Since the moment I was informed that I was one of the ten chosen designers to have the opportunity to participate in DIA’s competition inspired by the Samurai: Beyond the Sword exhibition life has taken on new wings. I was immediately inspired by the samurai’s life beyond the sword, their intense spirituality. Their spirituality guided them in life, gave them their strength and indestructibility, and even caused them to die at their own hand if they lost in battle.
The symbolism behind their armor and art spoke to me and I knew that I needed to include this in my work. The two main symbols that spoke to me were the cherry blossoms and cranes. The cherry blossom being the symbol of the warrior and the crane representing longevity. Though there is countless more for simplicity I am focusing on two. With these two symbols in mind I seek to create the symbolic and mythical figure of the goddess of war.
What initially attracted me to apply for the competition at the DIA was the opportunity to create a piece that mixed my fiber art and metal art into a wearable sculpture. So I began focusing on the metal work knowing that it would take the longest. I am creating a structure inspired by the cherry blossom tree using copper wire to forge twigs and branches that are attached to a leather under structure to make it wearable. For the flowers I have set 44 garnets , so far, into silver precious metal clay, the clay being shaped into a start like shape that resembles the negative space at the center of the cherry blossom.
Using the precious metal clay (pmc) was not as easy as I anticipated, in fact it was an extremely difficult and stressful three days. In the end the pmc still proved to be the easiest way to create settings for that many stones. After the 44 shapes were created with the clay the stones were set in place and then fired in a kiln to burn off the clay and bind the silver into a solid structure. Then the pieces were cleaned up put in a tumbler to burnish them (make them shiny), and 44 earing backs were attached with a laser welder.
Next in line was forging 90 feet of copper wire into twigs and branches (I have yet to finish it all). Using a planishing hammer I was able to create an uneven texture and facets across the copper wire to create the appearance of twigs found in nature. I am a little over a third of the way through all the wire and am building a lot of muscle in my right arm.
For the final aspect of the metal work I wanted to create a structure similar to that of the backs of the cherry blossom so I decided to cast 44 pieces. I began by carving the initial wax shape and then set it into a silicone mold to be able to duplicate it 43 times. After injecting wax into the mold 46 separate times the pieces were attached to a central wax pole and then investment (a form of plaster) to create a mold for casting. Then the fun begins, melting metal, in total I needed 541 grams (a little over a pound) of bronze to fill the two separate molds. The final castings looked really beautiful, like some kind of tree out of a Dr. Suess book, unfortunately I have to cut off all the pieces. Pictures are of the connected pieces as I have not cut them off yet (and one of me sword fighting with the casting vessel tongs).
Fabric will then be laser cut to floral shapes and then sandwiched in between the casting piece and the metal clay pieces to form the beautiful cherry blossoms. The final metal work will be wrapping around my goddess like vines engulfing a house.
Fabric will then be laser cut to floral shapes and then sandwiched in between the casting piece and the metal clay pieces to form the beautiful cherry blossoms. The final metal work will be wrapping around my goddess like vines engulfing a house.
Much much more to come as I switch gears from the metal work to silk painting and sewing.
