rough ideas for the next project

so the next project is the metamorphosis of my life
going by every two years
0-2: two mothers one black and one yellow holding a child that is half of each color, to represent how my mother and my babysitter were so invested in my raising that i called one black mommy and the other yellow mommy based on the crayon color i used for their hair.
2-4: cherubic golden child, every thing was perfect my first words were hi and i love you, the child would be enamelled gold copper with dandelions behind its ear in a diaper with black patent leather shoes
4-6: a plaster child sitting dejected and cross legged with an outstretched hand full of needles peircing it. at this age my sister left for college the pins reference a time when she spent an hour pulling cactus needles out of my hand and how painful it was when she left. the plaster signifies how i did my best to cast my self in her image and how fragile i was after she left.
6-10: two identical figures one enamelled copper with a matte finish and the other a clear plastic resin to represent my search for a best friend.
10-12: then a cloth child made form the uniform material with a pair of upside down glasses to represent how in middle school no one could see past my outside to the person inside
12-14: a concrete sarcophagus with my face on it to embody the era when i contracted chronic mononucleosis and slept for three straight months and was no better than dead
14-16: an ultra elongated and thin almost alien body to represent the distorted self image i had
16-18: a voluptuous figure embodying sexuality made from a candle that represents virginity
18-20: an erect electroformed copper woman shoulders back and chin up though tarnished and dented but still whole.

so more on the second reliquary object. i brainstormed a list of all the different things i associated with middle bass and got a list of around twenty things. i narrowed down my list of things to the ones i might adequately represent through texture. like i have memories of stealing tomatoes out of the neighbors garden but a picture of a tomato is not something normally associated with a specific place. so i tried to come up with different visuals for each of the senses, for sight on the inside back of the box would be a texture similar to that of either the pebbles on the beach that i spent hours combing over or the play of light under the water. for scent the is a particular plant called sweet annie that grows wild all over the island and smells like heaven. my sister actually scoured greenhouses and catalogs to find some so she could grow it and be reminded of the island. for taste, middle and north bass were the very first producers of wine grapes in the united states so grapes are heavily associated with the area. for sound there are hundreds of thousands of birds and the crashing of the waves but in particular we have a great blue heron that always comes and sits on our neighbors dock. and while the peacocks on the island are much more vocal and flamboyant i dont think they quie fit the serene quality of the object i wish to make. for feel or texture ive always been fascinated by the water snakes that live in the rocks in front of our house and some times there are dozens out there. they are indigenous only to the islands in lake erie and are an endangered species, so i think the texture of their sales and the shape of their bodies is very evocative of the island.

reliquary object number two

so i had the idea for the first reliquary object which was that of a ring. for the second to maintain the same theme of a reliquary of middle bass, and Jan mentioning that previous classes made a reliquary for their ring i thought it might be cool to do the same. i found another common style of reliquary which open so you can view the contents and i could place the ring inside. or alternatively since we are learning how to set stones i might be able to set a piece of lake glass that I've found on the beaches in front of my fathers cottage. on the surface of the metal i brainstormed all the different images that i associate with middle bass.

jewelry 2

so for the reliquary hollow forming project i thought of making a reliquary to hold something important to me, instead of a saints remains. i think im going to make a ring so i can take it every where with me. the thing closest to my heart is middle bass island. most of all the pictures of reliquaries have a similar structure similar to a house. here is a picture of a pretty standard one. usually the outside of the reliquary reflects and or describes what is on the insides like scenes from the saints life, and are incredibly ornate. i thought of using that shape and instead creating a ring with images i associate with middle bass on the outside. and perhaps on the inside i can put a little drawer so it can actually hold a piece of lake glass. on one flat side i would put a silhouette of the island itself and on the other one of the island ferry. on the bent sides/top i would but views of the lake and other islands(balast, put-in-bay) that i associate with being there or the winery, and id texture the rest to look like water.

Casting:
Cast cookies, wax, soap, anything edible sugar
-With silicone
-Pros edible
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061014193432AAQPAFu http://www.ehow.com/how_5155319_make-edible-sugar-molds.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VspcE56J3UE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRpdOkwitFE&NR=1&feature=fvwp
Cast gorilla glue
-With wax, engraved metal
- design must be thin as glue cures with contact with moisture, spray mold lightly with water
Pros thin lacy designs

Cast minimally expanding foam
-With plaster of paris, drawback it’s a onetime use mol
-Pros large things

Cast Detergent powder
-Pros make something smaller to medium sized

With cuttlefish
-Pros cool texture

Mothermolding- used to hold a soft flexible mold for casting

WOW I havent blogged in forever but i have been working! for my newest jewelry 2 project ive been thinkng of the word Hold as my theme and two torsos holding each other. its suprisingly diffiult to get pictures of people hugging each other in the proper position on the internet. but i finally found some that kind of work. i figured i could use the arms as flanges, though so far my paper models havent been cooperating. though i haven't yet tried it with the new proportions that ive gotten from my images which should make a difference. im going to use a leather strip for the cord part because id like to emphasize the skin of the torsos. i want to figure out how to get a sort of skin texture on the torsos as well but im lost as of yet. maybe a light etching with a pnp xerox of a skin close up, or maybe a sort of roll print. either way i want one torso to be really dark and the other to be really bright, as a way to show how everyone is supported by everyone else. im still coming up with a bail. ive thought of one that looks kind of like a hand but it seems too fancy and intricate for the pendant im making.

So I just finished making my creative caffeine and its a drink coaster made of bits of glass I've found washed up on the beaches of lake Erie. I've got bits of wine bottles and beer bottles and I thought it was pretty cool to use the litter of alcohol bottles to support more glasses.
And I met a girl named Katie at the union store who makes these button bracelets and I bought a blue one! Its so charming and I shall wear it all the time. my friends thought I was nuts that i was buying something that I could make but I would never have the patience first of all to do such a nice job, and also I think its very important to support other artists, even if it is just a hobby for them. After all if they were to be discouraged think of all the things they would never design and all the beauty that would be lost. And who else should have the greatest eye for beauty than other artists, should they not?