#traceskin

[rosiepoth]

Why am I making rings?

I've realised that I've not mentioned in my blog WHY I have chosen to make rings out of all the different types and options of body adornment there is. The reason? Because of some of the very first images I took of my mums hands, it was then later when using photoshop that I discovered the filter that made the human skin look like reptile skin, and it was this that made me want to stick to making jewellery for the hand. I've made the ring's quite large so that the geometric pattern is like a second skin it's self sitting up from the hand. Almost like you are looking at the skin through the magnifying glass. 

[rosiepoth]

Next steps with my book..

Tomorrow I get to see the first printed out copy of my book! I'm excited to see the quality and how it all falls together. The next step for me is to think about the cover and how i'm going to make it into a pack. My first idea is to have a pocket in the back page which will have all the material slid in such as the felt etc. I don't want the cover to be too fancy and want it to take simplicity like the pages of my book. I'm thinking of using the same font I used on the photographs and just having the title written simply on the front. Then when you open it up it will burst out with colour HOWEVER if I think in a buisness kind of way that might not be the best way to cover my book as it might not sell it well to the audience. It might draw people in if I have a photo on the cover summing the book up as a whole so they are more likely to pick it up then have a flick through and see if it's for them. These are the two options I need to think about. What I could do is have a poster or some kind of advertisement behind my books to draw people in, and then that way I can keep the cover simple. I like to think my book would be a great gift as it has everything included. 

[rosiepoth]

Artists book fair ideas and development..

I need to think of what material I plan on making the face of the brooch out of. I want something easy enough for children to do, but with enough freedom for all other age groups to create something beautiful and as intricate as they like! My options so far are as follows;

Paper - easy to cut and shape but will easily get crushed and loose shape.

Card - still easy to cut and shape but again will easily get crushed and also wilt if light rain appears!

Material - again easy enough to cut and shape but edges will start to fray.

Felt - perfect to cut and shape, will not fray, get misshapen, or wilt in the rain! Perfect!

I then need to think about the options for the design and what the pack has to offer. I need to think about how felt can be layered and held together. As I mentioned above I want children to be able to do this craft and I think that becomes limited when you HAVE to attach the felt by sewing, so i'm going to see if glue will do the same job and securely fasten layers of felt on top of each other. 

My next steps is to see how the glue works with the felt and start to photograph the steps into making the brooch. I will then be able to add written instructions and start to actually assemble the book. (I am going to have to consider how I will bind the book and how I plan to turn it into a pack.)

[rosiepoth]

Development..

So far I have been working on my designs on illustrator and making them come alive on the lazer cutter. However i'm putting that on hold while I focus on making my book for the Artists Book fair. We have to make three books which can either be a multiple or a series and at the moment my initial plan is to make multiple. Now i've been looking at alot of DIY bloggers from America and they have influenced me hugely and it was from this that i've decided to make a step by step DIY book on how to create your own piece of jewellery. I want the book to contain the materials you need so it will almost be a pack. I've been researching to see if their is anything similar on the market at the moment and what I can do to make mine a bit different. My idea was to offer a brooch kit for 'a brooch a day' enough material to make 7 brooches one for each day of the week or something you can change throughout the day dependent on your mood and outfit. I thought about the different materials you could use to easily change a brooch front, there was poppers, velcro, and then I thought about magnets! Not only can you use them on your brooch but in the mean time you can use them to decorate your home (stick them on the fridge). I've ordered some brooch pins and some magnets and now I need to experiment with what material will be best to make the face.

A few of the blogs i've been addicted to scrolling through at the moment:

http://daintysquid.blogspot.com/

http://www.wednesdaycustomdesign.com/

http://abeautifulmess.typepad.com/

[rosiepoth]

[rosiepoth]