Red Eye : Ready...I think!!

These earrings are made for the Red Eye Fashion show that will take place on the 25th of this month. They are based on an earring I made a week ago. wanted to created something that is bold and makes a statement. I wanted to create something big, that could be seen from the ramp. I don't know how large the ramp will be. I also wanted to play with the volume that the circles create without the weight on the ear. The earrings are big without weighing big.

I used silver wire and enamelled copper to introduce colour. I used a floral pattern, I think they are more feminie that way.I will be trying them in a smaller scale though because these would head turners on the street.

Blue....Red Eye

I was looking for something light, forged and could be on a ramp. But It didn't go the way I saw it in my head. I might have to change the shape of the enamel because this doesn't look right. It's not balanced. I wanted something that is symmetrical so the earring look balanced. Maybe I'll try a circle or oval. They might need to be bigger for the show. That is possible to do because they can be light in weight.

Intergration

Elements pierced out from copper plate
I had this idea that I wanted to try integrating jewellery with fashion. I meet with Nokwanda, a fashion designer of Controlled Chaos and discussed the technical issues of combining metal with fabric. These are the sketches from that talk. I had cut out these flower elements from copper plate, which I thought could be used for a dress. I planned on enameling each one to add colour. The copper might be too heavy and the enameling take too long. I have started investigating aluminium and anodising.

Fashion show part 6

This is on the earrings for the fashion show. The design began a few months ago with a picture from the Elle magazine. The dress had circle print on it and i wanted a piece of jewellery that would work for the outfit in the picture. Since I began focusing on design jewellery for a fashion show, the clothing became important. The colour and where on the body it could fit. I had old buttons hung up on the board in front of me that echoed the circle print on the dress. I had cut out discs out of copper for enameling. I pierced out a floral motif from the discs and enameled with black. I noticed that when put against the yellow button it made a good contrast for the earring and worked for the colour in the fashion show( yellow, purple, brown, blues,white).

This seems to fall into a ready to wear jewellery category of fashion jewellery. In that it will work for the ramp and for everyday wear. As apposed the theatrical jewellery seen at fashion shows.

Enamels and Lace

I found Rubygirl on the Etsymetal site. She has her own etsy shop. I was inspired again to use enamels. really the inspiration needed to come for the piercing, which is not fun. But seeing something look so good, I think I'll take the pain. She calls hers Victorian inspired, I think my work is not as intricate but the same inspiration. I hadn't thought that the use of lace comes from a Victorian source. I think thats the vintage in my modern vintage.

Bare Exhibition

I was invited, along with some of my classmates to exhibit at Bare in Morningside Durban. I said yes but didn't know how I was going to manage doing everything(work and exhibition). I think it was a good thing because I had to push myself and came up with some interesting things. Lets not forget that I became a zombi afterwards but that is a story for
another day.

I found paper in my journal that I had stuck in and forgotten about. I drew on the patterns on the embossed paper and found a shape which became the bases for some of my new jewellery. The obvious leaf shape, I found interesting because of it's simplicity and yet organic connetations. The simplified lines of the shape which still have strong reference to a leaf lead me to forging earrings and rings. I also found myself returning to the old mussle like shape that I used last year and using enamel(in the picture above). The multiple finger rings seem to have stuck with me. I would like develope the one in the picture above by adding to it colour by using stones, enamel or other media.

Exploring Colour

I am exploring colour by using enamels. I chose the technique because I had used it before I liked the results. I think I want to work with something I'm already familiar with for now. I used cut out flowers because of the effect that the enamel has on the pattern. It has that blobby feel or looks like flour but has that glossy fashionable look. It might look too blobby and stiff. The colours I used where random and i would like to choose them more carefully.