Monday, April 13, 2015

We're All Ears :: April Reveal

This month's Earrings Everyday inspiration was architecture. Specifically, The City of Arts and Sciences, an impressive complex located in Valencia, Spain. Created as a way to honor the melding of science, technology, nature and art, the buildings were conceived and designed by renowned Spanish architects Santiago Calatrava and Félix Candela

Let's take a virtual tour of the complex, and I'll share the earrings I created, inspired by these unusual architectural shapes. I wanted these earrings to be architectural, keeping the emphasis on form and maintaining a neutral color palette.  I also vowed that this time I would keep it simple. (See my recent post HERE of my habit of making everything more complicated that it needs to be.) We'll see how that goes.


ARCHITECTURE

L'Hemisferic (below) is meant to resemble a giant eye - "The Eye of Knowledge."


EARRINGS

Long ago I made these wrapped, curved, and antiqued copper links and have had them sitting in my "to do" basket, waiting for just the right project. When I saw this architectural eye shape, I knew that the time had come to use those links. Interestingly and very fitting to an architectural challenge, it took quite a bit of engineering to get them to "work" correctly. When simply joined by a jump ring, they kept flipping around. 


Finally, I decided to first wire wrap them together at the top to keep them steady and then add a jump ring. Voila, no more flipping!   For the eyeball, I wanted to capture the milky luminescence of the lighting in the photo, so I used a grooved, milky opalite bead for the center dangle. The wedge-shaped charm at the bottom seemed to capture the shape of the buildings to the right of the "eye" in the photo. I added another wrapped opalite bead to the antiqued copper earwire. Here are the finished earrings.


(The picture below was taken before I antiqued the earwires, but I like photo quality better that the previous one. Photography is always such a challenge for me.)




ARCHITECTURE

Notice how the following structures have arched shapes paired with parallel lines. That image kept circling in my head and demanding to be expressed somehow. Arches and parallel lines

El Museo de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe (below) resembles the skeleton of a whale.

L'Umbracle, the Walkway of Sculptures, contains contemporary Spanish artwork amid a garden of indigenous plant life, chosen for the way it changes with the seasons.

L'Oceanogràfic is the largest oceanographic aquarium in Europe and the third largest in the world.



EARRINGS

So earrings . . . arches and parallel lines. In keeping with my simplicity vow, I abandoned my jewelry studio and headed out on my porch with just a couple rolls of copper wire and some tools. These earrings just happened. I like how the coiled links capture all the arched shapes in the structures and the paddles echo the parallel lines of the walkway. Parallel lines occur again in the copper coils. 

There was something very freeing about just working with metal and not having to confront drawers and drawers of beads in my studio! (Don't get me wrong. Having an ungodly amount of beads - AKA hoarding - is pretty cool, but sometimes it intimidates me, and I just can't make decisions.)  As always, hammering metal is awesome and provides great therapy!




ARCHITECTURE (more arches and parallel lines)

Assut de l'Or Bridge, suspension bridge that connects visitors to the City of Arts and Sciences.


EARRINGS

Again, the parallel lines and the rounded shapes yelled at me. I still had that roll of copper wire, and the next thing I knew, hoops evolved. I love making hoops and lashing stuff to them. Some parallel lines of lashed antiqued copper and peach-colored glass beads still kept the color palette neutral and monochromatic, emphasizing form and shape. Fun and . . . well, . . . hoopy. 



Fun challenge, Erin. Thank you! I had great fun creating these earrings and experimenting with taking jewelry photos outside on my porch in gorgeous spring weather. (You just can't beat the Oregon coast on those sunny, warm days.)

Click on the link below to view earrings created by other talented jewelry artists. Enjoy!

26 comments:

  1. Its great to see so many interpretation of the inspiration that too using only wire - great work!

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    1. Thank you, Divya. I do like playing with wire!

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  2. Your wire work is wonderful. I love each pair you made.

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    1. Thanks, Susan. You can't get better than "glorious." What a nice compliment. :)

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  4. Wow Cindy, I love all 3 pair you made. Each one really shows the inspiration behind them.

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    1. Thank you, Kristi. This was an inspiring challenge, and I enjoyed creating these earrings.

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  5. I love how elegant the last one is! They are all beautiful!

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    1. Thank you. The last pair were fun to make, and they just came together so quickly and without much thought. Love when that happens.

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  6. Cindy, absolutely wonderful job! The first pair really captures the architectural elements!

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    1. Thank you, Oksana. This was such a fun challenge. I'm happy that I was finally able to use those links in a design.

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  7. Lovely wirework on all three pairs! Makes me want to go hammer some metal too!

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  8. 3 fab designs and I love the image of you making jewellery out on your porch! Beads scare me sometimes too but hammering metal is always a joy!! xx

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    1. Thanks, Fiona. The best part of this challenge was the porch - making jewelry and taking photos. I think I will take all of my photos out there from now on.

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  9. There's nothing like doing metal bashing. Great earrings!

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    1. Thank you! Yes, metal bashing is always great fun and therapeutic.

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  10. Thanks for the lovely trip through Spanish architecture! Let's go there soon! And let's wear your unbelievably gorgeous wire earrings! Love them all.

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    1. Thanks, Bonnie, for reading my post and for your kind comment. Such a loyal friend you are! Wouldn't that be a hoot of a trip?

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  11. I love each pair you created for this challenge. Spot on interpretation! You are one uber talented lady!

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  12. I love each pair you created for this challenge. Spot on interpretation! You are one uber talented lady!

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    1. Thank you, Terri. You certainly made my day with you sweet comment! :)

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  13. Wow fantastic job and so creative! I know what you mean by making things more work than they have to be..to our credit I think it's our brain on creative overdrive. Usually for me I find that it is too many ideas trying to be one thing.

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    1. Thanks, Katherine. There is a beauty to those moments when a design just flows easily. Simple and satisfying. You nailed it with your insight about competing ideas trying to be one thing. That is exactly it! I am quite often on overdrive, so when a design is just ONE thing, it is refreshing. Thank you for stopping by and for taking the time to comment.

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  14. Oh my! That is an impressive array of earrings you designed! I love that you really took something special from each building and constructed the shape to match. I love the way the antiquing makes the wire just pop. I think that of all of these, the middle ones are my favorite. I love those clean paddles hanging down that contrast with the coils. And I agree. It is intimidating to have so many beads to choose from! A good problem to have! Enjoy the day. Erin

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