TYC Images

Some images I took from the garden of my childhood home to use as inspiration 

Update - 13th April

My blog is in dire need of an update. Since the last proposal, a lot has changed, but it is still along the

lines of nostalgia and sentimentality. 

I have decided to focus on basing my work on the twenty years of me living in my childhood home, Tyn-Y-Coed Farm. This will help me focus on the concept, the amount of jewellery I will create and the display of my work. Creating a different 'something'/object/piece (so not necessarily a piece of jewellery) for every year that I lived in that home.

I have still concentrated on collecting objects-natural and man made, photographs and drawings. I spent a lot of time on drawing, as I almost hit a wall (as I usually do at a certain time in to a project), but where I usually panic and stop working, this time I went with my feeling of panic and took it to paper with ink, water, wax, natural items, pva glue and masking tape etc, etc. This helped me see colour, texture and form to bring to my 3D work.

I am concentrating mainly on wood, enamelling and patinating copper.  (Pictures to follow)

BA3 Proposal

My aim for my final year is to create jewellery that’s full of stories but very personal and secretive. I will be focusing on nostalgia and belonging; looking at the environment I was brought up in, and how I was brought up in it, in the home I lived in for 20 years, and to see the effects of moving homes has on me. I will be exploring materials from both homes and focusing on the differences for example, Tyn Y Coed Farm has layers of secrets and stories, the secrets can be depicted by the work that was done on the house for example the peeling back of history when we did the fire place, taking one away revealed an older fireplace and again an even older one which revealed the original stone covered in lime. This fascinates me thinking about the lives of other people living there. The older house has interesting structures and textures, which I want to explore.

The two homes represents opposite ends of a spectrum in a number of ways which I want to bring into my final piece which mirrors or reflects my life hence the secretive and personal aspect of my ideas.

Firstly the two homes are opposite in that one is very old and constructed out of traditional materials of stone and bricks, whilst the new home is made of timber and modern efficient materials. My former home is in the countryside, which affords several ideas in terms of textures such as bark, various plants that are interesting and lend themselves to ideas and composition.

My inspiration has come from a Jewellery artist that I look up to, Sebastian Buescher, his use of materials and how he works will have a huge influence on my whole final year.

“What matters to me is meaning and purpose, creating timeless pieces, which mark times in my own life, capturing moments, thoughts and ideas”.

Studio.

Building the studio was a lot of fun, it's almost there, but not quite! Needing the basic equipment! 

Home

Update!

So this update is going to be kind of an explosion of an update! I  haven't posted anything since my travels, as I have moved homes, been travelling a little more, busy with a personal tutor which I was lucky to have over the summer, and starting my final year of University.

Moving homes has had a huge impact on myself, which is what I'm basing my final project on in University, but I will talk about that again.

I have travelled to Poland, which was absolutely beautiful! We went for 3 days, visited the Auschwitz, bought loads of amber, ate loads of bread and simply had a lovely time with family.
I also visited my second home, The Red Barn, Vermont. For 2 weeks this time, which was absolutely amazing, it was during Autumn, so a little cold but so beautiful-definitely my favourite time of the year. That place always gives me a sense of belonging and nostalgia, which is something you will hear a lot about.

I was lucky enough to spend almost 2 months with the lovely Mary Ann Simmons. Such a talented lady, who was kind enough to give me her time once a week, I learnt so much from spending that time with her, and look forward to hearing and catching up with her from now on.

Late post..

This short essay about my future was the last requirement whilst studying at K-State. I had never thoroughly thought about my future, so I was interested in my own thoughts and ideas as I wrote this, but yes, here is a brief idea of my future and how I got to where I am now. 

In the UK before embarking on an Art Degree, students are encouraged to sit a Foundation Degree where they explore different disciplines over a year in quite a tight schedule and have to produce high level end products and a professional end of year exhibition. This course introduced my love for sketch books and certainly stretched my imagination as we were not allowed to purchase sketch books but had to design and make the sketch books, this course was the dawning of my love for jewellery. I made a number of large neck pieces all from recycled materials, my favourite being a necklace made from tightly rolled up quills of maps of locations that have had a significant impact on my life. It was at this time I realised the significance of sketch books and the meaning behind every piece of art.

The next phase involved applying for a BA degree, I researched different locations and degree programmes and realised that the sea/ocean played a large part of my choice but also the disciplines that I had discovered I most enjoyed. Hence, my choice of Ceramics and Jewellery in Carmarthen, whilst travelling is a huge part of my life and the wealth of experiences that it brings, I appreciate the culture and traditions of my home country so my choice of place and programme of study reflected these influences.

Which brings me to year 2 at K-State, an immense opportunity to study in a US university to experience totally different cultures, traditions and way of life whilst enjoying excellent facilities and tutors which will help form my choices and open my eyes to new techniques, artists and disciplines.

The direction I aim to go down is most definitely jewellery. Whilst learning basic ceramic techniques in my first year at University, I have decided that Ceramics is not the best discipline for me, as much as I enjoy and can appreciate a Ceramics piece, I much prefer putting my energy, thoughts and ideas in to metals.

My experience and time at K-State has honed my skills on stone setting, enamelling and working with resin, silver and casting. I have produced numerous brooches, rings, pendants and even glasses. The new skills I have learned include, stone setting, resin techniques, electro forming, working with silver, casting, creating glasses; the frame and cutting the lens. I’ve also extended my knowledge on some other things I already knew. I also appreciated the aspect of exhibiting my pieces and using new friends to model and photograph the exhibits, all these add to my portfolio of experience and final pieces. I have certainly matured in my approach to life and coping strategies in dealing with day - to- day survival and believe that my writing style has improved an area that I know I am weak.

           

I have and always will enjoy doing sketchbooks to support my projects, I love putting all my energy into the sketchbooks which I can refer back to as a research resource, as it always helps focus my mind and thought processes on the more practical aspect of my projects. I have and always will enjoy doing sketchbooks to support my projects, I love putting all my energy into the sketchbooks which I can refer back to as a research resource, as it always helps focus my mind and thought processes on the more practical aspect of my projects.

 This could be something I incorporate in my jewellery work. Becky Adams, a Welsh artist, influenced me with this I first saw her work in a gallery and later spent a day working with Becky on developing sketchbooks, she specialises in Book Art. I believe this could inspire and guide me with exhibitions, presentations, and displaying my work in different areas and arenas.

On my return to Carmarthen I will have a wealth of new techniques and experiences to apply to my final year and assist me in the choice of my final degree project. I am going to aim to produce a piece of jewellery incorporating the skills of resin and casting. I do have a skeleton of an idea for my final piece, which will need a great deal of development over the summer months before my final year. I would like to research the use of light and shadows and the concept of using the shadow as an actual piece of jewellery on an individual, this idea came from a fellow student at K-State showing me their final piece of jewellery and I noticed the shadows it produced before the actual finished piece. I have worked with projection before in Carmarthen, and look forward to enhancing ideas and final pieces.

The overseas study / experience has been worthwhile and will have a lasting impression and influence on my work in the future and I am looking longer term to a post-graduate degree possibly in London or again overseas to expand my knowledge and expertise. The idea of working with other artists and collaborating with peers in joint exhibitions excites me also, and perhaps this could happen during my travels, I am excited to see what my future holds.