so maybe I'm not procrastinating after all.

Xiao Wang

This week I wanted to share Xiao Wang Jewelry's blog. Xiao Wang was one of the designers I shared in class for my production/collection inspirations. Sadly my pictures were printed in black and white so some of the beauty of the jewelry was lost. She makes some really beautiful pieces using unique earth tone stones. I like the unlikely combinations and placement of shapes in her work because it sets the jewelry apart from just your average run of the mill production work.

http://xiaowangjewelry.tumblr.com/

Take a Risk?

Starting off the semester with some quick design challenges has been a fun way to play with different materials and explore different parts of my brain. I'm trying to take a little risk (something I normally struggle with a bit). I look forward to more challenges and hope that I can apply what I am learning by doing these challenges to my work later this semester. Maybe it's time to break out of my usual head space this year!

CAD pt. 2

Still working on CAD! I've been in a computer lab for 12 hours. WHAT A RIOT :) I still feel like I'm learning a lot about Rhino, even today when I'm just rendering and adjusting lighting.

Raising

I was thrilled to get out of work early today so I could go to the studio and do a couple rounds of raising on this vessel! It looks so small in this picture, but it's actually a decent size. I realized today that I haven't been upsetting the edge so you can see how it looks sort of wavy in spots. I think tomorrow I'm going to sand it just slightly to straighten it out and then upset the edge moving forward! The piece is starting to have some weight to it! It's pretty exciting.

Only THREE more days until critique! Lots to do and not a lot of time!!

CAD

I have a few blog posts I have to write to cap off my 2016 Spring semester so I guess this is as good a time as any to reflect a little. This semester I began learning how to use Rhino. Up until the final day of class it has proved to be a challenge for me. It's like learning an entirely new language, but with that being said, learning a new language opens up an entirely new world to discover. I feel like I've only scratched the surface of CAD this spring and there is still much to discover! Five months ago I wouldn't have had the slightest clue as to how to make a simple scene like this. 

One Week To Go...

I finally got this mechanism piece put together and now I just need to finish cleaning it up! I cannot wait to see the finished piece. I ended up scraping the square glasses because they did not fit properly. The single glass lens ended up fitting much better. I also have been working my way through paper work and that is finally all set now too! I'm happy to be getting stuff done, but I still have A LOT to do in a week... I pray for strength and efficiency to have finished work next week.

Try Again... and Again

Feeling very frustrated today that even when I measure things a thousand times over again I still manage to mess something up. Maybe I need to lay off the mechanism pieces a little bit and make something more simple. End of the semester is not looking good this time around.

I blocked out my entire day and night tomorrow to be in the studio. Hopefully something gets resolved... or I don't know... maybe even finished. Yeah that would be good...

Hollow Form Ring

Working on cleaning up this hollow form ring I made. The piece on the top of the ring will be turned into a hinge mechanism. The possibilities with a hollow form are endless! I'm really grateful to have gotten a little practice with this form.  

I Should Have Bought Thicker Wire

I've been weaving away all weekend! This is just a sneak preview, but I cannot wait to be finished so I can construct my chalice.

Spoons

As I research spoons before I begin forging my own, I am amazed at all the different types of spoons! I see a lot of the shapes and think "THAT'S what the for??" Iced tea spoons, icecream spoons, tea spoons, coffee spoons, fruit spoons. I wonder if spoons 101 is part of princess training?

Chalice

I'm really pushing to get my chalice project done. So far I have the cup and the joining collar that will blend into the stem. That same collar will work as a blending piece for the base as well. Next, I need to start weaving the stem! Hopefully I can find the correct gauge wire at Niagara Hobby... 

Enameling

I tried enameling for the first time today! It's actually a really neat process. I feel like it gives me a lot of  new options as far as adding color to my designs goes. I thought I'd gather a little inspiration and look up some other jewelry artists that use enamel. Here's a link to Michael Romanik's website...

http://www.michaelromanik.com/

I love the beautiful patterns he is able to achieve; almost as if he had painted them! I also really like his bird pieces. Birds can be so vibrant and its difficult to capture their loveliness without color. Through his beautiful use of enamel I feel that Romanik is able to capture the true beauty of the birds!

Weaving with Metal

I've been captivated by weaving with metal lately. I love the intricate patterns that are achieved through weaving, but I also love the physical process of weaving. It's repetitive and therapeutic in a way. I've been looking up different ways to weave with metal on the internet and thought I'd share a video I found. The video shows an artists process of weaving with wire in order to create small baskets in a rain chain.

Weaving with Wire

Brooch Construction

The picture is from my first day of construction on my brooch project. I must say I am happy to be finished. I may go back and make a few adjustments before turning it in though. I felt like I took a lot from this past critique and am looking forward to starting our eye wear project. My goal for this next project is to get my designs finished and set in a more timely manner so I can spend more time on the actual fabrication. Here's to hoping.

Theme in Flight

I'm spending a little time in the sky this semester. I'm drawing inspiration from both natural and mechanical flight. The original inspiration for this theme came from the beautiful images of bats and their unique wings. I love the Gothic quality of the bones that are connected by the webbing that allows these creatures to move among the clouds. So on this note, here's some Tuesday afternoon inspiration...