Experimental Lace Beginnings

In this post I would like to discuss the journey on how I began to discover and manipulate lace to push the expectations presented in the first semester. The second semester of my BA Hons qualification, entails a research essay accompanying a designed and manufactured piece. The first semester prepared me to be able to construct a complete research essay addressing issues of interest and creating a piece which would best represent these views. At the end of the 1st semester I was advised to take the lace pieces to another level, by incorporating variations of the lace and dimension. Taking the advice given I went back to the drawing board. I looked for the best possible way in which I could start the lace pieces off. Then focused on manipulation and dimensions of the lace.

As seen in the previous posts, I soldered wire to the base rings to keep them secured. Although it assisted in keeping the lace secured, it was a harsh line when compared to the lace and it presented an untidy finish and time consuming. I managed to find a solution by wrapping the wire around the base ring which provided a secure, neat and beautiful pattern. This can be seen below. The wrapped wire presented itself as an extension of the lace.

Mariambibi Khan. 2015. 40 Point Beginning Lace - Front. Fine Silver & Sterling Silver.

Mariambibi Khan. 2015. 40 Point Beginning Lace - Back. Fine Silver & Sterling Silver.

The next step was to enhance the pattern of the lace. I began creating a tighter pattern of the circular lace to enhance the negative and positive shapes. The first sample was a 32 point lace and the second was a 40 point lace.

Mariambibi Khan. 2015. 32 Point Lace. Fine Silver & Sterling Silver.

Mariambibi Khan. 2015. 40 Point Lace - Production. Fine Silver & Sterling Silver.

Mariambibi Khan. 2015. 40 Point Lace. Fine Silver & Sterling Silver.

Once the 32 point and 40 point lace was created, my fascination grew. Both lace patterns ranged between two to three weeks to complete. The 40 point lace proved to be much more strenuous with a higher occurrence of breakage. I began challenging myself by exploring ways on how I could take it further to represent a 3 dimensional form. Examining the limitations and whether another pattern could be used. All the experimentation pieces can be seen below.

Mariambibi Khan. 2015. 40 Point Lace - dimension. Fine Silver & Sterling Silver.

In the image above is the 40 point lace being manipulated by shaping and forming the lace to appear 3 dimensional. The flexibility of the metal is present which allows for the piece to bend while retaining its pattern.

Mariambibi Khan. 2015. Four leaf Lace - Production. Fine Silver & Sterling Silver.

Mariambibi Khan. 2015. 4 Leaf  Lace. Fine Silver & Sterling Silver.

In the images above is the new pattern. This pattern was derived from the 40 point lace which I marked out the organic shapes and weaved them. I have folded the lace to allow for dimension and variety.

Mariambibi Khan. 2015. 32 Point Lace - Basket. Fine Silver & Sterling Silver.

The above image is a representation of the 32 point lace being folded and shaped to form a ball while twisting the ends to form a consistant flow of the wire. The second 32 point experimental piece is produced by turning the lace half way in. This allows for a donut ring which looks interesting with the wire frames.

Mariambibi Khan. 2015. 32 Point Lace - Donut - Bottom. Fine Silver & Sterling Silver.

Mariambibi Khan. 2015. 32 Point Lace - Donut -Top. Fine Silver & Sterling Silver.

The experimental phase of the design project, allowed for the exploration of the metallic lace. The flexibility of the lace provided an easy pathway in attaining dimension and complexity. In the next blog post I intend on beginning the design process for the jewellery piece.