And then…

It seems I have a penchant for tracing things back to their origin … you know when a conversation has veered off on some kind of tangent, after we’ve exhausted that little escapade I then like to track back to how we got there.

So, I have a need to see how my weaving developed … and in the process hopefully uncover some hidden tangents that perhaps I could explore further.

After the initial weaving tests I posted about previously, I then tried out :

1. full metal weaving
   RMIT Yr1 project; not terribly successful, and I didn’t continue with it
   

   necklace; RMIT Yr1

2. scroll / poster hanging
   RMIT Yr1 project; oh dear, look at the kinky silk thread, how embarrassment! (blame first year keenness to get the photograph taken, and naivety in not knowing how to get the folds out); I may experiment with this format again
   

   scroll pendant; RMIT Yr1

3. cut and framed
   RMIT Yr1 project; I love this pendant; however the only thing that didn’t quite sit well with me with this format is that the weave is cut to a frame … somehow it made it just a disembodied material, instead of a whole; I’m unlikely to do this again (though, never say never)
   

   Machinery project; RMIT Yr1

4. free play and pinned
   RMIT Yr2 project; this was fun, I experimented a lot in this project with colour and widths and introducing new threads in the weave and taking them away … just joy; and this is where I left the weaving for a few years, I didn’t use it again during the remainder of my degree
   

   black fancy ring; RMIT Yr2

   …though I did return to it for the ‘Feast‘ exhibition at Studio 20/17 in 2009

   

   Nana’s Trifle Recipe

More tomorrow … this has turned out to be a longer trip down memory lane than I expected.

[no photographs in this post to be reproduced without explicit permission of the author]

In the beginning…

I’ve previously written about the first project in which I made the woven silver-paper element I’ve been working with for years now.

Recently, inspired by my strong connection to Emma Fielden’s work, I’ve revisited the visual diary and research from that project … and started perhaps to toy with new ideas.

This is my first working example of the weaving, from way back in 2004 … I tried to figure it out in paper first, then a (I now think rather terribly awful!) attempt in cloisonné wire.

first weaving play; image not to be reproduced without express permission

Humble beginnings.

My lecturer at the time was especially taken with the paper weaving …. what do you think?

RMIT Year 1, Semester 2, Theory

This post is a little out of order, given the last I wrote about my RMIT projects was Year 3 Silversmithing. It’s strange that I completely forgot about this when writing about Year 1, but these things happen.

I cannot find the original assessment specification sheet (or whatever it’s called – you know what I mean), though I believe it was to create an artwork that had specific reference to one of the theoretical aspects we’d learnt about during our Theory class. I chose to further research and explore “the desensitisation to, and ‘consumerisation’ of, images – particularly images of suffering.”

untitled object; image not to be reproduced without permission

A significant influence on this work were the writings of Susan Sontag, especially her 1977 essay ‘On Photography‘.

The (reasonably brief) essay accompanying the object explains the selection of the image and the construction of the ‘dog-tag’ neckpieces:
Karen Thompson_Y1S2_Theory
[this is an original research essay; no content is to be reproduced without permission]

untitled object; image not to be reproduced without permission

… last post in this series: RMIT Year 3, Semester 1, Silversmithing …
… see more projects from RMIT Year 1 here …

Recycling

Another outcome of my recent organisation was that I’ve decided which pieces to ‘recycle’. Essentially, these the metal in these will be sold to a metal merchant for ‘refining’ (melting down and reuse).

image not to be reproduced without permission

It’s a funny thing – but I now think I’ve had enough time and space from my degree at RMIT to be ready to destroy these pieces. As I’ve mused before, these pieces aren’t representative and I don’t like them enough to even keep them. They are adequately documented and I’m ready to let them go.

• top left: Ring-a-ring brooch
• middle left: Colour Setting ring
• bottom left and right: pieces from third year, I’ll write more about soon

In the end, I decided to hold off the execution of the brooch and have it sitting as a little sculpture on my book-stand for the time being.

While I was deconstructing the ring, I was impressed with myself with the construction quality – go me! Also, I was also pretty chuffed with the fitting on the neckpiece, so will keep that too.

It was a pretty cathartic experience really … letting go is often a good thing.

A separate group is those that will be re-worked, where an element of the piece will be made into something else. More when I get around to working on them … which could be a long while yet.