Tuesday, December 29, 2009

SILENT GROWTH (second final piece)

this is my proudest piece of the two finals. it is a natural progression from the silver ring. it was a pain in the ass, but i am very happy with it. i think it is going to inform my next work immensely.

AQUA BLOSSOMS (one of two final pieces)

copper and aqua neckpiece





these are some in process images of the final copper piece. i pierced out triangular shapes in copper and soldered them into a cone, then hammered them to form them to the point i wanted them. the largest one was the hardest, but i wanted evidence of my hand and my process in the form.

RESIN!





these are some examples of me testing what i can do with the molds: color & texture-wise. i drilled holes, sanded, cut into them, went back with paint, more resin, trying to find the same balance of interesting exterior/interior space. after making a dozen samples, i started to explore smaller forms that could compliment the larger orifice-like larger ones. also building metal forms for them to live in and grow out of.

the top one reminds me of seaglass

the green one is everyone's favorite in the studio, its not mine but, its ok

the yellow i feel has a wonderful contrast of soft exterior and wet, juicy interior

"sketching"




this was a phase in the middle of the semester when i had been struggling with finding the happy medium between free "sketching" with materials and designing. these are examples of me "sketching" in 3-D.. it is the best way for me to explore ideas. better than drawing something on paper. using fabric and sculpey has been very helpful. the red and green piece served for the model for my next series of studies, which ultimately informed my final two pieces of the semester.

THE most talked about piece of the semseter...




THIS piece stirred up a lot of conversation from my peers. It is to date my most successful piece. (in my opinion) i wanted to create something that would be mysterious, but also inviting. something you could hold in your hand and enjoy the smooth texture of the metal, and the interior could invite you to ponder, touch, lick even, the glossy, juiciness.

the first image is in process, the second image is it coming out of the kiln, after firing the undercoating of enamel color, it would serve as the base color. the blackness of the copper exterior is from the oxidation and heat of firing at 1400 degrees.

the final image is the piece in its final state. after polishing the exterior, and adding patina. the interior was painted with three coats of different red enamel paints. i felt there was a specific color the interior needed to be, and i could not achieve it solely with enamel. there was no perfect color. the paints came to the rescue and i could finally create the same glossy texture and get the perfect color.

silver "growths" ring




this ring started as my first piece of jewelry for the semester. it started from dapping three different sized flat circles into hemispheres, and raising them up and over as if to complete the sphere. you can see it the most in the largest one. then soldered them together and made a ring shank. enamel paint and colored transparent resin inside, finished with a liver of sulphur patina!