Heishi Bracelets
I loved the amount of possibility in this project. When I was researching heishi bracelets through Pinterest, every design had a unique combination of colors, beads, and patterns. My biggest challenge was settling on one design. I struggled with which beads to use and creating three unique but matching designs. I originally wanted to have more white in my design, however, we ran out of white beads and I had to change my design halfway. I ended up settling on a black, pale pink, and white color scheme. I chose black and white because they matched with the black, white, and golden letter beads I used. I really like pink as a color, and I thought it provided contrast with the black and complimented the white well so I made it my third color, then alternated between the colors for my bracelets. I chose words that had meaning to me; chicken is the name I go by online, and yasss and the smiley face all represent happiness which is important to me. There is much repetition in this design as I repeated the same 5 beads over and over, which also created balance. I am happy with how this turned out, I think the three bracelets compliment each other well. In the future I want to incorporate more of the charms and different types of beads.
Stone Wire Jewelry
I made this pendant to represent my best friend from childhood. I made imperfect lines to show my friend's ordered but chaotic personality. My stone is both smooth and jagged, because there are many facets to her personality, including a softer side. I think the golden wire provides good contrast with the grey of the stone. The most interesting thing about stone-wired jewelry to me was the amount of possibility. Every rock is unique, and by just manipulating the wire a little bit, you get a completely different design. The biggest challenge I ran into was not getting enough studio time due to a school trip and sickness. Because of this, I did not get as much time for learning techniques and practicing, so I ended up settling on a simpler design. I also struggled with getting wire just how I wanted. Because the wire I chose was thinner, if I messed up, it was hard to restore it back to its original shape. I ended up having to restart multiple times.
Polymer Clay
My research was done through Pinterest. I choose a mostly blue color scheme with some white and olive marbling to create a calming effect that reminded me of the ocean. The tear shape also reminded me of water. There is a lot of movement in my piece as the viewers eyes are drawn from one side to the other. For me, what was most interesting about polymer clay was how just about any assortment of colors could make beautiful and interesting patterns without me even trying. My biggest challenge was figuring out how to get the exact pattern I wanted on the clay. During the caning process, it was hard to get the same pattern every time I cut. By just manipulating the clay a little, the colors could blend or shift. I used a marbling technique for my earrings that I found in my research. I had originally wanted to add a second piece to my earrings that was a gradient, but I could not get the colors to work the right way. I like how these turned out, because I feel like the colors mesh really well together and I did well on the marbling. However, I do think these could be enhanced with a second piece. In the future, I would like to create a more complex design with more pieces.
Jump Ring Jewelry
My design used golden and silver jump rings. I did my research primarily by pinning designs I liked on Pinterest and then practiced the techniques learned with jump rings of different sizes. During the practice, I noticed that it was significantly harder to connect the smaller rings and it was difficult to perfectly close each ring. When I began to work on my piece, I mainly looped the smaller pieces through the bigger rings so I could avoid this issue. I wanted to create something with a lot of repetition and unity. My piece is symmetrical and very balanced, giving it a more calming look. I wanted it to symbolize structure with some contrast provided by the different colors of the rings. One thing I had not anticipated in my sketch was that the rings would flop into each other. Originally, I had planned a more square-like pattern, but I realized that that would not work. I still liked how my design looked after I created my original pattern, but I decided to add a bead at the bottom to add some weight and solidify my new design. I think my technique was pretty good, but n the future if given another opportunity, I would like to create some more complex designs with more interlocking jump rings.
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Metal Pendant
I came into this project with a little experience in this process, as I had made a metal pendant in 8th grade. However, that project was very simple and my final project was still pretty unrefined, so I was excited to improve my technique. My research primarily came from Pinterest. The design I chose was a person trapped in a cage, and I used golden metal. I wanted it to symbolize being trapped in a golden cage, a metaphor for living in relative luxury but still not finding freedom, which was something that resonated with me. There is a lot of balance in my design. I think the biggest advantage of this process was being able to have such individuality in the design. I could control every step of the process and tailor my design to exactly what I wanted. However, it is harder to get smoother, perfect cuts. My biggest challenge was during the sawing process. I would often cut too fast at an angle, which resulted in breaking many saws. I discovered that I had to be very patient during the cutting process. The filing and sanding was also very tedious. I am pretty proud of how this turned out. I think it captured the essence of what I wanted, and I am also proud that I was able to navigate difficult corners and edges while cutting. I do wish I had spent more time filing, as the edges are still not completely smooth.