Intentions to Propositions

The feedback I received following the Design Intentions unit was really helpful for me to find clarity within my own practice. When I’m exploring, reading and making it is so easy get bogged down with a mountain of paper and samples, resulting in overlooking patterns that are naturally forming in my research; you can force your practice in a way that you think it should be heading, rather than allowing the research to naturally lead you in new directions you perhaps aren’t used to.

The narrative of women’s issues have always been a really important element of my practice, however I found in the last unit I was forcing the idea...avoiding certain books or readings if I didn’t think they linked with my themes. I also started to find it difficult to explain to people where I stood in the argument. Was I against the expectations put on women? Was I empowering women? Was I making unfair judgements on stereotypes of modern women compared to women of the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s?

The topic of female issues is riddled with negativity and I need to clarify exactly what it is I am trying to say through my work, what is my narrative and how can I make it current and relatable for the women of today that I am aiming my jewellery at? I enjoy looking at vintage photographs of women and things that can traditionally be linked with women; floral patterns, hourglass figures and feminine pastimes such as embroidery or knitting. The idea of practicality vs. presentation inspires me, the way modern women can juggle so many different roles and necessities within their lives. I don’t like to call myself a feminist, as with that title comes a lot of pessimism and disapproval, I have always researched feminist issues simply because it interests me, not because I am a man hater or I burn my bra at the weekends. I don’t think women should be treated differently to men, I think they should have the same opportunities and expectations; equally I think that men should be able to partake in seemingly ‘female’ activities such as being a stay at home parent or watch rom-com films without appearing unusual or ‘un-manly’. Challenging that though, I also think that it’s perfectly ok for women and men to be different...because hey, guess what? We are different!

I think I am using my jewellery to celebrate women...embracing the modern woman and her various identities. A national campaign by Sport England that has personally motivated me recently, is This Girl Can, “It's a celebration of active women up and down the country who are doing their thing no matter how well they do it, how they look or even how red their face gets.”. The campaign encourages women to fight against judgement.. I want to find more modern stories to tell within my work and perhaps use real women’s stories to help me build a clearer message.

This Girl Can campaign poster

But in the mean time...
I have always felt a strong attraction to objects, in specific everyday, domestic objects; it became obvious to me in the Objects and Context unit that this was something I wanted to concentrate on and explore more deeply in my work. The Language of Things by Deyan Sudjic and The System of Objects by Jean Baudrillard have had a huge impact on my thinking and ambitions, and my tutorial with Helen reassured me that it is ok to put certain aspects of your practice to the side (like the feminine issues) to allow to you explore other areas, guiding your research in new directions. Perhaps a few weeks down the line I will come back, full circle to feminine issues through the domestic, utilitarian objects I am investigating.

I decided to make a list of things that I wanted to achieve by the end of the next unit (Design Propositions), finding and highlighting simple ways of moving my practice forward, taking a few risks to solve the questions still unanswered in the last unit (Design Intentions). To begin, I took a very straightforward, object lead approach; I gathered together objects I have collected over the years and interrogated them. What did I like about them? How were they made? What was their function? Who would use them? Did they relate to each other in some way? The interrogation consisted of photographing and drawing each object, and then visually describing it, I also photographed the objects grouped into categories to help me create relationships between each one, acknowledging similarities and patterns through the collection.

Some of the objects I have interrogated.

An example of a page from my object interrogation sketchbook.

Experimenting with different materials, isolating parts of an object, and reinterpreting its physical qualities.

I wanted to identify, on a material level, ways I could visually react to specific elements of each object. In the past I have always shied away from using new, different materials, this is going to be one of my main risk taking strategies in this unit. In The System of Objects Jean Baudrillard talks about the use of colour and material variations to create atmosphere, how colour can create a language understood by all. “’Loud’ colours are meant to strike the eye. If you wear a red suit, you are more than naked - you become a pure object with no inward reality. The fact that women’s tailored suits tend to be in bright colours is a reflection of the social status of women as objects.” (p.31) We have relationships with colours and materials embedded within us through cultural, mental and experiential structures; wood for example is “so sought after today for nostalgic reasons. Wood draws its substance from the earth, it lives and breathes...time is embedded in its very fibres...In short, it is a material that has being” (p.37). I want to experiment with the effect of combining different materials with metal to help create this visual language. I’ve made a list of materials and techniques I want to try, to introduce different colours and materials into my work.

More often than not, the part of an object I find the most interesting and appealing is the part that makes it functional; hinges, clips and clasps, things that invite you to hold, use and interact with it. In The Language of Things, Deyan Sudjic talks about archetypes in design; for example, a gun is traditionally a symbol of power and masculinity, yet notions of the trigger can be found in so many domesticated objects such as a hoover handle or oil can. Generating the same sensation but with none of the risk. I like the thought of creating notions of interaction; mimicking mechanisms from a domestic object, to create wearable and cherished jewellery...same sensation, none of the context.

As well as an object’s physical language, Sudjic also talks about luxury. Comparing why we value certain objects differently depending on what they are made from and how they are made, how ‘serviceable’ they are or the gratification the user derives from it’s contemplation as an object of beauty. He states that if an object is seen as expensive, or costly in the time it took to make, it is more likely to be seen as beautiful and consequently, luxurious. If an object is luxurious, the user is more likely to gain a sense of enjoyment, satisfaction and even indulgence from owning and using it. Again, this is something I am going to investigate further in my practice - jewellery is so easily designed as a luxury item, I want to challenge this by creating jewellery perhaps made from less conventional materials, physically inspired by objects not commonly seen as opulent.

To make things happen, I have been making regular ‘to do’ lists; I started by writing a list of things I wanted to achieve by the end of the project, then working backwards, things I needed to do to accomplish these goals. I now make a weekly and a daily to do list, it seems extravagant, but it really helps me to get work done. Simple, small, achievable steps make each day feel as productive as possible.