With her I share the taste of the "trompe l'œil" and the "faux", inspired by the nature this Parisian is also gastronome, and there also I join her...
Thus the end of 2011, further to an article on one of its exhibitions of the end of year we exchanged some words on " figs in polymer clay", and as I am crazy about fresh figs texture, taste, the seeds which crack between teeth I dashed.
Regards fruits and fleshy vegetables, as wife of Cook I always considered these as having two aspects: inside and the outside. Outside which we remove or not, outside that we cut to see / eat the inside... The box is a permanent obsession for me and thus having hesitated on the project fig ring which deprived me almost of the vision of the inside (unless removing the ring... Contemporary rings have this idea/concept...) I returned towards my passion of boxes and their construction.
I chose one i've made in 2008, whose hinge is almost invisible, which is interesting for a fruit cut in halves...
3 days working on and this is the result...
Did you know that fig doesn't undergo the gravity on the tree... i mean "not like an apple"
The link between tree and fruit is special, so i did it... but of course i didn't change the usual pendant of the purse...
I am a girl from 70ies, My childhood was marked by movies " as "La Belle et la Bête" of Jean Cocteau, "Peau d'Ane" of Jacques Demy, but also all the Cape and sword Movies where the women wore dresses covered with precious stones which made them sparkle...
I love these vague pictures of sparkling women in great and poetic dresses... It is the global feeling that I looked for as finish of the jewel with some glitter sealed in the material beside Swarovski crystals .
I hope you enjoyed the story. Happy New year with TADA!!!
Using the English language to communicate, an international group of jewelry artists share their work each day. They upload pictures in their Flickr group, TADA365, of their inspirations, works in progress, celebrations and also frustrations. They support each other with comments, challenge each other when one learns a new technique, teach each other with works in progress and inspire each other with their completed pieces.
Here, within the same parameters of A through Z, they share their work with you. Each artist has been given one or more letters of the English alphabet. The interpretation of the letter and what it stands for is their individual vision.
1. What was your first work of art and how old were you?
I imagine it was something made out of play-doh but I can't remember. I started sketching a lot in second grade and in third grade I made this wood burning of my grandmother's siamese in shop class. My mom treasures it and I think it looks like a hot pepper.
2. What did you do for fun when you were a teenager?
Mainly inappropriate things, and I was very involved in art.
3. What and when was your first job?
My first job was babysitting when I was 13, I got my work permit at 15 and got a job at a local Dry Cleaner.
4. What was your first work that really pleased you as an artist?
I sketched all the time as a kid, I lived on a college campus with my mom and when I was in in 5th grade she showed one of the art professors my sketchbook. He thought I had talent and gave me a few instructional books. I was so proud of my sketchbook after that, I carried it everwhere - I wish I knew what happened to it.
Ring A Week #6
5. Who was the first artist to influence you?
Picasso
6. Who were your favorite movie stars growing up?
The "brat pack" - Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. Yes, really. I loved Matt Dillon, too.
7. What were your favorite TV shows growing up?
Super Friends, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Mighty Mouse, Tom and Jerry, the Cosby Show, anything on MTV (we didn't have cable so I watched with friends), Saturday Night Live
8. Has your work gone up in price compared to when you first started?
Yes, if for no other reason that the cost of living has gone up in the last 20 years.
9. Where do you get your ideas?
I keep sketchbooks all over the house and jot things down, I have far more ideas that I can execute in one lifetime.
10. Who do you think is the best business artist in the world?
Thomas Kinkade. He's America's most collected living artist and that scares the hell out of me.
11. Do you think that there are any art movements now?
Absolutely. Guerilla art is still quite strong, extreme performance art is alive and well, and what folks are doing with CAD design and 3d printing these days is just amazing and incredibly innovative.
12. Do you think kids should get grants to decorate subways?
Yes, I'm a big proponent of public art.
13. Have you or anyone you know been involved in street art?
Yes, several of my friends work that way, as did some of my instructors in graduate school. I'm very drawn to Dadaism and the concept of "happenings". Lat month I met a recent MFA graduate student who walked up and down the steps of the Memphis College of Art to the distance of the top of Mt. Everest in a 24 hour period. Wow.
That depends entirely on my mood, I love them all.
16. Do you do all your own work, or do you have people working for you?
I make my work myself.
17. Do you have an interest in films or video?
I like to watch films, and I make fun little videos from time to time. I made a few vids as rigs for Ring a Day last year and I've been working with some teens doing stop-motion video this summer.
Juggle, play guitar, avoid cleaning the house, internet, reading, and a little tv.
21. Do you play any games?
I like playing cards and dominoes and I hope to get back to playing tennis this year.
22. How old were you when you got your driver’s license and is there a story attached to it?
I was 19. I took driver's ed in high school and my mom said if I got my license I'd have to pay for the increase in her car insurance myself. She went on to say that if I ever used her car I would have to have it home by 11pm, and my curfew at the time was 1am. Needless to say I didn't go for that deal. Basically I was a hellion and she figured I'd be a worse hellion behind the wheel. She may have been right but I still hold a small grudge over all of it.
23. What time do you go to bed and what time do you get up (most of the time.)
I have a very inconsistent sleep schedule, I often get into what I call "vampire mode" and find myself falling asleep around 4-5am and getting up at between 11am and noon.
24. How much time do you spend on the computer?
Far, far too much.
25. Do you watch TV, (if so, what are your favorites?)
Only late at night and I don't have cable so it's generally Two and a Half Men (sorry), Family Guy (sorry), King of the Hill, and The Office.
I think those textures and colors would be great inspiration for any material... metal, polymer, textile... beautiful enameling... click on the image to see some details....hope you get inspired by those, because I certainly am. Have a beautiful day!
Just couldn't resist to share these photos with you. There are so many beautiful details I keep photographing I decided to name each Monday postJewels of Natureand share images of textures, shapes and colors found in nature that move our artistic juices flowing to give birth to many of our new creations. I hope you like the idea... and hope you get inspired together with me.
First of all I thank you in advance for excusing my very basic English in jewelry and design,
I am more used to use it for the cooking and the animals than to describe what I have in the head!
ABC Challenge, letters R and C
The first letter is "R" for Ribbon.
I had an order for a red bracelet. The inspiration for this customer is a leather cuff with a big knot.
I had several experiments on bangles in polymerclay and I know I must take time to find a new way to "make" it. First I've tried to "see" the "pattern" I prefer with paper strips.
Finding inspiration is exciting...but...
What I learned of my experience of selling... it is that the customers wait for more solidity of my part than the jewelry which they're used to buying "cheap" even if it is metallic and if I work only polymerclay...
So solidity is the most important challenge, and building is important in the work of design.
Thickness pairs with solidity in polymerclay, so "R" for Ribbon is a challenge!
The first drawing was made to list meanings for me about ribbon and knots...I'm very interested in the "link" and "couture" inspiration...the ribbon around the wrist, tightened enough... I do not like the soft forms and always look for tense lines, rest of my time in Architecture Studio, but I like the forms in live models!!! ;-)))
As I was sure to keep the idea of "tightened " I drew some ideas of how to make it so...Bangles are to be forgotten and hinged bracelets are too expensive in time and then to be sold...
My order was to not be too expensive...
Second drawing is listing of some ribbon signs, sure there are others, and at the end was the result of the interview I made at home...;-)))
After I made all this work I refused the order...;-)) but I will make it for The ABC Challenge.
Nevertheless I think that the solution for a cheap way may be in the mosquito technique by Iris, maybe someone would like to try it , but this is not my idea of the ribbon...tightened around wrist.
Iris's picture, I think, is the nearest idea of the ribbon, I'm not promoting advertising for the tutorial, only showing inspirational pictures...
Beside, some googled inspiration...Splendors of Court, portrait of Marie Antoinette and close-up of another lady, Chanel model with ribbon around the neck, and High jewelry by Chanel... I love the watch with long bracelet, it is very trendy since some seasons...
Second letter is "C" for Camélia
I've experimented for the first time a technique of "casting" polymerclay for my Project "Eau dynamique" and I'd like to improve it with this idea of "Lace" and "Couture" I used for the first time. The lace I made was like a Low neck from some century before...
This time I would like to make a Lace flower like Chanel's fabric flowers in her time.
And Camélia was her flower.
Not sure I will be successful!!!
Some more thoughts if you like:
Of course I would like to work more with metal, and I think my way to design is really biased for some of you... that's polymerclay...
It is a point of view that can easily be discussed and deformed as people are working this material with an experimental sight for most of them.
I used the word "experiment" several times but in fact I'm making things, and I hate when it doesn't work as I thought it was going to work and don't take any education from these failures except sadness and feeling of wasting, so I don't begin if I'm not sure of what is going to happen and how strong it will be when finished.
I'm learning before making, and I do love that. ;-))
When I got the letter M (alongwith L), it didnt take me long to figure out what I wanted to do with it. The days were hot and humid, and like every Indian, my heart desired just one thing...for the onset of the Monsoons.
I have already posted some of my explorations in this series. Here they are again:
Monsoon is a time of revival..of seeds, pods and flowers...and I love wearing these rings together...its almost as though the story comes together
Monsoon/सावन is also the season of Lovers..ah yes the other letter...maybe I'll combine the two ; )
Here's a favorite miniature painting..the protagonist is Abhisaarikaa, one of the eight kinds of women in Indian mythology..who braves the stormy night to go out in search of her lover. It is the story of a soul's complete devotion to find God(Krishna), that it leaves all its fears and inhibitions behind
