Victorian Mourning Jewelry
This piece is being sold on ebay for $3,500!
Really love the shape of this one!
Amazing stone border
Relics and Reliquaries
Reliquaries by Al Farrow (amazing!)
Reliquary of Saint Peter
Status/socio economic signifiers: Materials, logos, and archetypal objects
Diamond Plated Skull sculpture by Damien Hirst, one of the most expensive and controversial sculptures ever made because of it's socio-economical significance
Ancient native headdress, known to show wisdom and age
Hindu facial jewelry that shows marriage and socioeconomic status
Complex jewelry designs show importance and wealth
Gold, classy trim shows wealth and prestige (this idea came from working with the Baltimore Rock Opera Society and designing a victorian, wealthy, male costume...we added a ton of gold trim to the jacket to emphasize his status)
Free masonic symbols showing elitist knowledge and status
Finely decorated banjos that show that they are more expensive then the usual banjo with gold trim and great detail
Silky fabric and clothes signifying wealth (Mick Jagger back in the day)
Crystals and precious gems are known to show that one is of high socio economic status or connected to god and the earth
Religious objects showing wealth and divinity and connection to god
headdress and body ornaments showing importance and knowledge
Crowns show royalty and great importance
PRECIOUSNESS
What makes something precious to you. What does society, in general, suggest to us as precious?
1. Rarity
2. Monetary value
3. Historical value and what the object means; how long the object has been around
4. Emotional significance and value
5. How complex and detailed the object is; how long it took for the object to be made and how hard was it to make the object
6. Dependency to the object by the owner
7. The materials that were used to make the object
8. Who it was made by (Picasso painting compared to a college student level painting)
9. Beauty in the eye of the owner or observer
10. Religious/spiritual significance
Innovative and Interesting Containers
Poison Rings
I liked the geometric shapes in this bus
Beautiful etching!
Simple, quick, brainstorming sketches
RESOLVED SKETCHES
What makes something precious to me?
I see ancient, earth made objects as precious and sacred because I have studied in the past how long and how strenuous of a process it was to make the object what it is today (crystals, fossils, etc). I also view life and biology of this world precious and sacred because once you study how the earth works you realize that it is a miracle that we are able to exist in the first place...in comparison to other planets and environments.
A chase and repousse sea shell in the style of the Venus shell, made from brass. The circle in the middle will remain flat for an ocean colored piece of turquoise to be bezel fit in the middle to resemble ocean waves. This piece will be 4x2x1.5 inches. Both shells will be connected by a hinge in the middle, and a frame of coral made of brass will overlap the bottom part to make the piece a 3 dimensional locket. On the bottom will be an ammonite fossil that I was gifted in New Mexico set by prongs. The coral will act as a frame for the ammonite and give it a three dimensional look! I will also use liver of sulphur as a patina to make the silver bezel dark and the chase and repousse marks look dark and aged, much like a seashell. I would also like to make some line etchings in the sea shell to add even more aged look so it looks realistic and anatomically correct. The coral frame will remain bright and polished to emphasize the ocean like scene inside.
Some questions I have are how to make the locket clasp together when closed and how to make it all evenly work like a real clam shell with the frame on the inside. I want the clasp to be something that keeps the shell closed when being worn but am not sure how to go about that.
I am still contemplating the connectors or chain, The above sketch was my first thought (a metal sculpture like coral chain that rests flat on the chest) but then I realized that might be too much and take away the attention from the actual piece. Another idea was to have some chain and small coral like metal, flat pieces on the chain so it is like a coral landscape (much like the cactus landscape I did last semester..but this time would actually work).
Overall, this piece will demonstrate the preciousness of the ocean and the ancient objects that come from it, the object inside is an ancient fossil of a sea creature that was found by a friend of mine in a river bed in Texas (he is a fossil hunter and sells crystals and fossils for a living on the side of the Rio Grande Gorge bridge in New Mexico). The fact that it had been sitting in that river bed for thousands of years and existed when that river bed used to be an ocean is astounding to me.
DESIGN EVOLUTION
Instead of having the coral be positive space it will be reversed and be a pierced negative space cut out of sheet metal, a hollow form will be made in the middle where the ammonite will tightly be inserted by tension fitting. I am still deciding on what designs will be etched or created on the inside sheet metal around the ammonite or if I should just make the pierced coral go further to the top of the sea shell around the ammonite.
I still want the bottom piece to resemble a sea shell so a curved sea shell shaped bottom will be soldered to the flat sheet metal.
For the suspension method I realized that the previous idea was too bulky and would take away from the actual locket, instead I brainstormed different techniques with chain. At first I liked the idea of a body chain with sea shells hanging by jump rings in various areas but also thought this would look too bulky and crazy. I then thought about how I have seen artists use chain to create a triangular shape that adds a beautiful aesthetic feel and thought it would be the perfect balance for the locket. Chain would be suspended at different lengths from short to long back to short to create this triangular shape. Each ending will have a small sea shell hanging from it, I will only use small spiral sea shells so it doesn't look too busy or tacky. I feel this chain idea will emphasize the locket while also adding a aesthetic beauty to the suspension method.
Hydrolic Press Observation Log
