ICAP: The Exhibition

While I was away on a research trip, the Interdisciplinary Craft as Art Project opened.  Tonight I had a chance to go see it at the student-run coffee house.  The students did a great job and the artists had some truly creative and amazing pieces in the show.

When I walked in, my eye immediately went to the shiny copper pieces in the corner.  I don't know when or where the students found some jewelry busts and stands, but the black velvet looked great behind the copper.  Whee!  My first exhibit!!!!

A Wearable Math-i-Verse, blending math, poetry and jewelry

Look at this amazing piece by Emily Manning, titled "Wandering Womb," which is a fabric meditation on the 19th century beliefs about hysteria.  You might be able to see some greek lettering on the uterus--that's the word for womb.  Isn't that amazing how the fallopian tubes become the lacing on the corset?  The artist was blending science, anatomy, history and feminist studies.

Wandering Womb by Emily Manning

Another interesting piece was the Identity Jacket by Andja Budincich.  The artist used embroidery to capture different facets of her identity while blending psychology and anthropology.

Identity Jacket by Andja Budincich

I also really liked this statue made of clay and a copper finish (really, I was attracted to something with a copper finish?  Go figure!).  The piece, titled Ego Bust, is trying to bridge biology and psychology. 

Ego Bust by Jordan Hutchison

Sadly, Fumiko Futamura's crochet dissected pigeon was not on display the night I went or else I would have happily showed you the amazing detail in her work.  Great job, everyone!

ICAP: The title

I had thought about trying to make a necklace for number 4, but ran out of time, so I turned in the bracelet and the three necklaces earlier this week along with my artist statement, materials list and title.  The title, courtesy of my partner, is:

A Wearable Math - i - Verse

Get it? Get it?  Math/universe, math in verse?  Okay.  Maybe only I'm amused by the puns.  Here's the final collection:








So which piece is your favorite? 

ICAP: So, it's not a necklace....

I've been really wanting to make copper cuff bracelets for a while, so today I experimented with a bracelet.  I etched the fourth stanza of the poem and some number 4s on a strip of 1 x 6 copper.  I also realized that I was accidentally neutralizing my etching solution, so I strengthened it.  WOW!  I still need practice forming the cuff, but here's the result:

ICAP: Four Experiments

I've spent the last couple of weeks teaching myself (e.g., experimenting with) copper etching.  I have an idea for the 4 necklace, but it requires etching.  So, I've been experimenting with different resists, etching times, and ways to remove resists.

First, I started with a permanent marker that is not a Sharpie (that's the barely visible 4 in the upper left corner).  Ick.  You can barely see it.  I put it in the etching solution for just 15 minutes, and the resist was nearly gone at the end of it.

Next, I tried an enamel paint marker (that's the upper right 4) for 10 minutes.  That looked good, but the etch wasn't nearly deep enough.  Also I only covered the back with masking tape, and so the back got etched in a very inconsistent and unattractive way.

Third up (bottom left) I tried an enamel paint marker and covered the back in enamel paint.  I put it in the etching solution for an hour.  You can't see it, but the back got dorked up.

Fourth (bottom right) EUREKA!!  I used the enamel paint marker and put it in the bath for an hour.  The etch is deep and pretty.  And the back I covered with both Sharpie and masking tape; the back was untouched after I used acetone nail polish remover to take off the sharpie.  WHEEE!!!!  I think I've got it.  Now, on to the real thing.

Oh, and a couple of attempts to use alcohol inks to increase the contrast with the copper.  And maybe making a stamp out of an eraser.  And maybe a few other ideas before I start making the 4 necklace and some copper cuff bracelets for the store.

ICAP: Threesy Peasy

The 3 necklace is the most wearable and perhaps the least artistic necklace, but I wanted to make one necklace that was less a statement piece and more of an everyday necklace.  The 3 necklace is a very long chain necklace that someone would double or triple to wear.  I placed a copper 3 and some chain between each line of the stanza; the first time I did this I ended up using 8 3s, but that did not seem like much of a tribute to the awesome number that is 3.  I was insistent that there be 9 3s (or 3 to the power of 3 and WHY can't I do superscript, blogspot?), so the 3s double up at one point. 

ICAP: Two's Done!

I finished the Two Necklace a week or so ago, but didn't get around to taking any pics with the lightcube.  Here's your visual feast:

ICAP: FIRE!

When I make jewelry for the store, I'm really attracted to color.  I love the pop of color that gemstones add.  Plus, color makes the jewelry stand out more when I'm photographing for an online store.  The ICAP project is all copper, which has been giving me fits.  I keep wanting to add color.  So, my solution for adding color is fire.  Specifically, my little butane torch.  You know the kind that gourmet kitchen stores sell for making creme brulee?  Yep.  That one.

I cleared off my jewelry bench, and put down the big tile and the firebrick.  I set the lovely, shiny copper 3s on the brick, like so.

 Then I lightly torched them, just enough to make them turn colors.  Most became a dark coppery orange, but a few turned purple and silver.

I hope this gives the 3 necklace some visual pop.  Having everything be just copper was making me monochromatically nuts.

ICAP: Brought to you by the number 3 and the letters...

So, I've spent some more time working on the components for the Three Necklace.  I finished filing and cleaning the little 3s and started stamping the third verse onto copper sheet.  I made a few mistakes, like reversing the second D in divide because dyslexia apparently strikes every third verse.

 I stamped that word again.  As I stamped, I started wondering how often I was using each letter and whether they were multiples of 3.  So, OF COURSE, I counted.  And the winners are:  E, P and S.  I used E 18 times, S 6 times and P 3 times.  Polished Silver Excels. Sing, Every Person.  (and so on...)  Anyway, when I used metal shears to cut off the stamped strips, it created these cool curls. 

My next steps are to straighten the strips, cut the words into individual rectangles, file, oxidize, punch holes and blah blah blah.  Heh.  There were three blahs there.  Excellent Sophistry, Prof.

ICAP: One Done NOW WITH BETTER PHOTOS!

I pulled out the photo cube setup today to take some pictures of new listings for the store, so while I had it out I took some better photos of the One necklace for ICAP.  Here are the photos made with the pretty lights:

I've also enabled commenting, kids, so have at it!

ICAP: Break Saw Blade, Cuss, Threepeat

So, now that One's done my brain has returned to the Three design.  I've got two competing designs in mind and I can't decide between them.  Fortunately, both require lots of little 3 shapes to be cut out of copper.

To create the 3s, first I made a template out of cardstock, and I traced the template onto the copper sheet using a sharpie.  I started by using the scrap copper left from cutting out the 2s.  If you look, you can see the curve of the upside down two on the edge of this piece of scrap.

Then I use the jeweler's saw to carefully cut out the shape.  This involves lots of a) broken saw blades, b) cussing, c) more broken saw blades and d) more cussing.  Basically, there's a lot of cussing involved in sawing.  And that's VERY satisfying.

This shot, by the way, is not really me sawing.  I can't saw and hold the camera at the same time.  I only have two arms.  Anyway, lots of horrible sawing noises later, and I have some small copper three components to play with.

Next, I'll have to file them to make the edges smooth and make sure no one cuts themselves on sharp corners.  After they've been filed, then the fun part begins:  texturing.

ICAP: One Done

I've been working on the necklaces, but not blogging about them.  Partly this is because I'm not used to taking pictures while I work, so I was just working away without documenting anything.

Thanks to the lovely jump rings, I was able to finish the One Necklace.  First I used the bubble hammer to texture the big ones, and then I started punching holes and using jump rings to put it all together.  I also "oxidized" the words on the strips using a permanent marker and put a light coat of Renaissance wax to inhibit tarnish.  Wanna see?  It's not the pretty product shot that I take with special lights and a photo cube, but it's enough to give you a sneak peek:

The necklace looks even better on a person than on the jewelry bust!

ICAP: All the Little Bitty Parts

In any design, there comes a point where I just have to put it together.  I can imagine what it will look like if something goes here or there, but it's not the same as seeing all the components pieced together.  In order to put the One necklace together, I had to make my own jump rings.  Jump rings are those tiny circles of metal which hold links and components together.  For some odd reason, circular copper jump rings are very hard to find in jewelry and bead catalogs.  So, I hauled out the trusty interwebs, watched a bunch of videos, and figured out how to make my own.

First, you have to coil your copper wire on a mandrel.  Of course, I don't have a mandrel of this size and I didn't put one in the budget.  So I prowled around the garage and found a....a nail!  That works.  Then I put the nail and the copper wire in the drill chuck and slowly coiled the copper wire onto it.

Then, I had to undo everything, slide the coiled wire off the nail and use a jeweler's saw to cut the rings.  This is a little nervewracking because I had to hold the tiny coil in my fingers.  I was certain I was about to make "Saw IV:  The Necklace" WITHOUT the fake blood.  Fortunately, if you go really slow and use lots of CutLube (keep your minds OUT of the gutter, thank you) there is no cutting of fingers.

As I cut, the jump rings just fell onto the bench block.  And my lap.  And the floor.  And there's one in the basket of stamping supplies...I think.

After the cutting is complete, the jump rings are all bent and not in one plane. That's not going to work well, so I patiently tap them all with a plastic mallet to flatten them.

Yeah for jump rings!  Now I can start putting the One and Two necklaces together to see what they look like.

ICAP: Two Too To Tutu Necklace

The two necklace.  This piece is the easiest of the four necklaces, I think, because the design has been clearest in my mind since the beginning.  I love the swoops of the 2s, and want to use them to create this lovely set of drops.  So, first I spent a couple of days sawing out five number 2 shapes.  I swear, I was dreaming about the number 2 by the end of this.

After what seemed like endless sawing and filing, I started stamping the second verse.  I was terrified I'd reverse a letter and have to start all over, but I managed to stamp correctly.  (If you see a spelling error DON'T TELL ME.)  Then I went out in the 35 degree weather and pounded these on my driveway to add texture.  I was freezing by the end of it.  The texture doesn't look so great in these quickie photos for the blog, but it'll look good when I get out the photo cube and lights out for the final product shot.

ICAP: One Necklace...Like an Ostrich

I'm slowly working on the "one" necklace for this project.  This weekend, I started by stamping the lines of the poem into copper.  For some reason my brain snagged on the line "like a ostrich" and I kept humming "Like an o-o-o-o-strich, touched for the very first time...."  Thank you Madonna, for scarring my brain.  Then I cut out a 1 shape as well as strips of copper with the words from the first stanza stamped on them.  Initially, I thought I would go with this design:

But I don't really like the way it looks.  Even though it does look birdlike...like an ostrich!  I decided to cut out a second "one" and use the ones to make a v.  I have two ones instead of one one in the designs.  Maybe no one will notice it's now an Eleven necklace.

Today I was working on texturing the components.  The changes I made are very subtle.  I used a center punch to mark where the holes would go in the poetry strips and punched the holes. I used a "1" stamp to create a line of ones in the big copper ones.  It reminds me of the seam in a baseball, which is ONE continuous seam.  Ha.  It's a one.

I may still use the bubble hammer on the big copper ones.  I also need to put holes in the big copper ones so I can attach the poetry strips.  I'm not quite done with this one (ha!  see my bad pun?)  My plan is to walk away and work on the 2 necklace for a while before finishing this piece.

ICAP: Supplies and Mockups

Woo-hoo!  The supplies for the Number Poetry Necklaces arrived Monday.  I shall now attempt to turn this:

into some very cool necklaces.  The supplies that arrived include two quarter-sheets of 22 gauge copper, a set of number stamps, 10 hook and eye clasps, a roll of 18 gauge copper wire, and two different lengths of copper chain.  Sadly, the supplier didn't have enough chain, so I have less than I need and will have to be, erm, creative.  And of course, I realize now I should have asked for money to buy sanding sponges, and colored inks, and so on.  Oh well.  It was my first time proposing a budget for a project and I'M LEARNING.

I began by sketching some ideas.  I would show you my sketches but...well, have I told you about the time my elementary school teacher told me I should probably just give up on drawing?  Yeah.  I can't draw.  But I can use the computer to create numbers and then print them out as templates.  So I've been printing out lots of numbers on cardstock.  To figure out the size of the letters, and where to break the lines of poetry, I've been "stamping" the numbers cut out of cardstock.  I started with the #2 necklace, because that design is the clearest in my head.  I had to redo the size of the "2" shapes a few times to get it just right.  Tonight I tried out my idea for the #1 necklace, and realized only a titan could wear it.  Tomorrow I'll redo those stamped strips for the poetry and see if it could maybe fit around a human neck.

As for 3 and 4?  I'm not happy with my sketches for them, so I'll probably make 1 and 2 first, and let the designs simmer at the back of my brain.

ICAP: Interdisciplinary Craft as Art Project

One of the things I'll be working on between now and March is my contribution to the Interdisciplinary Craft as Art Project.  This is a project conceived of and led by students at the university where I work.  It's a great idea.  They asked people who craft to think about creating a project which straddles interdisciplinary lines. 

1...2...3...4

My project is to make four copper necklaces which incorporate mathematical poetry.  Sarah Glaz, of the University of Connecticut, has graciously agreed to let me use her poem "I Am A Number" which you can download and read here.  The poem has four parts, each dedicated to poetically describing the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4.  My job is to make one necklace dedicated to each number and its verse.  Um....stanza?  Er, maybe I need to consult with the poetry professor about what to call each part of the poem. 

I ordered the copper sheet and supplies today.  Once those arrive, I'll start working on and blogging about this project (with pictures!).


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