My initial idea for my final piece was to create a brooch in which the filigree piece would be behind the main piece where only I the wearer could see it. This was to represent the beautiful but complex side of my heritage which people don't know. And the front of the brooch would be a stronger element but still show some delicacy, the plique a jour. However, after thinking about this and discussing it with tutors, I decided this would be even more complex than what I am attempting and wouldn't be a good idea. Because of this, I decided to make two separate pieces and will keep the original idea in mind to develop further in synthesis and resolution.
Unfortunately, when filling in the spaces, I found the enamel kept cracking. As I wasn't exactly sure why, I put a post in a Facebook group I am in asking for advice on filling the spaces and a gentleman helped me understand why the enamel kept cracking. Unfortunately, it was too late at this stage to change the design so I had to deal with this as it was and be extra careful.
After this, I oxidised the front of the brooch and polished the back piece of it to stand out. Unfortunately, the back of the brooch came off as it was soldered on but the joint was tiny and weak due to little metal connection area. This happened at the last stages and due to not being able to solder because of the glass and no kiln at home to re-fire the piece to re-melt the solder, I had to super glue it for purposes of the unit but unfortunately, the brooch isn't wearable.
In addition to this, when attempting the add the brooch pin, the delicacy of the hole I created for the wire to pass through didn't stay in tack due to the hardness of the steel wire and bending it whilst in the hole. This made the pin not have much tension at all.
The other piece I decided to make was a filigree piece. I used shapes from the buildings in Manchester and played around with these in Illustrator. I then used square silver wire and formed this bending the wire and using as few solder joints as possible. I then began to fill in the frame with the filigree wire in various forms. I used traditional shapes as well as attempted to create my own forms. Innovating this technique and creating my spin on it hasn't come to me yet but is something I want to explore in the future
Throughout filling the frame I struggled with certain areas. This was with creating the right tension to get the wire to hold in place. I also struggled with melting the wires by accident sometimes when heating and had to change these. I then bent the piece to create it into a 3D piece. When doing this some of the wires came out however I managed to solder them back into place. After this, I polished the piece.
Final Pieces
Reflection
Looking back at Unit X I believe I could have done a lot better with my organisation. Unfortunately, I fell behind with these due to family problems and my mental health which was reflected in my productivity. At the beginning of the unit, I was organised and had lots of ideas. I came to a point with the work where I was struck. This was due to a lot going on in my head in terms of my identity. Because my work is based on this I found it hard to navigate my work whilst being in this head space. However, after my studio visit with Movarid, I feel I have tools and methods to try to help me overcome this in the future which I will be using in semester two.
In addition to the the work I want to do is very technically challenging. I like to push myself and this is just what I like to do in terms of my ideas of what I want to make. I am always drawn to more complex pieces. This makes my life harder with my workload. As well as this because I am learning these techniques with little technical guidance this makes it even more challenging.
Despite this, I believe I did a good job with my final pieces. The brooch is not anywhere near the second I wanted however I learnt a lot about the technique what I can and can't do and at what stages I need to do what parts. I learnt a lot and I will use this knowledge going forward. As well as this I believe I need to practice making all elements of the final piece before making it. I didn't do this this time due to time and resources however I aim to do this going forward.
I managed to innovate the plique a jour to have my original take on it however this wasn't successful technically and is something I need to develop.
For the filigree piece, I believe I did well with it. This turned out a lot better than the brooch. However, I want to develop this and put my spin on it rather than keeping it traditional. This is something that will hopefully come in synthesis and resolution. In addition to this, I want to work on my refinement in certain areas.
Overall, I believe my patience works to my advantage with these techniques however going forward I need to be more organised and thorough with practising all elements of the pieces. I also need to figure out my take on the techniques.