Part 1 of the project is complete! Overall I am happy with the way they turned out. The fabric is not what I want so when I work on the ones made with the injection mold and through CAD I will be looking for something different. This project has been one of the most challenging I have ever took on in my life. The earrings are 22 gauge sterling silver which have been die formed and soldered together. At the base of each earring is a hinge that when open, allows silk to flow out of them. The surface treatment is a simply liver of sulfer, but it dulled down the silver causing the blue of the silk to really pop. During the process I made every possible mistake but through it all, I learned a lot and am happy with the outcome. The weight of the earrings is a little heavy but if I had attempted to scale down the size, I think it would have been practically impossible to put a hinge on them. In the past I have usually worked on a larger scale so it was a much different experience. Please let me know what you think and don't hesitate to ask questions concerning the piece. Any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated. I will also be adding more pictures tomorrow.
The concept of this seems sound, it is interesting and pertains to the individual.
ReplyDeleteThe aesthetic choice could use some work although I cannot stress enough that it is, as is, a very well thought out piece and looks gorgeous as a piece of art.
However, as a piece of jewelry, they are rather large and look very heavy for earrings. This seems to contradict the light, flowing spirit of the open earring - even open, they look to be weighing greatly on the wearer, in part because of the patina. A lighter color may be more appropriate but I am not privy to the full extent of the concept and so the criticism of the patina should be taken with a grain of salt.
Secondly, as addressed, is the size of the piece. It would, to me, seem more appropriate for the 'rocks' to be smaller and the 'rivers' longer, for effect.
Finally, I do know that this jewelry is a metaphor, not a direct representation, but I do feel that the form of the rocks, while very well done (do not misconstrue this; as critical as I seem, I think this is awesome.), could be improved upon. They seem too capsule-esque, and not like a set of rocks necessarily. I have no real suggestions for the refinement of this, so again take this criticism with a grain of salt.
Overall, very well done. Some improvements can be made but I have no major complaints with the design or the craftsmanship. The largest problem is the scaling.
thank you so much for your feedback. It is greatly appreciated. I understand exactly what you mean about the size and overall forms. When I originally designed it I was worried about working any smaller since it would be my first time working with the process and also with hinges. However, they are quite heavy so I am looking into scaling them down when I produce them through CAD. I would also like the "river" material to possibly come down to the wearer's shoulders in my next set. This is very helpful feedback and I will utilize what you have said. Again, thank you.
ReplyDeleteNo problem. I've worked in physical therapy (Which I guess is similar in some ways to OT)for about four years now and the therapist I work with most often has a similar view to the one you're attempting to portray. In that sense, I can relate to it and so it isn't any work at all to critique it.
ReplyDeleteI understand the technical limitations of size - I wanted to leave the human element out of my critique in order to distill what I felt could be improved upon. I do know that even at the current size, it's probably completely destructive to both fingers and motivation to try to assemble such small hinges and forms. From a human perspective, I think that it's really impressive workmanship and I'm glad you'll be able to use CAD to focus more on the ideal and less about the doable.
Speaking of which, I do think having the silk material draping down to the shoulders will make the earrings rather striking. I'm happy to see that this is only an intermediate stage of the project; I look forward to seeing the CAD-produced pieces.
I will most certainly post pictures when they are complete!
ReplyDelete