Mask Project: South America

whenever i think of central and south america, i think of the amazing civilizations of the Aztec and the Inca.

pre-inca textile, http://beforecolumbus.net/brooklynmuseum.html

there aren't many examples of Inca art left in Peru because most of their decorative art was made of gold. Melted down by the Conquistadors, it's all gone now.  So is their written record, obliterated by the Missionaries that came after the gold was all gone.  However, this little pattern really caught my eye-the alpaca is very important in Andean cultures all up and down the west coast of South America.

Mask Project: North America

it was hard to pick a decorative tradition for North America, because of all the rich cultural traditions of both the natives of the land and the settlers that colonized it.

in the end, i chose the carvings of the Northwest tribes, because they reside both in America and Canada, and the designs would be easier to cut out of cardstock.

"Moon Mask" from http://www.artnatam.com/first-nations/troy-roberts/gallery/moon-mask.html

native northwest carving is characterized by abstracted, highly decorative geometric forms.

Strongarm Project: Maquettes

overview of the final drawing, plasticine and wax maquettes.

plasticine maquette. i love plasticine- except for the smell, and that nasty feeling it leaves on your hands.wax maquette. i still need to get a hold of some CZs that don't shatter when i make it with metal. i am still worried about the text showing up in the final model, or looking weird. guess i can't know until I try!

Blood Diamonds: The Strongarm Progect final Sketches

the final plans for my Blood Diamonds response, now named "Strongarm". Originally conceived as a piece about the reconciliation of the folk of west Africa and the diamonds they mined, it evolved for me into a piece about strength and moving on. As an amulet, it invokes the spiritual strength of those who were hurt and who carry on, rebuilding their lives with only one arm.

Reserch for Blood Diamond project: Prosthetic arms

Jan, here's another one for your collection! Stumbling around i found Giho Lee's super-cool Prosthetic Arm Projects, which is a series of little wire thingys that help people that only have hooks for hands with everyday tasks, like using an I-Phone or a keyboard mouse.
the annoying thing is, most of the pictures i could find of prosthetics were of more modern, which have actual hands. these seem more common now in developed countries (showing how behind some of these countries are).

i looked around and found all sorts of cool stuff though...here are some highlights!

source:http://www.switched.com/tag/prosthetic (all sorts of stories about futuristic prosthetics)
look at the design of that arm! it looks like something from sci'fi. future, here we come!
a "sustainable" prostetic arm, as shown at "Compost-modern" and fetured on the blog "Core77"
(Jan, tottally blogroll these people. even if their presentation video put me to sleep, I know they will make you happy.)

finally! it's not a good picture (and it's probably on this blog illegally) but that's the model i'm looking for. i'll edit the design of my pendant to reflect it a bit more.

here's a simple illustration of the arm and how it works- from a site about child amputees.

Mask Project: Russia and East Asia

Russia
source:http://www.lanasgallery.com/decorative.html
traditional enameling, called Khokhloma, from Northern Russia. This is done by a modern artist, but is a traditional pattern and materials.

China (and Japan, kinda)

source: http://www.chinancient.com/chinese-paper-cutting/
traditional Chinese Paper cutting. I'm already making most of these texture plates out of cut paper, and this image is similar to some in Japanese traditions, so that saves me a mask.

Masks Project Pt. 2- North Africa and the Middle East

source: http://www.rugtent.com/K109-KA.jpg
'course, the first thing i think of when thinking of the Middle east is carpets. I know that's stupid, but it's true.

the dominant founder of the Middle Eastern and North African cultures is Islam. In Islam, you can't decorate with pictures of people, so they developed a tradition of rich textured organic surface design. This is what I want to emulate!


source: http://www.lacma.org/islamic_art/lma.htm
the border on this late medieval cup is just what i'm talking about! that organic scrollwork-i'll have to look for it everywhere!

Creative Caffine: Kitty Rings

Assignment: Emulate Droog (boy am i sick of hearing about them!) by making jewelry or products out of things that are plentiful in your environment.

Response: Rings felted out of kitty fur =^_^=
i simply brushed my cats and felted the undercoat fur that came out. It's very easy to felt, you just roll it in your hands to make a little rope, then roll together the two ends.

Design Reserch- Masks pt.1: South and West Africa

first idea: masks for each continent/region. Images for each area as follows:

Africa: South

source:http://www.endegigallery.com/africanartandpatterns.html
woven baskets, made by folk of the Zulu nation.


source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/3311565423/
woven beadwork by the Ndeble tribe.


Africa: West

source: http://www.travel-images.com/photo-liberia7.html
a house made of mud, decorated by handprints.

source: http://www.travel-images.com/view.shtml?mali2.jpg
thatched mud huts in Mali.

Droog pt. 2

okay, i still don't trust Droog. But i figure i got to find some common ground, so i'll adopt some of their quotes.

"Droog stands for a luxury of content rather than luxurious materials."

this is almost a personal motto for me ^_^. I make jewelry out of anything- i've got plans for anything from a prayer locket made from plumbing parts to construction paper origami.

designs that: "change perspective on daily life, informed by the local context, yet in relation to urgencies on a global scale."

this makes so much more sense than what they said in the little brochure. i'm still not so good at the whole "look at the new world in a new way" thing, but i'll give it a try.

i like the hidden meaning show they put on in New York. i love puzzles, i even have a puzzle box in my purse (to be feature in a future "cool things" post) and i love finding the hidden meanings behind works of art. i did, however, find the Da Vinchi Code improbable, along with all of Dan Brown's very silly books.

some other things i like:
Trim your own glowing bonsai! :D
Cute little critters! (note on this: i appreciate the artist's effort and creativity. however, i do have a real problem with this: making things out of trash has become a big fad in the "craft" community now, and as such things like this have started to underwhelm me. they do show some specialness in that they actually have electronic and animated components.)
they look so squishy :P

Droog Rant

According to Droog's statement, that i was required to read, they want to make solutions. How am i supposed to make solutions to global problems with jewelry? I'll happily make peices that react to global problems, but i just don't see how i can possibly help people with jewelry-at least the jewelry i like to make. I think what i'm trying to say is perfectly summed up by Maya Angelou's famous poem:

The caged bird sings not because it has an answer,
But because it has a song.

I can sing a song about the boy that comes to the lighthouse to escape from his life of poverty, but i can't imagine a way out for him. I can sing a song about a box of abandoned kittens, but i can't convince their former owners to take them back. I can sing a song about a bruised child hiding from his daddy (who always comes home smelling of booze) but i can't get him and his mom out of there. Not with Jewelry, at least.

How do you make a pendant that saves the world?