1st Exhibit presentation

Display

This was my final display for the exhibition that took place on the 14/06/2023. The whiteboard has my splash page stuck to explain my concept being about Mendhi pattern jewellery. 
 

Enameled etched pendant 

This is the enameled copper lotus pendant that has etched spirals underneath the enamel, attached with a silver link chain.

Enameled copper earrings 

Enameled copper earrings that consist of backing enamel to create the colour visible on the earrings. I like how the outcome turned out as it gives the look of a galaxy look. 

Cuff Bracelet

Cuff bracelet that can be used as a stack cuff bracelet. The design is inspired by the Mendhi design that begins from the wrist. 

Wrist Mendhi design

This is a reference to what is explained for the design inspired to create the cuff bracelet.

Paisley Ring

Silver paisley pattern ring with forged silver balls in the center of the paisley wire frame, attached to a twisted band as the shank for the paisley design. 

Paisley Earrings

In silver paisley earrings, the center paisley frame consists of forged silver balls that are flattened and the two side paisley have silver spirals and silver balls soldered to create a design in the paisley wire frame, finally giving a lotus look. 
 

Etched Earrings:

 After enjoying the experimentation field of working around the idea of etching, I decided to make another piece, something simple from the mendhi design that I had transformed into earrings. 

I had darkened the lighting to get a better feature of the etched design. This design is commonly used for henna art on the palm, legs and wrists. 

mendhi design using the crisscross design

Etching: Final look

After the process of the bitumen and acid work it was finally time to get the final look of how the design worked out on the copper plate. 

04/04/2023
What it looked like after removing the bitumen off using turpentine.
Ruhini showed me how to remove scratches using the wax tool to get a smoother finish on the metal. 

05/04/2023
This was the design behind the previous image piece. 

05/04/2023
This was the second trial plate that I had created another etching design on. 

06/04/2023 
Finally after sandpapering and polishing the piece this is what it looked like in the end as a pendant connected with a link chain.

Etching 3:Mordants

Mordants are the chemicals, generally acids that are used to deliberately corrode metal. 

The modrant needed for copper is water and Nitric Acid. It generally is 1 part nitric(50) and 1 part water(50) .

This is what it looks in the nitric acid and water(3/04/2023) 

A feather is needed to get rid of the bubbles that will appear on the metal so it is advisable to check on your piece regularly as well as having a mask to work easier near the acid work space. 

After being removed from the acid. Advisable to have a smoother application of bitumen rather than this trial thick consistency. (04/04/2023)

Once removed from the acid I had then added my design that I wanted etched onto the copper plate. It then goes back into the acid for maybe like an hour and a half to get a good depth of the design on the plate. (04/04/2023)

Etching 2:Bitumen

Once I was done reading the gathered information I had found about etching, I had then moved onto the physical experimentation which is working with bitumen, nitric acid and so forth...This is how it all went down:(31/03/2023)

This is Bitumen(in other terms its tar)

The Bitumen applied on the copper

Once the one side is dried you then apply the bitumen on the other side.
I applied the bitumen like this because I wanted to create depth with that surrounding shape. 

The Bitumen took me a day for it to dry completely. It is preferable for it to be more of a liquidy consistency when having to apply on the metal piece as it will give a smoother finish as well as dry faster. 

Etching: Information and Developing

 My prototype started off with just having to doodle my design I had in mind on a copper plate. 

Copper plate with a doodled mendhi design using a wax tool(Scapula)

This is a brass and copper plate that I decided to pierce a lotus design, then used the scapula to add design and more decorative look to the lotus. 

This was my initial thought of having to know what the final look will be for the lotus design.

 

I had then had a talk with my lecturer, Dr Chris De Beer, when he had suggested why not experiment and create the depth of the piece better by doing etching which is what I am about to get into as a have the information that I got today to know all about etching. 

This is just an explanation on the acid aspect for the etching process. 

I had then watched a YouTube video that was kind of a tutorial on how to do etching after reading the information. 

Ref Link if you want to watch: Etching