The Finished Piece!

OK, so after four weeks, this project is drawing to a close, and this is my final piece! Its representing Autumn blowing into Winter, and I'm pretty pleased with it! The back is a brooch pin, which needs a bit more polishing for that mirror finish over the weekend, but I'm almost there now. I've also put up a couple more of my sketchbook pages for your viewing pleasure :)

1,2,3.

Hello, this is going to be very quick as everyone is really busy in the workshop finishing off the artist research project, which we will be presenting this time next week!
Anyway, in the midst of all the madness some of my friends from fine art, jewellery and some other disciplines are exhibiting one piece of work each in the Wasps Studios exhibition space here in Dundee. Its opening on Friday, and my piece is on its way, but not finished yet (a late night tonight is in order!). All of the details are on our flyer, which is pictured below, but if you are in Dundee or the surrounding area, please pop in, in will be fantastic. To the right is my Faux Bone tablet, which I am stringing up with wire and handmade copper chain. I'll get a picture of the finished piece up when its ready I hope!
Back to the workshop!
Helen*

Sketchbooking....

I have been getting on quite well with my sketchbook this week and think I will be ready to start making come Wednesday. I spoke to Dot Sim, one of our tutors this morning and she seems to agree with my suggestion of going with the four seasons (which are frequently featured in Haiku) for my final piece. Or pieces by the sounds of things as I think four separate ones will be much better than trying to cram all of them into one piece. I'm thinking brooches at the moment, with perhaps a tree going through a different stage of its life cycle in each one. I'm also going to have to worry about setting stones in all of them and what to use. Might fuse some glass to be honest, to keep the cost down and have some more control over the colours. Dot suggested I keep four little sketchbooks for each of the seasons, but at the moment I'm just splitting my big one up into sections so I don't lose anything! Still only on Japanese spring at the moment though, so I should probably get back to it! I hope you like my sketchbook scans, these are my three favourite pages so far.
Helen*

Haiku and Haiga

Hello :)
Barbara Christie is very busy I think, as she has not replied to my e-mail (yet...). So it looks like I will have to go it alone a wee bit in this project. The narrative aspect of her jewellery, and what I interpret to be a rather Japanese influence and style have led me to Haiku, lovely, short and yet very descriptive Japanese poems. Futher research into Haiku led me to discover something I have never heard of before, the Haiga. This is effectively a Haiku, accompanied by an image, either depicting or enhancing what is said in the text. Sounds like something worth exploring in jewellery and that stones will lend themselves to it nicely. So sketching time it is and hopefully more narrative jewellery on the way. In the meantime, here are some Haiku I found which are inspiring:

These long days
watching the sky fade
with closed eyes.

walking
the river comes
along too.

afternoon rain
into my sleep
your pencil moves.


The big picture at the top is a traditional Haiga. I think its beautiful.

Helen*

Ring Exchange done, new project announced

So the ring exchange went really well. I'm pleased with how my design went, Elspeth made it really well. Its on display in the corridor at the moment, but photos to follow later.
As a project, it really got me thinking about where I want to go with my jewellery, and I really enjoyed studying old town Edinburgh in my sketchbooks, especially the juxtaposition between old and new, and the history which has been hidden underground and pushed from peoples minds. On that basis, I think my focus may be quite narrative and illustrative. Line drawings are the way forward! I really liked that my final piece has something to say, and can be interpreted by whoever sees it. I'm going to have to get some pictures up now so you can understand what I mean!


Now, the next thing, our new project. We have to research a jewellery artist, assigned to us by our tutors. This artist is given to us on the basis of similar ideas we might have running through our work in a bid to help us explore our own ideas further, or at least inspire us a bit. Well, I LOVE the artist I have been given. Her name is Barbara Christie, and though I had never heard of her until yesterday morning I'm finding her work hugely inspirational already. Here is her website: www.barbarachristie.com
I love the narrative quality of her work, and the almost Oriental images, especially in her brooches. The really predominant use of stones is amazing too, and something i had never really thought about much. I'll have to consider it now!
The image at the top is my absolute favourite (for now anyway)
Sketchbook time!
Helen*

Holy moley, I bought a kiln!

Yikes, there goes all the summer cash :)
Its my new obsession with bronze clay that made me do it (honestly), but i do have some loooovely pieces in the pipeline that i want to start selling through my website eventually....hmm I'll aim for christmas, but we shall see.
Meanwhile at college we are in the middle of a 'ring exchange' project, where we design a ring, then swap the design with someone picked at random from our course and then make each others...no pressure! Get the names on monday, so I'll let you know how it goes!
Helen*

Bronze Clay!

Well, here it is, my Bronze bracelet commissioned a wee while ago :) 

I think it turned out pretty well and the lady I made it for did too, as she has now requested a matching necklace!

The other exciting news is that I am attending Robert Dancik's Faux Bone course in Edinburgh this weekend, so expect to see some results from that soon!

Time to buff up the sketchbook a bit more.

Helen *