Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Conclusion


Through all this wax work and casting I have learnt so much from trial and error, and still have much more to learn. Casting is a whole other skill that goes far more in depth than I had ever thought.
It takes alot of patience and persistance and the outcome can either be frustrating and dissapointing or exciting and rewarding.
I have found that with wax rolling the possibilities are endless and I am enjoying the process of experimenting and although tedious at times the results are often highly satisfactory.

The Search



This is a bracelet that I am currently working on it has taken time because it needs more elements due to a change in construction, instead of using jump rings to attach the elements I am using hinges so that the mechanism for movement can be can be hidden. I find that with certain pieces jump rings can often make a piece look cheap and improfessional so that is why I went with using hinges. I had a few bumps along the way like the once again, mis-cast elements, but I'm sure all the trouble will be worth it.

I am drawn to the Aztec feel of this piece it reminds me of an ancient wisdom that once existed and is now forever lost to the blindness of modern day society.

Evolve




This is the evolution of the once lost but now found Periwinkle earrings, I gave the first ones a rest for a while because they weren't working out the way I wanted and wasn't sure how to take the design further. So through my journey of wax rolling I came across a very special wax extruding instrument, thanks to my lecturer, which is much less time consuming and allows me to make much thinner spirals. Thank goodness for that because this piece takes alot of time to make.



I have found that this earring wraps over too much and is a bit short and stumpy, so I have a new shape for it which I had molded but mis-cast due to my metal not being hot enough when pouring into the flask... Sigh! Live and learn.

Ancient Eternity

This is an element I have retrieved from a prevoius mis-cast phenomena bangle.
I experimentally used a sprue on only one side of the bangle and this was the outcome, the metal cooled down before reaching all the cavities.
I love it because it brings about feelings of mystisism and ancient artefacts.
I'm not sure yet what I will do with it but I'm sure I'll find out in time.

Wind cries Mary


This piece is an improvement of the Phenomena bangle, the first bangle was more of a prototype and a bit clumsily done. I've tried to go more intricate in this piece using thinner spirals and with more thought put into the placement of spirals with regard to the overall shape of the bangle, which is a wavey shape.
This piece has thick sides because it is unfinished and still has its 'sprues' from casting, which assist the flow of molten metal into the piece.
When I feel like my bangle is finally what I'm hoping for It will then be worth setting stones in the middle of certain spirals, mainly Opals, Moonstones or Labradorite, maybe all of the above.

Latest work in progress


The Following pictures are of unfinished pieces I have been working on in the past 2 weeks, half of which have evolved from previous pieces.

Voodoo Chile

These are my latest pair of earings, I came about this design just by experimenting with my wax rolled spirals and keeping ethnic jewellery in mind. The reason why I use spirals in most of my work is because I am somewhat drawn in by their hypnotic pattern, which seems to vibrate a mystic energy. I am amazed by the way a spiral plays tricks on your eyes the way it seems to move, even when drawn on paper, although it is static. For the most of it spirals are to me a freak of nature, they are one of the most predominant forms in nature found in clouds, plants, shells and water, and nobody really knows how or why they exist so to me they are a true natural mystic.