So, the second quarter is about to begin and I would say that an update is necessary. After a slightly harrowing first project, designed and manufactured (mostly...) this two week break has been much welcomed. However, like the masochist that I am, I managed to volunteer to resubmit my portfolio for another look after I had tarted it up a bit and done more work on it. This has meant a scant-ish vacation at best but it has left me with a new found inability to draw with out the soothing froth of Stephen Fry and his QI panel going on in the background.

A report of the process that led to the manifestation of the first piece is thus:
Beginning of crunch time. I get up in front of fellow class mates and give a whopping great production of oratory that lasts for twenty minutes of unadulterated verbal, though design based, historical faff. Talk myself hoarse and sit down after being told that I have exceeded the time limit and that other students still need to talk as well. The upshot of this delightful monologue was this: my design direction emerged under the heading  "The Exotic Machine" a title that will cover all manner of sins as I merge the two aesthetic divergences of the Art Deco machine aesthetic and the enduring legacy of Art nouveau's exoticism. Parallels can and will be drawn between these two themes and with others such as the change in attitude toward the female at this time and the in flux of new thinking in to the social circles that were susceptible.

So, under my new heading, I set sail for more productive seas where I might find a spark of activity in an other wise over done antiquity of a research field. Having left the desert island of my previous intentions behind, the realm if new possibilities lay before me and I did not have to wait long before it was "Land ho" again. Two aspects jumped out at me. There are certain aspects of each aesthetic that are indicative of these aesthetics on their own. They are such in manner that they needn't have any accompaniment. Of the machine aesthetic, the iconic rivets so seen on the San Marina Line and on the dear old Spitfires of the Second World War, make an excellent start. They are simple and so elegant that they can be coupled with something exciting and with greater visual weight. The stylisation of the lotus flower, something exotic and downright pretty was iconic in it's own way. The lines and flow make this, to my mind at least, a perfect partnership.

Right. I have the exotic and I have the machine. Now what? More faffing. Less faffing and then: Result! The idea to do a dress ring (as I will have approximately one week to manufacture it) makes itself heard. The balance of he two opposing themes must be achieved or else a flop is imminent. A bit more faffing and then, result number two, I have metal and a technically technical drawing. To the bench! Tally ho and what what. I begin by piercing (in case any non jewellery people happen to find this page, I do not mean "piercing" with a needle and rings, I mean that I cut holes in a metal sheet with something akin to a hack saw that uses blades about as thick as a beard hair) my involved and weighty panels of what could almost be filigree (and might be somewhere down the line) and cleaning them up as best I could. Twelve hours later, with the panels done, the strip of "fret-filigree" was bent round into a tube and soldered in place. Hereafter, capped and cleaned, the corresponding panels of rivets (in this case, rivet simulants thanks to some quick thinking, not my own) after these had been prepared and brushed up, they were to be held in place with real rivets  but due to my not working at the appropriate speed, I will only attach those at a later stage. I disengaged brain too soon and made an error that would have set me back approximately 4 hours when an hour was really all to be afforded at that time. Either way, it is here for your viewing pleasure assembled with some jeweller's positioning and sculpting putty. Piece 1.