Amber Wu: My First Jewelry Piece(for FIDM application)

在分享自身的求學經驗以前,先來公開申請學校的作品集一小部份:design sketching and the piece of jewelry
繁復但充滿挑戰和成就感的作品集帶我成長了許多

今日的主角:毛毛蟲手鍊

(其實我都亂叫一通),他的背後有著很深的意義,代表着內心那個過去的自己

很多事情即使以和第一次一樣的方式來表現第二次,第三次...卻仍然不及初次的完美
所以接下來會有大篇福的英文(當初申請用的essay)請見諒
比起字句清楚的中文,有時候要在腦中翻譯的英文能夠更加完整地傳達我想要的意境
(或說我懶得再把之前的jewelry description再用中文打一遍了:-P)

這次換我來當攝影師,Y來當model,還有小助手MP(不過他已經不知道跑去哪裡玩了xDDD)
那歡迎各位進入Amber的世界

(Why I chose to create this piece)
There is no snow in Taiwan,so I’ve always wished that I could travel with my maternal grandparents to a country that has snow and be their guide.Unfortunately, Grandpa Charlie passed away 4 years ago,and Grandma Mandy just had knee surgery,so she can only walk for short distances.Traveling with them has become an unfilled dream hidden deep in my heart.

But I still want to do something for them.

When I was four years old, Grandma Mandy knitted a green winter dress for me. Grandpa Charlie smiled and said “You look so pretty in this dress.” I still clearly remember that happiness and all the details of the dress – a folk style pattern,vivid colors and ivory white buttons.

Therefore,I decided to make my first formal jewelry work for my grandparents.
(外婆手藝很巧,我們還小的時候會為我們做衣服,穿起來特別溫暖 f25

)

(My creative process from initial concept to finished product)

Searching for materials which had a similar feel as my knit green dress.Fuzzy balls were my first thought. Walking into the arts and crafts store,I found fuzzy balls in many colors.I chose small ones in yellow,blue and red, but a big one in green.Green is one of my favorite color and has a strong connection to my knit dress.

Those fuzzy balls make me feel comfortable and also modern,so I wanted to find a classic gold chain to fit them. There was something shinning in the corner of the handicraft workshop.A-ha!That was what I wanted,a classic gold chain!

After I collected the materials,I started to construct my bracelet.

At first,I wanted to hang the fuzzy balls on the chain,but it was too heavy and crowded.The jam-packed fuzzy balls reminded me of one day when the children’s buttocks were jostling against each other in front of Ms.Chen’s laptop in order to watch their documentary.They were wriggling like palmerworms,so I moved some high chairs for half of them to make them staggered.I was suddenly enlightened, so I staggered those packed fuzzy balls, sewing some of them on chain with colorful Danish flower thread.I wanted to show my favorite color contrast in my work.

(Ms.Chen是我的畫室老師,children是指畫室裡的小朋友,在其他的essays有提及,所以這裡才沒有說明)

There came another challenge of how to represent the snow?I arranged translucent,reflective acrylic disks into the shape of grape bunches to give a shinning and waving effect when the wearer is walking.I tried to put acrylic disks on the chain, but there was too many round shapes.So I cut the disks into polygons for the sake of balance and presentation.

(壓克力小雪花是作品及拍攝裡最難的一部分,利用壓克力材質與光的對話才捕捉到他的存在)

When I wore my jewelry piece,I could feel the fuzziness touching my skin and enjoyed the transparent polygons waving like snow while I was walking.With my unforgettable memories and dreams in it,I feel happy and expect that women who wear it will feel joyful,too.