Week 8 is Argentina Culture. First thought off the bat was Latin dancing, specifically the tango. I sketched some ideas, but nothing really caught my interest. I did some research, and still really couldn't come up with a better thought than tango... but I couldn't imagine a workable idea. Then Monday or Tues, bored out of my mine doing something else, I started to sketch dancers in my book. Now I'm not great at drawing, but something seem to click, and I thought, what about a pendant with tango dancers drilled down the the simplest, fewest lines? Could I make something that looked abstract but if you looked closer, like a stereoscope picture, morphed into an actual image?? I bet I sketched those dancers 20 times, each time taking away something, trying to get it as simple as possible.
It was working on paper, so now I had to do it in wire. I'm very pleased with my results! I used 14ga copper for the gentleman dancer, and and 16ga for the lady. I hammered the whole piece lightly, for strength. In the dance the man supports the woman, and the woman is graceful and flowing. . The woman's hands and feet end in small spirals to help create that feel, as well as I hammered the Male's feet. I've watched enough "so you think you can dance" and Mary Murphy to know that competitive dancing seems to be about extension and straight lines. I tried to convey that as well in this piece.
Here is another recent piece. This necklace I call "crystal tree" It originally started out with a full hammered oblong around the crystal, but it didn't look right. So in the spirit of working on a piece until I"m actually happy with it I took a leap and cut that out, and the piece changed dramatically. I added more binding wire to give it a little better stability but I'm very happy with the look. Matching earrings of course.
Last "bonus" piece this week is a necklace and earring combo I made using lamp work beads.
It was working on paper, so now I had to do it in wire. I'm very pleased with my results! I used 14ga copper for the gentleman dancer, and and 16ga for the lady. I hammered the whole piece lightly, for strength. In the dance the man supports the woman, and the woman is graceful and flowing. . The woman's hands and feet end in small spirals to help create that feel, as well as I hammered the Male's feet. I've watched enough "so you think you can dance" and Mary Murphy to know that competitive dancing seems to be about extension and straight lines. I tried to convey that as well in this piece.
Here is another recent piece. This necklace I call "crystal tree" It originally started out with a full hammered oblong around the crystal, but it didn't look right. So in the spirit of working on a piece until I"m actually happy with it I took a leap and cut that out, and the piece changed dramatically. I added more binding wire to give it a little better stability but I'm very happy with the look. Matching earrings of course.
Last "bonus" piece this week is a necklace and earring combo I made using lamp work beads.
1 comment:
You did it! Brilliant translation of the Tango dancers. It was interesting to read how you went from concept to finished work.
This is the first time I've been to your blog and I must say, I love the creativity in your work. Thanks for sharing!
Janet
wwww.jkbrownstudioalamode.blogspot.com
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