3D Identity from glass to copper 26th Noverber

From Glass to Copper   26th November

With only today and tomorrow morning left, I had to think about how I would make my necklace in such a sort time. With the glass not producing the elegance I wanted, I had to take another path to achieve the style I set out to do. If I had more time I would of gone back and changed my design, or learnt how to make my necklace out of glass using the tools I had to hand, or go to a workshop elsewhere that has glass blowing and tried to use that for my necklace.

Seeing as I had only two days, I had to change my materials. I used one of my bigger designs and decided to make it out of copper. However, to keep the see through aspect, I had to use acrylic instead of glass, making two different parts of the jewellery, layering the acrylic over the copper. I wanted to keep the transparency as it was part of linking back to the original Celtic torques, and the idea of the invisible protection it gave the warriors that wear it. As well as making it represent their connection to nature, the glass would have looked more like water. The copper loses that feeling, instead it gives the individual curls an earthy look. As for the acrylic part of the design, that will still have the clear feel, but you will be able to see the copper under it. Instead of all the necklace having the invisible protection, only the acrylic has that now.

Having chosen my materials and design, it was time to make my necklace. I started with enlarging my design so it would be easier to work from. I made two copies so that I could cut out the two parts of the necklace out for each individual material. Once I had done that I marked out the design on the copper so I could separate the amount I wanted from the rest of the sheet.

Taking the piece of copper with my design to the saw, I then proceeded to cut off the excess copper. Before I could start, I had to place a thin piece of wood under the metal so that it would be stable and wouldn't bend while I was cutting it. I found this difficult at first as it required a lot of getting used to, but with a bit of patience and practice, I soon understood how much I had to move the copper to get the angles and curves I wanted.

With the workshop closed after lunch, I had to finish as much as I could now and hopefully get the rest done tomorrow.