Variations on the lace and button vinyl bangle

Final Gramophone necklace

 Here is the finished LP necklace.

 The chain and subtle but strong catch.

The back is highly polished and smooth creating a pattern of fish eye reflections

Just a thought

'The definitive collection of 19th Century literature in which the vampire, or vampirism, both embodied and atmospheric, appears. Seventeen seminal texts by legendary European authors, covering the whole of that delirious period from Gothic and Romantic, through Symbolism and Decadence to proto-Surrealism and beyond, in a single volume charged with sex, blood and horror. Includes: Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Machen, Le Comte de Lauteamont, Count Stenbock, J K Huysmans, Jean Lorrain, Théophile Gautier, Charles Nodier, J Sheridan Le Fanu, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Oscar Wilde, Ivan Turgenev, Charlotte Brontë, J M Ryder.' -(http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/books/t/t2238.htm accessed 28 Mach 2011)

 

Even the vampires of the 19th Century were worth pining after in relativity to the modern take thereof. Unlike Twilight, True Blood, or Vampire Diaries, there was some intrigue, depth and ambiguity in the nature of the vampires. They still chose drank human blood (world peace seems to be the new goal of today's modern, non-human-eating vampire). Their novels in which they were brought to life still embraced their origins and their history-which, in the case of vampires who are eternal and immortal, allowed for such a rich and descriptive field of narration. Nostalgia is sometimes better described as a rejection of the now, in relativity to the then.

The gramophone and the record

Emile Berliner invented the flat record in 1887, a development on the previous cylindrical records invented by Thomas Edison in 1877, which could be made into a mould and reproduced allowing the mass production of the records we now recognise and remember. It was Berliner who's trademark was the dog listening to "His master's voice" on a gramophone. (http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventions/a/gramophone.htm, accessed 28 March 2011)

http://0.tqn.com/d/inventors/1/0/5/T/nipper-gramophone.jpg

The trademark was then passed on to Eldridge R. Johnson, and through him it became it's presently famed self.

In the blog of Sketch's Studios, the notion of voice recording being a photograph of sound is introduced in a quotation by Abbé  Lenoir . This 'photograph' of the sound of the 19th century has, i think, just as potent an ability to allow escape into the past as does a photograph of the same time.

http://jonathanpearmain.blogspot.com/2011/03/research-introducing-gramophone.html#comment-form

LP necklace

 I used sterling silver domes linked with varying sized round jump rings to form the chain and the bases on which to sew(set) the vinyl discs.

In order to find an appropriate layout of the pieces i tried different arrangements before soldering them together.

I textured the inside of the domed silver discs with a rough rubber wheel to create a clean and reflective but not highly polished look when seen through the pierced vinyl discs.

Silhouette on vinyl cuff

 The Cuff is a slumped and bent strip of vinyl record.

The silhouette is made of blackened and glass brushed sterling silver, hand shaped and sewn onto the vinyl through drilled holes.

LP necklace. Warping vinyl

 

 I am currently working on a necklace made of silver and vinyl domes and began by piercing out flat vinyl disks and slumping them into silver domes in the oven. 

  I encountered an unexpected problem in that the vinyl disks, when heated/slumped, warp or stretch in the direction in which the lines or grooves run, hence warping the circles into ovals. I have had to make the disks too big and cut them down to size as circles afterwards.

Elementary my dear Watson

I used a silhouette resembling Sherlock Holmes on one of the vinyl cuffs I made.

Sherlock Holmes is an iconic figure from literature, movies and even animations such as The Great Mouse Detective which i remember watching when i was young. 

I have always been a fan of a good old "whodunnit" and this image stirs that  thrill of trying to figure out who the culprit is. I am reminded of the computer game my siblings and i played when we were younger called "Where in the world is Carmen Sandiago" in which you were a suave looking detective in search of an escaped criminal clothed in the immortal black and white stripes of a jailbird. 

The most recent movie which brought about that same old feeling of intrigue and excitement was the 2007 movie Sleuth. I thought it a lovely token to later find out that Michael Caine was now playing the older of the two main characters, of which he had played the younger in the 1972 version of the film. I like the thought that the same story now holds two eras of memories for him, and new ones for my generation, because someone was not afraid to bring back the past in a modern context and keep the story alive.

LP Bangles

Here are some prototypes of Vinyl bangles/cuffs. I cut sections of the record and then slump them over a bangle mandrel in the oven at about 90 degrees Celcius. I then take them out holding them in place on the madrel (with my hands covered for protection from the heat) and submerge them under cold water to harden in shape.

 I found that instead of or in conjunction with filing the edges smooth, it works very well to peel the sharp or feathered edges off with a sharp craft knife for a smoother, more comfortable finish.

 I used a curved thinner strip of vinyl and experimented making the new shape shown below. It is reminiscent of a tuxedo-type sleeve.

Teacup Graveyard

 In our garden at home we have what we refer to as "The Teacup Graveyard" where all broken cups go to rest and be home to new life in the form of the plants that grow in and around them. There is a flat cicle of cement surrounding our herb garden in which bits of mugs and cups and saucers have been embedded like a mosaic of sorts, but it has been so overgrown with herbs that it is no longer visible. If it is ever seen again i will be sure to take a photo of it.

There is a memory or two behind every cup that makes it's way here and a simple viewing can bring back a whole world of recollections.

Teatime etc

 I sourced some pale green, cream and blue-grey cord to use instead of a chain. It reminds me of curtain ties..a homely look. They work well with the pendant when all strung together and balance both the colour and visual weighting of the piece quite nicely.

 Glass firbe brushed blackened silver -creates an aged effect

 

I am considering knotting the strings together in some places along the necklace to spread other focal points.

Teatime conntinued: Blackened setting

 

Blackened Setting- Better contrast between the porcelain back and the silver silhouette outline, but a bit harsh and loses it's precious silver look.

Front with blackened claws and bale.

Teatime: Porcelain piece and starts of a necklace

 Highly polished sterling silver setting with teapot silhouette pierced out. I used quite thin sheet metal for the plate as to be able to manipulate it (by hand) to the contours of the pottery so that it is well supported in the setting.

 I made the claws and the bale to mimic the pattern style of the porcelain. I think they feel quite dream-like, as if to create the feeling of being in a memory or transported to another time.

 The front view with the highly polished claws. I was unsure about the use of highly polished silver in contrast to the old aesthetic of the pottery.