Ceramics

With the closure of City Campus came much stress for the B Tech students. We were forced to move our fort to the ML Sultan campus...Yes, it is horrible. But on the bright side we have half a workshop.

I've been trying my hand at pottery, for a beginner like me the results were very pleasing. I made a vase which I intend using as a buff stick holder and I made a flower pot...think I might plant a chili tree.

Local is Lekker

“Local is Lekker” is the theme of an Exhibition which took place at Artisan...At 1st when I thought of local , it sort of scared me because I thought local meant using found objects or making a beaded piece of jewellery...A friend reminded me that I live in Durban and anything that I make is local an will fit in with the theme of the exhibition. So I didn't have to move too far out of my comfort zone.

After some thought I decided to expand on my Mirror range for this exhibition, the brief called for neck pieces and earring. I ended up making simplified versions of my mirror ring as pendants...they didn't sell yet but I'm holding thumbs...

Ways of adding colour...

Been trying to find ways of adding colour to my jewellery but I wasn't sure how to do it. After consulting with Terry Hargeaves, he suggested that I try using an epoxy with pigment to my jewellery. It works like a resin.

I decided to try this after I saw a test piece that Terry showed to me, I was very impressed with the result, think it would compliment my jewellery. The colours that I tried were more on the warm side as wanted to stick with colours that resembled Mendhi. The great part of the epoxy is that I can work from home which makes life easier.

Green

Fashion Bangle

I'm was actually meant to be working on a piece that falls under the theme of “Green”. When I thought of green though recycling and sustainability came to mind.
So for this project I decided to use elements that I already had to create a piece of jewellery instead of casting new elements.

I decided to make a bangle seeing as bangles play a part in the adornment of Indian brides. Traditionally bangles were used by married women. They were a symbol of marriage and were also believed to be protective bands that ensured the protection of the husband. When a Hindu woman became a widow, her bangles were broken because widows were not meant to adorn their bodies.

My Bangle ended up being a very bold piece, comes across as a contemporary piece. I relates to whats happening in the fashion magazines with regards to accessories.

Vetkat

Tree Earrings

The piercing of the tree om my earring was something that stuck with me, reminds me of a family tree. For these earrings I decided with that tree element for another piece that I will send to the Exhibition.

I pierced out the tree element again but this time I used the positive instead of the negative. I used diamond burs to texture the back of these trees and I soldered copper wire onto these silver elements. My intention was to add some contrast to the piece..the result was very positive. The best part was that they sold at the exhibition and I made my 1st sale!

Vetkat

Pierced Ring
The Vetkat exhibition was held in order to raise funds for the family of an artist who died recently. This task was a bit difficult for me as it took me out of my comfort zone. I had to design and manufacture jewellery based on references that was given to me instead of going out and finding my own.

I still felt like I needed to incorporate piercing in my piece, my first idea was designing plain bands that had an element pierced out of it. The element that I chose was that of a tree...The ring ended up being simple and comfortable to wear. It turned out being something that I wouldn't normally make.

I am really happy with the result but I feel guilty because I ended up keeping the ring for myself, I kind of got attached to it...feels like it belongs on my finger.