Step one of choker production. Took an informal poll of classmates and professors and noted their reactions.  Their feedback mirrored my own on the two.  I chose this one as it is a bit different from what I have  been accustomed to doing.  As his piece is a considerable investment, I want it to be not only a successful design assignment, but also saleable.

I intend for the neck piece to be a band of hammered 12 or 14 gauge wire, left with a hammer finish.  I am as yet undecided regarding the color of the metals.  I want the cast portion to be gold, white or yellow. ( ? red)  The neck piece will be a solid band, gently twisted to allow it to lie flat around the neck but hold the centerpiece at the appropriate ankle in the suprasternal notch. Undecided whether to use white for the centerpiece and band both, or white for the stone piece and yellow for the band, or vice versa.  Going into class tomorrow will be interested in feedback.  Wish Tara was here, but hope for the best for her and her mother.  

Design Challenge #3

The instructions for this challenge were essentially similar to the prior with the exception of stipulating metal as a component and requiring a mixed media.  The real challenge came in the theme which was essentially a Valentine's Day Heart. Giving this standard design a new treatment was going to be a chore.

Luckily we had a week for the project.  I considered this design at length as well, and after several days I had decided on how I would treat the heart.  I took the standard heart  and sectioned it from top to bottom, leaving equal halves.  Three of these were then arranged in 3-D giving the effect of three separate hearts.  The glass bead provides a transition and complementary color to the burnished copper which was forged flat out of round wire. The hammer pattern and weather beaten appearance of the copper are a deliberate contrast to the perfect symmetry and finish of the bead.  

This piece developed it's theme early on in it's evolution.  The concept of three hearts entangled drove the early design process. 

Design Challenge #2 - Construction

The Egg was sectioned obliquely using a jewelers saw and miter box.  Working with a plastic of such low melting temperature was difficult due to the tendency of the plastic to re-fuse if cut too quickly.
The sections were approximated and heated under boiling water to form and then glued with cyanoacrylate.


Design Challenge #2 - Submission

This piece came together after rolling it around in my head for several days. I spent that time deciding how to treat the egg form and what technique I would use, such as piercing, sectioning, intact, mosaic etc. As I used the minimum of provided materials on my last challenge, this project was going to consist almost entirely of what was given.  Once sectioned, the pieces were trialed in various arrangements. The concavity lent itself naturally to the placement of a focal point and an illuminated stone was fabricated to place in the base of the black bowl.  The red color was carried through on the edges of the blue rings, evoking an appearance of a copper with patina.  The cord integrates the existing colors in silk. It is a dark piece literally and figuratively.

Back in DES 33 for the Fall Semester after a break building a house over the spring and summer.  First day and we get a Design Challenge to create a pendant/Pin from the above objects.  Had 3 hours to complete the task and came up with this.

Technically, it fulfills the mandate for the project in that it contains at least 50% of the given items, but may have fallen short of the intent or spirit of the assignment. It evokes the symbol of eternity (the lemniscafe) as well as the double helix of our DNA. I like the motion of the piece and it's kinetic energy. It would be a good production piece however and could easily be fabricated for the student sale coming up.  Erica suggested a rotating bail and I would definitely incorporate that into the production design as this piece is best seen in motion.