Discovery

Created: Fall 2001

Dimensions: 8”x1 5/8”x1 3⁄4”

Materials: walnut, sterling silver, enamels, patina

Concept: The piece was to somehow reflect the concept of discovery and to incorporate enamels. I was intrigued by the idea of secret drawers in old furniture and so I made a piece that had drawers that you could only pull out after you had released them by pulling out the ball on top. When you pulled out the drawers you would “discover” that they were actually two rings and the third combined with the enamel ball on top to make a necklace.

I tried to use basic shapes and colors because the areas of color were so small I wanted to make sure they stood out. The walnut “cabinet” became a unique jewelry box. I enjoyed figuring out the complex measurement and details to make sure everything worked in the final piece.

Shaman Project

Created: Spring 2001

Dimensions: Box-2 1⁄2”x3”x3 5/8”

Locket-2”x 17/8”x5/8”

Materials: Box-fabric, sterling silver, brass, resin, wood, music box works

Locket-sterling silver, felt, found objects, paper

Concept: This was actually two assignments. For the first we had to make a hinged container. For the second we had to make a personal “shaman” that could be held in the hand. I wanted to make the two pieces go together in a piece that would honor my grandmother who passed away rather suddenly in Feb. 2001.

The box has a wood insert that holds the locket and conceals the music box works. It winds from the bottom and plays “Memory” when the box is open. I used my grandmother’s wood burner to create a scrolling flower design in the wood, something she did on the family albums. A poem from her funeral is etched on the inside of the lid. The top of the lid has a copy of one of her paintings covered in resin and her name and dates etched in the sterling silver.

The “locket” is based on pocket watch. It hangs on a chain and covers open on either side of the center when the center pin is depressed. One side has a picture of my grandmother taken soon before she died. The cover is lined with felt and holds a lock of her hair taken after she died, it never turned totally gray. The other side is the same except the hair is taken from a pin cushion she stuffed with hair many years ago when it was redder and the picture is one taken of her when she was in high school. The outsides of the covers are etched with images of a bird feeder on one side and wheat and her initials on the other.

This was a very personal project and I wish I could have been more advanced in my skills so I could have avoided some problems, but it was still a very rewarding process.