New Inspiration!

So, here it is! The inspiration of my latest project. The tiles found at the Paecke temples in South Korea was what i based my Special Topics project on. I had done sketches of of designs I found on everything from clothing, pottery, architecture, etc. I worked on a variety of things for my project but nothing really spoke to me. I tried piercing out a pattern out of copper but it was just okay. Then I worked on some embroidery pieces during the drive down and back home from GA. I had at least 20 hours invested into it. It turned out nice but one i started working on the frame for it, I got bored. I wasn't excited about the finished product. When I get frustrated with something I usually just throw it away completely and work on something totally different. I started welding as a way to relieve the stress of the project. I had to do all these other things for it but decided to just weld. It's a horrible habit. I went back to a simpler design from temple tiles. I welded it flat as a 2d design which was a alittle new to me since last semester i worked 3d for my dog sculpture. It came out really big and sort of looked like coaster (that might be a cool idea for later) but i didn't want a coaster for my project. So i started bending and shaping the wire. I loved the way it popped. The design became even nicer but it was still pretty big. First thought that came to mind was a brooch but i didn't know how to do a pinback. Luckily I had friends around the studio that knew how to do it. It's a rough pin back but it gets the job done (and it was my 1st!). This whole thing is just starting point. I feel like the more i weld, the more patterns I try, and the more pin backs i do, the better i will get. I really loved how the brooch came out and set on the body. Plus the people around me seemed to like it too. It's always such a boost when you have your classmate's support behind your ideas!! Maybe people in my hometown wouldn't wear such a big brooch but the people in the art world would, especially people at SNAG or ACC. Although it's big, it's not flashy, the black wire and open spaces i think gives it a contemporary and simple look. I even dared to make a smaller one with my enemy, thin wire. This one i went for a more intricate design. This one i wanted to make a pocket shape in the middle so i could shove red fabric inside.After i finished it, i didn't like it as much as i had hoped. People around me thought it was nice but i wanted to throw it away. The welds weren't as nice as i would have liked and the design didn't work for me. Pissed off i went for another one. This time even smaller and i went back to my original design with just a few changes. This one came out the best. It was simpler and delicate (but still strong). I finished it by knotting red thread around it for the chain to touch on the embroidery ideas i had before. I think any color I found in the hanboks (traditional dress) would be nice in other necklaces i make. Together they are a bit flashy but alone with the black steel is a nice contrast. When presenting the necklace in class one of the suggestions I got was to make an actual loop for the thread so it looked more purposeful. I thought about it and i'll try it in some of my other pieces but i thought it would take away from the original design. I had tried that idea in the other one but it looked too busy. So, at dinner before the lecture i thought another smaller knot right about the pendant would keep it place plus look nice. I tried a small, cute knot that looked so delicate but it worked. The knot really isn't delicate at all because i used several pieces of quilting thread. I love the finished product.

The brooch and necklace can be worn together and look like a sculptural piece on the body or be worn separately and be just as beautful. I wore the necklace at April's gallery opening and i got some compliments. =)

Feeling good about a piece and being excited to do the next thing is what ART is all about! This has been the first time i've been really excited about something in awhile. I'm going to work on all sorts of pieces based off this inital idea for the sale, gifts, and just for fun. Ever since ACC i knew i needed to find my own thing. I knew i needed something that made me unique from the other artists. So during this historical research project I turned to what made me different growing up, being Korean. Only recently have i been comfortable in accepting my heritage and how great it is to use that to make my work different from others. I also believe that all the other projects i had done like the sewing and piercing got me to to this. If hadn't gone through all them i wouldn't have been able to make any of this. I don't look at them as wasted time or failures, instead i think they were just maquettes.

I wish we could span out this project and see how far we can take it. Everyone in class had great ideas and ALL could be expanded. It would be awesome if the whole semester could be based off the culture we chose and we could make a collection or just see what else comes from the ideas. Just off the top of my head: Rebecca could make a whole collection of modern ear plugs and learn how to market them. Karen could make a series of the neck pieces and explore other parts of the body and present the series at the end.

Okay i need to stop and go to work. I wish i could sell my art and live off that instead of working in produce.

Tile with posanghwa designs

c. 7th–8th century

In the National Museum of Korea, Seoul

31.5 ´ 31.7´ 6.9 cm