Adding colour....

Deciding and experimenting with ways to add colour. Adding colour isn't a necessity in enabling my aloes to be recognized, but I am drawn to bright colours, it also makes it more interesting and funky.. I love the orange of their flowers and the way the thorned edges of the green leaves are outlined in an orangey tone.

outline colour along the edges, and on the thorns.

 

I still need to take some close up photos of the flowers, the long tubular shape of the petals.

Looking at ways i can use glass seed beads...... i can melt, then squash them to be a similar shape to the flowers (second one from left in the first pic.

Wearable plants.

Pot Plant Ring. 2009. 925, soil, rock rose.

 I made this piece at the end of  3rd yr. The concept - a conscious piece of jewellery. To successfully wear this ring you would have to remain aware(hand flat,palm facing down) at all times. If you forgot and moved  your hand (the way we do in everyday life)-the soil and plant would fall out. A practice in conscious awareness.

I came across a British jeweller and full time lecturer-  Jo Pond. This piece below "Windmill neckpiece" is part of her narrative collection. I haven't been able to find any writing on what this piece is about, but I love the concept of a hanging flower basket. It gave me the idea of turning a pot plant into a neck-piece. If i had to explain the feeling of this piece in one word id use "delicate" , but that is not my aim at all when i manufacture. I relate to this piece only as an idea. The jewellery i make is often quite chunky. 

Jo Pond, "windmill neckpiece".

My flower pot necklace in progress.Experimenting with a simple way to impressionize the flower, possibly through the use of colour.

Working backwards...

The aloe excitement is still up..... I'm designing around the silhouette aloe earrings- I started with the simplest interpretation of the plant, and then realized i should have started by trying to reproduce the real deal first, and then simplify/stylize. So I've put these earrings (temporarily) on hold .

I've started by making a couple of miniature fine silver aloes, They've got a fun feel i think. Because they're sharp and spiky- they're not so well suited for jewellery, but they're a perfect fit for the pot plant concept. Since i made my first "pot plant ring" , I've wanted to make a series to go with it. So now finally, thanks to our "flourish" exhibition in 2 weeks time... my next one is in the making.

a quick sketch before i had decided go go with aloes.

my aloe in the making....

One of my flower boxes at home.

 My own flower box, work in progress.

Support Local & Indigenous.

For a long time I've considered using indigenous plants as reference to my work. Last year I  got excited (briefly) about the Large Leaf Rock Fig & Coral tree (2 of my favorites). I took some photos of them, attempted repoussing a leaf and made a wax mold and a few ceramic ones, but never turning anything into a piece of jewellery and then blew off the idea.

 From there I've continued to used made up stylized leaf shapes. Now its become apparent to me how much more meaningful and "sustainable" ( from a narrative perspective) it is to use indigenous plant reference. I think It will also give my work a naturally more contemporary feel.

Cow Shrine finally finished.

This pendant was made as a "cow temple". I suppose quite a personal piece. I  made it as a tribute to  Gopastami (the cow holiday) that is celebrated in India. I just think its so wonderful that they have a day dedicated to cows. My little cow is standing on the alter ready to be "worshiped". The cow is rather small and therefore may seem insignificant standing there, but i like to think of it as this big fuss (the rest of the pendant) that's been created around this cow. I used as little hot work as possible (for eco vibe) and set the front into the back, so the design on the back was originally for practicality, but turned out looking way better then the plain back.(Excuse my lens in the pic, not sure how to eliminate that). I spent what felt like a gazillion hrs making a lllloonnnggg chain for the pendant, for it to hang low. It turned out to not really suit it, so for now its on a belchar chain but have started another variation of the original chain that i think will be better suited.

Original chain.

The new one.

 Now that i thought this pendant was finished I've realized its not.... The front of it needs more contrast, I've highly polished the frame and glass brushed the inside, but its still all too white, I am going to blacken the back, leaving the pierced layered mandala white and frame polished. Although jewellery blackening solution is liver of sulfur - Nasty stuff... so i will find an alternative. Will post new pic once I've done that.

After all.....

I fly pressed the back plate for my shrine, to find that I was particularly drawn to the smoothness of it, and how the simplicity the of domed shape along with the smoothness made it soooooo unbelievably nice to touch and feel...

So after all I mentioned a few days ago in a post about making the back look as beautiful and decorative as the front blah blah blah.... And after asking a few of my peers what they think, I have decided to keep the back plain... and let the beauty be in the simplicity of the shape and a feeling it gives (sort of therapeutic) rather then being in a visual way.

What about the side we don't always see?

Looking back at this pendent i made in 3rd yr. The front is pretty, and i get loads of pleasure out of wearing it... but I made the back as an after thought - in a hurry, and this is clear. I don't mind people seeing it when its on me, because they don't ask to see the back. When people do hold it to have a look, I always find myself excusing the back. Eventually I'll remake the back of this one. Jewellery is or should be interactive and i have realized that all sides of any piece should be equally beautiful...

So slowly as my Cow Shrine comes together, and as the front of it becomes more decorative. I've realized that I have made the mistake again and not designed anything for the back of it. It is a pendant so the back lies against the chest, but it is a 3D structure and surely it would be disappointing for a viewer if the back of it was not beautiful. I suppose it could be compared to a building, not only the front of it is designed and then a back -oh whatever?! That seems ridiculous, and should so too in jewellery. How much more special would it become if an equal amount of time and effort goes into all areas.

Shrine in the making

Putting some thought into the back..... Going to try Fly pressing,. The detail? 

  

Sacred Cows.

 As I have already mentioned part of my intention is to make narrative jewellery, to create awareness surrounding green issues/topics that i feel strongly about. I am going to start by making a series of 'Shrine' pendants. Addressing(or opposing) the matter i spoke about in my previous post (sad and un-sustainable animal farming methods).

Little plastic hand painted model cows i bought

Cast a few

As I would like to make beautiful jewellery, I am not going to focus on the negative aspects of an issue. Rather the opposite view, by zooming in on the positives. Eg. My first pendant will be "the Sacred cow". I don't know too much about Hinduism, but i know that cows remain protected and are considered to be sacred. The cow is honored at least once a year on Gopastami. On this holiday, cows are washed and decorated in the temples and then given offerings in the hope that her gifts of life will continue. I think this is absolutely beautiful. I wish to capture this in a piece of jewellery, and hope someone will find it beautiful and possibly shed a new light on cows in their mind??Even for just a brief moment....

A picture i tore out a mag ages ago... love the detail, shape and pattern

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After much designing ,the  final shape.

From the chunky bangle I last posted, I decided to cut it up and turned it into 2 separate bracelets. Each one with one central focal point (the leaf), simpler and far more comfortable.  As the bangle there was too much going on, and eye wasn’t drawn to any specific area; it was too heavy, both literally and visually.  Now as a movable bracelet, the weight of the leaf is juxtaposed by the flow of its shape. And then again by the delicateness of the chain which completes it. I have used belcher chain, but now that the piece is finished I think I would like to make a more decorative chain. Possibly something that matches the curly curves of the leafs edges’.  I’ll post the pic of the other bracelet as soon as it’s finished.

I used no acids for the cleaning of this piece.Only scrubbed it with a glass brush. And did the repousse using an old piece of pine rather than the pitch.

Manufacturing without a design

I wanted to make a bangle. I had different thicknesses of wire and fine plate, so thats what i used. I didn't feel like drawing so i just started manufacturing - with no plan and not much of a vision. I'm not sure what to do with it from here. Its uncomfortable and appears to clash with itself. Its really hard to just make something without any designing. I'm going to sketch out some ideas from here and see if i can maybe save some elements of this piece to make into something new and different.

Its good to be reminded how important the drawing and designing process really is.

Gardening Tools

Then there's growing a few of your own organic veggies. The fun part. Eating less meat is also a small positive that can help (livestock farming is one of the greatest contributing factors to deforestation). Meat-Free Mondays is a campaign to create awareness.... easy start, dedicate at least one day a week to no meat (i intend on making a Meat-Free Monday piece of jewellery).  I have made a few 'Garden Tool' pieces which represent "green" to me. I would like to make more, and to have a recycling range as well as an animal awareness range. I would also like to start working with other imagery that is associated with being 'green' maybe also positive and negative indicators of 'sustainability'. 

My Happy Gardening range. Dig It. Earrings. 925

Happy Gardening range. Shower with love. pendant. 925

Order done :)

So i made this simple(quiet minimal) pendant towards the end of last yr to add to my I Heart Market stock, because i was short of necklaces. Around the same time i was contacted by a women who buys and sells a variety of jewellery. A week before the market she took most of my stock to display at an open day, the necklace amongst other pieces sold. I quickly made another to fill my once again empty gap. Last week she contacted me for more stock at another open day, the necklace sold again, and 4 more were ordered :) .

For me the interesting thing is that our customers are completely different, although my market at I Heart is quiet a broad range of people all ages. Her market is more upmarket. And i suppose people generally don't go to a flea market with too much cash on them, although i am sometimes surprised.

Generally when I remake a piece I alter it in some slight way to make it better, this one has stayed mostly the same because that's what people want i guess. I'm not a huge fan of these,  but apparently some people are, so great!

"Autumn" - Bangle.

A page from my design book; some ideas for the bangle  Im working on. I don't draw all that much, so i use my sketches only as a starting point for an idea, then just make the piece as I go, I feel more comfortable working that way. Sometimes it evolves drastically, and sometimes slight. I would like it to look somewhat like a bed of leaves on the ground in autumn. Layered, with all different types of leaves. Some leaves will be 925 and some in fine silver, different techniques used to create the different leaves as well, for contrast.  I imagine the final piece to have a rough look to it. I've decided Im going to start naming my pieces, like art , as i like to think of my work as                  Jewellery Art. This piece will be called "autumn".

trying out fold forming

I cut a marquise shape out of .4mm fine silver plate, then folded it in half. Left hand side, forged along the fold and right hand side forged along outside edge. metal moves opposite directions, changing the shape. once opened the one on the left forged along the fold becomes concave shape whilst the other convex type shape. i think this would be an effective technique to use to create pods.

AWARENESS piece. A wearable piece, stand alone, brand

I really enjoyed the whole process of designing and manufacturing this piece, mostly because I didn’t have any specifics to follow - I threw the vernier out and just manufactured as I went. I find this a very rewarding way to work as nothing is too planned and in the end you come out with something that seems like a surprise.

Following in toe with my leafy earrings I wanted to continue with the organic theme. I kept my design and metal surface relatively plain and simple as I thought it would take away from the plant if I didn’t, the plant is the main focus of this piece.

This pot plant makes me really happy, and although it is not fully wearable, if it was to be worn, the wearer would have to be ever conscious of the fact that there is a plant with soil on their finger.

This makes the ring a mindful piece of jewellery, I like this idea. I would maybe like to make a sister to this piece that would be even more mindful, by creating a big pot with three finger holes.

Wearing this ring would be restrictive to the hand - a taste of our own medicine and reminder of how we feel we have the right to cut down trees and plants and then restrict them to grow only where suits us e.g. parks and nature reserves. Making the rest a concrete jungle.

From this piece I would definitely like to create an entire range of more wearable items.

I have received positive feedback, now just to leave it on the windowsill to get sun and love, and hope that my plant (and concept) grows.

“Let the beauty of what you love, be what you do”

I interpreted my quote in a directly personal way, by literally making the things I love; plants. I looked at different types of foliage that I find beautiful as well as looking at the positive and negative shapes that they made.

I used piercing, chasing, forging and blackening to get different textures and shapes of the different leaves, the blackening was to emphasis the positive and negative shapes and to make “shadows” as leaves do naturally when layered. These earrings make me feel happy and I like the way they jingle, and the fact that each earring is different - unique - yet clearly belonging as a pair.

While making this piece I learned that layering metal to look natural isn’t as easy as layering organic materials. I also learned about the different names of different shaped leaves. If I was to make this piece again I would make the individual elements smaller, so there could be more of them and I would attach them differently to make the back of the earring more beautiful. The making of this piece reinforced in myself that I want to carry on making “organic” pieces... it gives me most pleasure :)

Experimentation with a new technique : Reticulation.
Reticulated silver alloyed to 820, and blackened. Inner sleeve and wire bands 925, highly polished to contrast textures and colour.