where was i last semester?

Apparently last semester i forgot i had a blog. I did not blog about hardly any of my work from Spring 2009. Here's a Rhino/hyper shot rending of a spray can box for my graffiti brooches i designed in Rhino.

I love etchings in art jewelry. I think it adds a personal, meaningful quality commercial jewelry doesn't have. I became a huge fan during my locket series where i etched parts of my adoption documents into bronze especially with typewriter font.


Here i've taken 2 stories, the figurine and walnut stories, typed them in a rough typewriter font and also cut out a few parts and played around with sizing. At the bottom there is handwriting as well which i wrote with a fine tip pen, scanned the paper and pasted it into the word document. One thing about etching to remember, MIRROR your image! i ruined several PNP sheets when i forgot to do that.

[below: etched silver]

[tester sheet- not inverted colors yet (save ink)

1. make sure you know which side of the paper it's printing on

2. check size of font and spacing]

[after the tester came out right, i printed this inverted version onto the PNP sheet]

Since i had done a lot of etching for my lockets i know whether or not i want the words recessed or raised. In this case i want them recessed.

more evilness

I feel so evil cutting apart these cute little ceramic figurines but it's all for the sake of art, so it's okay. It's been increasing harder to find figurines! I think i have wiped out all the thrift stores in my area for potential figurines. My latest finds: duck,  cow, deer salt and pepper shakers (i thought they were foxes but taylor pointed out that they had hooves).

[head cut off from the body.. ready to cut into 2 parts]

[cow hooves cut off (right)]

[getting started... the deer are actually easier to cut through then most of them]

[oh, i feel so evil yet so productive]

[should this be this satisfying?]

[successful cut with no breaking, sometimes they like to break randomly while cutting]

studio shots

[some of the very 1st sketches i did for my honors project]
[my bench neighbor, the lovely Jacque Bisker] all the heads i've cut off have made it on Jacque's bench. I think it makes her day :) [latest ceramic figurine= cow]
The duck is a lot harder to cut through so i'll have to keep working on that one.

The animal parts seem to move around on their own (or my peers are playing around :)) -deer bodies stuck together. Also, to the right is the cow butt/tail.

walnut rings?

[walnut story sketches]
I envision these pieces in silver soldered to a flat sheet with etchings of the story on the back. maybe 2 pieces fit together like a real walnut? the problem with that is that it will be really thick.

Based on the walnut story, one particular walnut was a spinning champion.. Since i'm making pieces that are inspired by the story i was thinking about spinning walnut rings. People often spin their rings when they are stressed or bored. It's one of those weird habits like biting your nails or clicking your pen. Not sure how this is going so far but i'd like to send them out to a caster to get an estimate.

student show entries

Tomorrow i will be submitting 3 entries into the student show at Towson University.

1. "Made in Korean" locket series (3 lockets)

2. (4) pieces from my new dryer sheet collection

3. steel vase from last summer

Wish me luck!

Jaime Salm - MIO CULTURE

MIO CULTURE

Jaime Salm lecture

@ Towson University 10/8/09

"Green Design for everyone!"

[Jan gearing up for the lecture]

A few notes from the lecture:
-Jaime was born in Colombia and went to college in Philadelphia, PA at an Art school
-while in college he studied college life and how students lived
-viewed the campus as a city/ organism *unique way to live
-extreme users: using chairs as tables, boxes as trash cans= students being resourceful
-how you live as a student is different than any other time
-behaviors? materials, sources
-extreme technology: reconsidering context and use
-redefining values through beauty and design

-how could something disposable/ not beautiful become something beautiful?
-who?
-what?
-when?
-how?
-why? [Design brief] *Design funnel= need someone to ask questions
-while in school, he created objects and placed them in stores for reactions
-then worked off those reactions to make better products

-transitioned from student to consultant
(was commissioned to design/ make "sale" signs for anthropologie)

= beginning of MIO

-went from consultant to entrepreneur, preparing business plans
-new studio= creative space FOR design
-DESIGN YOUR WORK
-DESIGN YOUR IDENTITY
-what is it about?

-what is your mindset?

-a collection= process/ translating ideas into reality
example of beginning products:
-tangent 3D wall paper- using recycled paper
(tested materials, researched all paper products)

-felt grid wall pockets - simple design

-stoop (exploring social aspect)

-beginning wall paper product lead to meeting with a big company

-took notes, listened carefully to the problems, then set out to solve them

(dimensions, technology, maintenance, safety)

-helped with new DESIGN BRIEF, one that answered all the questions

=* FLOW paper forms

-Idea factory: Re-Purposing industry

-local factory that produced molded wool hates= redesigned into lighting

*bringing out the best in what they do

=capsule light & shrum table lamps

-Customerization: eco- centric design *letting process define the design

ex. Bend it lamp

-inclusion / participation with customer

-designed a green line of gardening tools/ accessories for Target

-waste= raw material (consulting) -ex. Bloomberg project *paper chairs

designing objects for office spaces out of trash/ used paper

-*sustainable local manufacturing

found more notes (11/11/09):

-there's no such thing as waste

*sustainability& affordablity is key

*streamlining everything= edit and simplify!

-MIO CULTURE also has a location in Europe= more intuned with philosophy of sustainability

-thinking about the customer

-Europe is a good fit for MIO, good foresight in business

-sustainable furniture (question the essense of things): material redefined

-rubber stool= adressing waste, recycled tires- rethinking materials\

-naked line= exposing materials, educating customers

-Product Service system: returning things after use

-example: trask lamp= product line extension

*keep designing for changing technologies

-active sustainability** =product that generates a positive and quantifiable enviornmental impact each time it is used

-active participation= new product/user relationships (Target line)

*magical transformations

-mapping sustainability + local manufacturing +custom design+ functionality

(work within creative constraints)

-look beyond "recycled vs not recycled", think *product life

-green is not just about materials "stealthy green"

-innovation is going to happen in small batches

**THIS TIME IS RIPE FOR INNOVATION!**

*creative control, ethics, staying responsible -> don't compromise a chance for big $ if it doesn't stay true to your message

I LOVED Jaime's lecture on design!! It was so inspiring and i know everyone else loved it as well. It was one of the best lectures i've gone to at Towson University. What's even better is that he was around our studios during the day. I even got to meet with him and talk to him about my work! I was so nervous that i couldn't even speak. Here's this smart, young, very good looking, top designer and he was there to talk to us! Crazy!! All day i couldn't even say cohesive sentences or really make any sense. I kept making mistakes but I hope he got the drift of my work. I showed him the beginning of my dryer sheet collection. He made a lot of great suggestions and challenged me by asking questions. He suggested making design briefs for each project and set short parameters. I do them now so i can get a clearer view on what exactly i'm making and why.

inspirational artist

Islay Taylor

[neoprene necklaces]

i came across her blog randomly because it was named Evocative Objects... turns out she is a fan of Sherry Turkle's book as well. She even started a collection of contemporary memento mori jewelry. Funny thing is her work slightly looks like a blend of mine, sherri's, and danielle's work right now. I think her work is beautiful and i'm a huge fan! i just wish we weren't reading the same books! Hopefully she will be a fan of the honor's show in May.

studio all nighters

around 4am i looked down at my hands and realized how dirty they were... thought i would show the evidence of my hard work :)

[old sketches]

CAPS ARE SOLDERED TOGETHER!

- not polished (again) yet but at least i have proved to myself that i could do it

I need to write it down and see a list to wrap my head around this whole mid-semester deal.

Plus, i feel like i'm doing a million things at once and it will be a good way at organizing my thoughts.

STUDIO WORK:

HONORS

1. brainstorm, research, read, read, read, collect stories
2. write proposal, research grant proposal

3. choose committee member, meet with them individually
4. price compare, order supplies

5. sketch! fill inspiration wall

6. shop/search for objects at yard sales, thrift stores, etc

7. cut apart, grind, sand ceramic figurines

8. prong set broken pieces, then solder a few together

9. experiment with wax connections for broken pieces

10. fabricate 11 silver caps for feet

11. choose 2 feet, grind holes out, stuff with gauze

12. make individual feet into single brooches, explore pin stem

13. sand and polish all caps (learning to polish, started over and over again)

14. tester: sprue walnut shell halves, invest, 8 hr burn out, cast in bronze *1 survived

15. inquire about outsourcing silver castings

16. make rubber molds of walnut shell (2)

17. make algena molds (4)

18. create wax models from molds, compare textures

19. make wax mold, mix soldering clay, set caps in place, solder

20. clean up, tumble *broke! :(

21. start over?

[installation ideas- keeping it in mind through the entire process]

ADVANCED STUDIO:

1. brainstorm, sketch for a limited collection= series of rings?

2. pick materials -dryer sheets, steel, silver

3. tested found steel, did not work

4. play around with clean/ stream lined designs + patterns

5. make rings all with variations (6) -band shape, piercing, sheet shapes

6. experimented with large clamp shape for neckpiece= failed
7. made 2 smaller versions of clamp shape= failed

8. made earrings that reflect rings

9. added thread?

SOCIAL DESIGN PROJECT:

1. create a series of brooches *reusing a waste product, creating another life/ extending its product life, transforming it into new, beautiful, unexpected (8)

2. experiment with variations on sewn/ drawn elements and dryer sheet forms (formed, starched, frayed, cut, etc)

almost finished

[first thoughts- sketch]

along with the foot cluster brooch (my current hell), I decided to make 2 individual foot brooches. there was a lot of learning with the pin stem but i think i figured it out this time.

each of the individual foot brooches have holes cut out of the back of the ceramic foot with gauze inside to represent healing (from the story in a previous blog entry).

they are ALMOST done... i just need to epoxy then push the bezels over on the feet.

the big step

I have been cowardly avoiding soldering my precious feet caps.

I think i've tried polishing them at least 5 times through sand paper grits and then with the fabric abrasive set (thanks taylor). Starting over has been a frustrating process so once I had them to a good stage, i tumbled them. I thought i wanted to finish them as much as i could before soldering together. Later to find out, tumbling 1st wouldn't do anything... you live and learn. I've also been waiting for my soldering clay to come in from Rio. I've never tried soldering clay before but there was no other way of soldering them together at the different levels and angles. I had to jump today and attempt it...

[separated]... scared to touch them!

[leaning against one another]

figuring out how an arrangement

directions on the bottle said to make a [wax mold] for the clay to sit in, so i did like a good jeweler :)

mix soldering clay.

pour into mold.

*battle with superglue. superglue won.

sad moment.

[set piece, wait for clay to set up.]

solder (easier said than done)

*skipped photographing a few steps...

[3 soldering clay molds]

[1st section soldered]

soldered in 2 sections because glue wouldn't set.

after a constant battle with the solder, the 2 sections were finally together. 

(thanks for fixing the torch taylor)

make soldering clay mold for whole piece.

solder sections together. (where i am now 11:31pm)

good test run

50% success

*experiment to see if a real walnut shell would burn out*

1. break walnut in half

2. give insides to someone else to eat

3. paint nail polish on shell

4. sprue halves

5. invest

6. put in an 8hr burn out

7. cast in bronze

look at the detail of the inside of the nut!!

top of the metal nut

1 of the shell halves cast, the other did not. The investment must have collapsed in itself... i found out when the metal did not flow into the flask.

After some testers for more pieces for the advanced studio collection, i decided to continue with the ring style and make some earrings. Here's a start...

on the body

**adorning the clothing they once softened**

2nd life for the waste product, unrecognizable from original state

thank you for modeling Elise!

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE

→ Focus on materials(the transformation of them) and techniques

brooch series

**experimentation of dryer sheets**

1. cut vs ripped

2. starched vs natural

3. formed vs flat

4. drawn on with ink vs plain

5. sewn vs plain

6. trimmed vs wild

**I liked how they turned out if they were maquettes. i'd like to make more refined versions and submit them to galleries like jeweler's werk (DC) and the Heidi Lowe gallery (Rehobeth beach). I am not completely happy with them but i think there's a lot of potential.

ahh NUTS!

After several attempts at different molds, i finally have some wax walnuts... we shall see if they work. Meanwhile, i have 2 walnut shells invested and waiting for a burnout.