"The Heart's Bulwark" was designed to represent a piece of my fight against the pain of coping with death and its toll on our emotional state/the heart. The pointed scythe is meant to feel dangerous to wear as it symbolizes the pain of the process. The pendant, however, is placed above the upper torso in order to no hurt the wearer. The back of the piece is half a shield that conveys the idea of a protective wall around my heart. Both sides are connected together with string to express the two side's ties and relationship. The front and back were also sanded down to 3k grit as a mirror finish with no protective layer added; I chose not to include a protective coat in order to let the metal naturally patina over time with the skin oils and the natural environment. This was done in order to show the wear and tear over time on our heart. The edge of the leather was not burnished to provide the same effect.

After several sketch iterations, the shape of the scythe was created through a combination of a scythe and a cross: The cross was meant to show my everchanging stance on my beliefs towards religion. The bottom point shape was inspired by the hook at the end of a harpoon. The necks was braided and customized to fit the necklace.

Shape of the front and back metal pieces were drafted on sketch paper and cut out on brass as experimentation of aesthetics. Then they were finalized, redrawn on illustrator, and cut out of brass using a jewelry saw and a metal punch. The first few images below are the original drawn experimental trial before the second cut out through adobe illustrator vector prints of the shapes (second cut shown after image 3). After many tests were made, illustrator vectors were made to cut out the leather with a laser cutter as well.

The two sides were stitched together through holes created through a leather punch.