stone setting

I knew in order to stay on track I need to start research ASAP. Studio just ended so I hit the lab. I came across a website. It has a list of artists to the right. A lot of the pieces made are for production.


http://worldartisangems.com/

Theresa Burger is one of the names shown as you scroll down. That is who mainly caught my eye.

decisions decisions

PROJECT OF CHOICE!

that is my final answer.

expect real insects....dead ones of course. I guess it will be a display of them.

Transformation Brooches Project

I finished my pieces for Jewelry. They still ned some touching up, however they are finished for the most part. The photo quality isnt great but here they are!

Casting...

So after spending numerous hours carving, rolling and cleaning up wax, I finally completed two major parts of my brooches. I made one brooch entirely of spruing wax. This brooch is to represent larvae. It took on an organic shape of its own as I made it. The other brooch is just of the major make up of an ant. The legs of the ant will be fabricated along with the antenna and mandibles. The thorax portion of the ant did not cast. Not a big deal. I may try to construct something out of plastic for it. Plexiglass is also being used in my pieces so that could possibly help to tie it all together. I still have to remove the sprues and clean up. Nevertheless, a good portion of work is done.

research on ant farm

So instead of the original sandy dirty ant farms, there are new ant farms. They use blue gel instead. It looks unreal and creepy.....the ants are just floating in these little tubes, so weird. Anyways, I am going to model one of my brooches after ant farms. We will see how that works with plexiglass, silver, and possible some sand or dirt!

ants cont.

here are some yummy ant images!

new theme: insects

I have finalized a theme for this semester. I am working strictly with insects. The first project is a series of three brooches that show transformation. I have decided to work with a view from nature to examination(scientific). The insect I have chosen is the ant. As small and as insignificant as it may seem, the ant is important to us as humans. it is also tougher than we imagine. The Maricopa Ant is the deadliest insect in the world. With just four stings, it can kill a lab rat. Not only is this ant deadly, but its body is made up of amazing shapes. One brooch is going to show the nature of the ant, where the ant lives. The next brooch will be a detailed ant. This way we can see the make up of the ant. The final brooch will be a play off of an ant farm. That is where the scientific examination comes into play. Also, these brooches can all be playful. I like pieces that the wearer or the viewer can interact with. I hope to make the ant farm most playful. Once the sketches are finalized, I will post images along with sample pin backs.