I was so close. I nearly had it. It was cut, carved, and sanded.
Then I had to go and mess with it.
“Miachelle, what the hell are you talking about?” I’m speaking about my Taser donation necklace.
I had the Faux Bone pendant cut, carved, and sanded. I had the chain completed. The problem started when I placed all the pieces together. The aquamarine Swarovski crystal that sits so nicely in the semi-circle of the abstract phoenix wings…welllll, let’s just say it isn’t as nice of a combination as I mentally pictured. The white of the Faux Bone and the intense turquoise of the chain completely washed the color of the crystal out. Bad news.
So I thought if I took my turquoise embossing powder, filled in the carving of the Faux Bone, that would help bring the color of the crystal out. Well, not so much. I took it to my husband. He suggested staining the whole pendant, and leaving the carving white. I decided I had nothing to lose at this point. I stained the entire pendant with the turquoise embossing powder.
Egads. It went from bad to worse.
I decided at that point, to just dive into my pool of design mistakes, and really drown myself. I took my metallic blue acrylic paint, and painted over the turqoise stain. Then I added a few splatters of turquoise embossing powder on top. I took my heating tool, and applied some heat.
By now it was like I’d gone mad. I couldn’t stop myself.
I painted another coat of metallic blue, and using a very thin brush, applied silver embossing powder in the carving to make it stand out.
It was like I was determined to commit designer suicide.
It’s now a sad piece of PVC, painted beyond all recognition. The only thing recognizable is the shape and the carving.
I took a few days off from this piece of jewelry tragedy. I had an entire symbology embedded in the design concept. Visually none of it worked together. I’ve been reconsidering what to do to salvage the symbolism behind the design, yet be able to use the concepts in a way that’s beautiful and someone will actually want to wear it.
A super-good friend of mine has rescued me from one dilemma: the crystal. My crystal is too pale. It won’t work, and I can’t picture even displaying this piece during the silent auction and attracting a bidder. She has some gorgeous Swarovski crystals that are post-production coated for a more intense color. These crystals would show up in the lowest of light settings, which is important in events like this. She provided me with three different colors to choose from–I think I have the one selected that matches the symbolism of the necklace. However, these crystals force me to reconsider the size and shape of the abstract wings. The crystal is still tear-drop shaped, which I wanted, but it is longer and thinner than the one I was using. That changes the inner diameter of the wings greatly. The hole is also drilled front-to-back, which changes how I hang the crystal in the pendant.
I’ve also been reconsidering the pendant itself and the color contrast with the turquoise. I chose turquoise jump rings on purpose–I wanted blue to symbolize the police force, but I wanted turqoise to also represent a color commonly associated with Arizona, the headquarters for Taser. The turqoise may work well now that I have a much more intense crystal, but I am not positive. Therefore, I think I may use black jump rings instead, which also represents a color associated with the police force. Black and white is always a good (safe?) combination, and the crystal may provide that flash of color the necklace needs. Another aspect I’ve been thinking about with the carving is do I leave the pendant completely white? Do I make the carvings less deep, and use black shoepolish to color the carving?
I’ve decided that I will cut two more pendants (once I draw out a new version of the wings to fit the size of the crystal), and do one of each–one plain white, one with black.
It’s rare that a design causes me so much consternation. However, I think it’s healthy. Don’t get me wrong–I challenge myself all the time…but failure is a different kind of teacher–it’s a double-edged teacher. Along with failure comes a dose of humility, and that’s not a bad thing.
On the bright side, I now feel comfortable with cutting and carving the Faux Bone. I’m no longer intimidated by the tools, and I enjoy sitting there working on the pieces. I really enjoy being able to place the initials “CA” on the back, knowing that the piece is completely, 100% made by me. That’s a fantastic feeling. I look forward to moving on beyond the Taser project and making other items from the Faux Bone.
So far, I’ve got 12 hours dedicated to this project. It is frustrating to have to go back to the cutting board (yes, I mean cutting board–since this is a project that has to be cut and carved), as I really need to start working on another dramatic piece for the fashion show and I need to make earrings for my personal inventory.
That’s it for now. Unfortunately, between Taser and college, I have little literary inspiration. However, both are drawing to an end (I have mid-terms this week! Half-way finished with the semester!).
Be BOLD.
Miachelle
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