Tumblr Assignment #13
“The 5 Obstructions”
For my obstructions I had to create over-sized versions of some of the most precious pieces of jewelry in a jewelry box I made my sophomore year in beginning sculpture.
The left piece is of a ring that my dad bought my mom after his 12 week basic training in Oklahoma when they were 17. He said he had made about $50 that week and he spent it on this ring and a matching necklace for my mom as a Christmas present. I’ve always loved the ring and never got to find out from my mom what significance it had until a few weeks ago.
The middle ring is a smaller, golden band with three 3/8 carat diamonds set in the band. The band is thicker than most womens rings but due to the small size (originally a size 3 until I had it resized) it had to have been a woman’s ring. I’m not sure who it belonged to originally, but my mom had a lot of jewelry from her grandmother Thelma.
The right watch is a custom, handmade, sapphire, diamond, and silver watch my great-great grandfather had made for my great-great grandmother in the early 1900s. The mechanics no longer work, but it is still my favorite piece of jewelry that I own.
The specification for the assignment was to create pieces of the jewelry to be larger than the box. For the left and middle ring, I threw a bowl and trimmed rings off to create the bands. The flower piece was slab and carved. The watch was slab rolled and carved as well. Each piece was bisqued, primed, and spray painted gold or silver. I then added acrylic paint to get the colors of the stones.The watch has silver thread to mimic the chain on the watch.