Jewelry and Metalsmithing I projects

Copper Samples


















Copper "Box of Worries"

















Silver Ring with plexiglass and photograph
























5" Copper Brooch with PrismaColor pencils

Metal and Glass

Project Objective: Create a sculpture based on yourself with steel and found glass.
Materials used: Steel sheet metal, eyeglass lenses, toilet paper and glue mixture, spray paint, book pages.
This project is based on the process of my life. The light at the core represents a seed of fresh life where I began. Each layer of metal represents growth that comes from walking through life. Dictionary pages are used to show that every experience I’ve gone through has created growth and new knowledge that has form me into who I am. The light can be seen subtly through weathered eyeglass lenses showing a glimpse of where I started. Although the overall structure shows deterioration and imperfection there is an overall strength.

'For the Birds' Light Box

Project Objective: Research and trace a word or phrase from its original use today, emphasis on American slang. Based on research, create a light box as a foundation and incorporate alternative papers as well as linoleum block printing.

This project was based on the phrase “that’s for the birds”. We know this phrase to mean “insignificant and unimportant”. Originally it was US Army slang that originated towards the end of WWII. “That’s for the birds” is a shortened form of the vulgar version “that’s sh** for the birds”, derived from the habit of some birds of pecking at horse droppings in order to find seeds.
My intention was to portray this with images of birds making themselves at home among places of decay. The images of deterioration are splattered with wood stain and embellished with linocut prints. Within the box, silhouettes of birds fly in a circle around a spin lamp base.

Repetition

Project Objective: Based on the research and exploration of contemporary artists that work with the concept of repetition, design and create an artwork based on the idea of repetition. By repeating a form over and over, what is created from the multiple repetition?

Medium: Some sort of absorbent material and encaustic wax.

For this project I used repetition to create a whimsical, wind-blown form with numerous small birds. Made from storybook pages, these birds represent the spontaneity of childhood imagination. The birds playfully sweep around an encaustic covered tree limb that hides several antique keys.
I was inspired by Carlos Amorales’ use of repetition in his installations- he used repetition to create an overwhelming sense of wind-blown motion. In this same way, I have attempted to create a similar wind-blown movement with the numerous small birds.

Altered Book

Project Objective: Alter a book- the binding, cover, and internal parts of the book- using the theme "Us vs Them". Who is "us" and who is "them"? I chose to portray the mind of a child vs the mind of an adult.









"In every real man, a child is hidden that wants to play." The kids and the grown-ups have always been separated- kids are expected to act like kids and grown-ups are expected to act like grown-ups. Once a person reaches a certain age, they are expected to grow up and leave their imagination behind.
This project represents the childlike imagination that still remains deep in the mind of every grown-up. I used an old dictionary to represent the monotonous structure of of grow-up mind. The book cover has been turned into two small doors that open to a scene of a trouble-free, dreamlike world. I was inspired by the techniques of the altered book artist Noriko Ambe and I have incorporated an organic carving around the borders of the book to add to the dream-like feel of the scene.

Mixed Media-Myth

Project objective: to create a composition based on a myth that is not extremely well known and convey the message the story is trying to tell.
I was to incorporate multi-plate monoprints, colorless blender transfers, and collage on 5 wood panels and use various kinds of paper to layer for texture.

I was inspired by the work of mixed media artist Ingrid Blixt. She creates really nice texture and depth with photographs, monoprints, and other media.

This project was based on the myth Crow Brings the Daylight. According to the story, when the world was still new, the Eskimos lived in darkness in their home in the fastness of the north. They had never heard of daylight, and when it was first explained to them by the Crow, who traveled back and forth between the northlands and the south, they did not believe him. So they begged Crow to bring it to them. Crow flew for many miles through the endless dark of the north. After a long and tiresome journey, the daylight world burst upon him with all its glory and brilliance. Crow flew into a nearby village where he found a ball of daylight with a string tied around it. He snatched it up and returned to the north. The Crow dropped the ball, and it shattered upon the ground, releasing the daylight so that it exploded up and out, illuminating every dark place. The sky grew bright and turned blue. The dark mountains took on color and light and form. The snow and ice sparkled so brightly that the people had to shade their eyes. But Crow told them that the daylight would not last forever. He had only obtained one ball of daylight from the people of the south, and it would need to rest for six months every year to regain its strength. During that six month period, the darkness would return. The people said: "Half a year of daylight is enough. Before you brought the daylight, we lived our whole life in darkness!" Then they thanked Crow over and over again. To this day they still have six months of darkness and six months and daylight.

My intention was to create a sense of darkness on one side of the composition by using cool colors and daylight on the other by using warmer colors. I incorporated many layers of different kinds of paper, paint, and images to create texture and depth. I experimented with photo transfer methods such as with lazertran paper and the xylene blender pen but for most of my transferred images I used clear packing tape then adhered the image by ironing the tape until it melted to the surface. I used materials like leaves and crumbled toilet paper for background texture. I brought all these materials together to portray scenes from the story.