We were given a load of briefs to choose from and the articulated jewelry brief caught my attention. Although I want to pursue a career in set design, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to create some jewelry due to a long standing love of homemade, organic jewelry. So I thought about combining the two to create a performance space for contemporary dance and performance or performance art possibly with the theme of entrapment. The idea being that the jewelry will ensnare or maybe even encase one or all of the performers.
When thinking about items that are articulated, I think first of fans. So I researched fans and some different types came up. I like these pinwheel fans as they are not what one thinks then you think of fans, they have less framework than a traditional fan which gives them a very delicate look and more flexibility, which I think would be benificial for a dance performance. I'm not sure if I would like to work off this delicateness or whether I would intentionally make it out of a heavier material to change the look. Obviously, it couldn't be too heavy or the sticks of the pinwheel could not support it.
I found both of these images on Pintrest- the first from a page called 'Style Me Pretty' and the second from Gingerray.co.uk
Then there was also the standard fan, which I found in all sorts of beautiful, varying shapes and coulours. I think I would like to play with the repetative nature of the fan folds. I may also change the shape of the frame work.
I found the first fan on Etsy.com, the second on verzamelaars.net, the third on Antiquedress.com and the forth on mf.org.
I found the first fan on Etsy.com, the second on verzamelaars.net, the third on Antiquedress.com and the forth on mf.org.
Somewhat alike from the fan was the wing, which is articulated by joints in the bones. This lead me to think about how this would be better as a performance adornment. I like the idea of a wearable setting.
I found the first picture on scientificillustration.tumblr.com and the second on design.tutsplus.com
While looking or examples of winged adornment, I came across this piece called 'Dove' from a design student called Naomi Oppenhiem, who studied at the London Collage of Fashion. Although there is an over-saturation of winged humanoid designs, it makes me think about how I want this adornment work with the form of the body, whether I want it to flow with the bodies shape or contrast it. I also like the texture of the edges of the wings created by the material they were made with. My concerns would lie with the durability of such a material, however; maybe a layer of PVA would toughen it up.
I also came across this performance which was designed for by Fashionclash. I like the removable element of this costume and I think it would add to the maneuverability of the dancers if they can remove and put back on the adornment.
After the design process, I moved on to make the first model. I was unsure as to whether I could get my design to actually work. Wire, I decided, was the best way to begin. Maybe not for the actual product as it wouldn't be able handle the strain of a person rolling around within it but it will be good for exploring how the hinge will work. Unfortunately I didn't have the thickness of wire that I needed so I had to twist some thinner wire together. I did this with a hand drill with a twisting attachment, I fixed the wire with a clamp. Although it wouldn't provide the smooth outline that I had imagined for the pod, I think the twists add an organic element to the wire, like a twisted tree branch, which I can appreciate. I realised an issue with using wire- the diffulty of getting it uniform. Whether it is the length or the number of twists, I didn't take too much care with it. Maybe I should have as I have a feeling that this is going to effect the end result of the model negatively in terms of functionality
Once I had cut all the wire out in roughly the same length and twisted them up once, I double them up and twisted them again to make them a little thicker as the wire still wasn't strong enought, I suspected. To begin with the wire was too mailiable but the twisted wire takes some force to make it bend, which I think is a good repesentation of the metal poles that I was considering for the design.
However when I tired to double it up again, as I thought the wire could have been more sturdy the two ends of the wire wouldn't fit into the clamp of the twisting fixture meaning while I was twisting the wire it would fall out of the hand drill. This meant that The twists were uneven, crinkled and loose. So I tried making the loop at the end of the wire thinner by twisting on the second round of twisting tinner by twisting it more. This didn't really work, it made the wire too ridgid making the loop at the end difficult to make smaller. So then I decided to flatten down the loop to make it fit and this worked to some degree. It mean with a certain ammount of diffulty, I managed to twist all the wire for the third time.
After strengthening the wire, I formed the structure of the apparatus by tying all of the lines of wire together with a smaller piece of wire using the loops at the end. I feel like this is probably the simplest method of creating this piece, however its not particularly practical for the adornments intended usage. It makes it difficult to pull of the bars around succinctly to create the sphere and once it is in place it only poorly keeps the spherical shape making it difficult for the performer to use their momentum to push forward, close the adornment and begin to roll. I feel like a bar through the center of the adornment, while providing support for the performer will also provide a pivot for the bars.
I then realized that it would have been probably best if I had attached the cover of the adornment before assembling it, so I Used stripes of paper and hot glue to make a cover as it paper is slightly inflexible when it comes to spherical shapes and strips are more maneuverable. I was thoroughly unhappy with outcome of this model as it is dysfunctional and there are gaps in the cover. This means that the performer will be visible underneath when they begin to roll. I though it would be more impressive if they were completely engulfed in the adornment, as if they had vanished. If I were to make another model or the real thing, I would probably use white cloth as a cover as it is more durable and aesthetically pleasing.
