Wednesday 3rd December, 2014

Today I came in and finished making my hinge, I found it easier soldering the sides separately but unfortunately pieces move during soldering and this can cause the pieces to not fold into each other equally, so I had to be really careful and I used binding wire to keep it in place under the heat.

I successfully made 2 hinges today!

Friday 24th October, 2014

Today I decided to make some paper machettes to play with composition and thinking of bases and attachments.

I had a go at making some basic shapes in porcelain looking at photos to reference how butterflies interact with their surroundings.

I found this image by Ren Hang that inspired me to capture that free moving form of the butterflies

Monday 22nd October, 2014

Sketchbook Day.                                                                                                                                                                        

Today I had some brain waves so I decided to draw them out in my sketchbook and write some notes and then have a play with painting. I feel like I need to speak to Julie about my ideas and see which one I should concentrate on!                                                                                                                                        

                                   

Thursday 16th October, 2014

This morning we had a lecture on the Bauhaus, I really enjoyed Adam speaking about the different tutors and what innovative ideas they brought to the table and how they created pieces before technology such as Photoshop.
I was intriged by their circle/timetable and it made me think about our schedules.
I thought it was interesting how they got the chance to find out who they were, working in different workshops and then picking their speciality.

Claw Setting.

Today we had a go at creating a claw setting which I found very frustrating but at the same time there wasn't as many steps to this setting, I just found soldering the claws onto the base difficult.

I will continue to make a ring for the base tomorrow and stone set my piece as I found it took a lot of concentration to get the setting it's self made in that one session.

Friday 11th October, 2014

Introduction to stone setting!

Today I was quite nervous about stone setting as I wasn't very knowledable about stones and gems.

Cerys explained a lot to us in a short amount of time and I felt it was so important to keep record of everything through photos and notes.

We created a bezel ring with a stone and shoulders, I felt this session was very fiddly but with more practice I believe I will progress in this technique and the finished pieces will become much more satisfying. I tried my best to keep it neat but piercing something so small was very difficult to me even though I took my time.

Stone setting has triggered my imagination for my project as I've been looking into butterflies and the interesting sections of their bodied before, after and during their transitions I believe stone setting would be a brilliant decoration technique.

I'm looking forward to experimenting with the other ways of stone setting next week!

I'm really interested in Art nouveau (1890s+) and the 'Will to flight' theory and taking a modern spin on this manifesto within my work development. 

I have being researching into designers such as Rene Lalique popular for his jewellery at the time.

"Art Nouveau jewellery by Rene Lalique"

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/98234835592042181/

This is also a wonderful piece by Lucien Gaillard, I love the symmetry and attention to detail, although these pieces seem outdated they're very interesting forms and concepts that I would like to apply to my own work.

"Moth Pendant, ca. 1900 Lucien Gaillard - Gold, enamel, citrine, and horn."

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/273804852318063483/

Thursday 9th October, 2014

This morning we had a lecture on Design Thinking and watched some videos about the founders of the comany IDEO http://www.ideo.com/uk/ I found this part of the lecture really interesting hearing these successful people speaking about how their companies work and why. 

This afternoon we discussed precious metals, what the difference between fine silver and sterling silver were and hallmarking!

I loved this part of the day as we got to make a silver wire ring and I was shown a  better way of soldering than I have learnt in the past.

I loved working in sterling silver and hope to use it again in the future.

Tuesday 7th October, 2014

This morning we had a seminar as a group seaking about our 'favourite things'
and selected work we found interesting and inspirational to speak about together as a group.
I found this task daunting at first but enjoyed finding out about some new designers and techniques they've used. I wish I prepared more research for the seminar but it was great finding out what others found inspiration in and why; whether it be the concept or the techniques used for the overall appearance.

In the afternoon I prepped samples for etching which I left in for 2 hours so see how effective it would be, I really like the results and look forward to oxidising them and finishing them up to see what effects I can achieve.

I also worked on my raising Sample and worked out a quicker way to add shape to the bowl shape. I started further up, banding the vessel with a mallet instead of a cross pean hammer then going in and making regular marks to shape the piece evenly and effectively 

I was shown how to get the pleates/wobby edges out of the metal with blocking which I think is a faster process for jobs that have limited time.

I found this technique difficult to find a rhythm too and control the metal but through practice and keeping track of the changes I have found the progress I have achieved and an appreciation for the technique.

Friday 3rd October, 2014

Raising!

Back in the workshop again today, Cerys shown us how to create a metal raised vessel using forming stakes and Cross pein hammer, this was a very difficult task for me!

I was getting the hang of this technique nearer the end of the session but the hardest part is controlling the metal and getting into the rhythm of hitting the metal.

 Here are some expampled of vessels made from various metals; guilding metal, copper and nickel

Here's my piece after my session today, it was a difficult task but I think it's very satisfying seeing the progress from this technique!