this is how it ends

you may have noticed that cocoons are recurring forms in my work. they are symbols of protective containment, and to me, the ripped ones represent self imposed growth and change. i love the organic nature of cocoons and their bulbous, pod-like forms. and it's infinitely interesting to me how small changes in where i choose to saw my lines or how far i move my pliers can change the look of the tears.

when i first learned enameling i tried to make some ripped cocoons, but there were some small logistic problems that have now been solved. the cracks can be more detailed if it's just metal like in this piece, but if i enamel, fine cracks in metal lead to cracks in the enamel.

well, i'm always learning :)

some more cocoons

i did some more tests on tuesday. i like the ripped effect on metal, it was time to see it with enamel on top. i found that the big open gashes work better when there's an enameled surface. but when it's just plain metal, i like the spiderweb like cracks similar to the one in my thesis piece: you try to take the best of me.

i don't like the butter yellow too much in this context, maybe if it was on the ones i showed in my previous post...i tried to change it up a bit by adding a transparent enamel, but it stayed almost the same. if i could do it again i would use a more subdued yellow.

i only have two more enameling classes left at Jewel Envy...i'm tres sad.