Tara’s Jewelry is Kind of Strange

Photo care of Rasmus Rasmussen

Tara Brannigan makes jewelry and costumes out of silver, bones, stones and leather. Among other things. This is almost a counter to her tech-oriented day job, except that her love of technology occasionally steps into the artistic realm. Such as in the case of her bench-cam, a live webcam from Tara’s workshop where interested parties can watch her work in real time.

I met Tara at a coffee shop in Seattle, where she showed me a few samples of her work and took the time to talk to me a bit about her process. We also talked about some of the personal motivations and experiences that have helped fuel Tara’s creativity.

AP: What is your process like? How do you get started on a new piece and when do you know that it’s done?

I force myself to sit down at the bench on a fairly regular basis, but I don’t always have a plan before I do. Generally if I have a plan, it’s because some random idea popped into my head earlier in the day and I feel the need to flesh it out. Usually this happens in a completely inconvenient place or time, such as driving down the freeway or in the middle of some important conversation. I’ve been pretty horrible about actually sitting down to try and go through the brainstorming process, but I’m getting a bit better about it.

Other times I’ll acquire a new piece of material and dink around trying to figure out what it’s supposed to be in. Usually I’ll keep these in sight while working at the bench, so even if I don’t immediately know what it should be, I can be thinking about it in the back of my mind while working. I may not know immediately what it’s meant to be, but I latch onto it as something particularly fantastic that I need to find a purpose for.

The Horn Ring is one of those sorts of projects. I picked up the Duiker antelope horns from a clearance bin at the Bone Room in CA while I was down there visiting. I had no idea what I wanted to make from them at the time, just that they had a great deal of potential. I bought them, put them on the shelf next to my workbench and kept going back to them, but never really sorting out their purpose until I was making a project for a friend. I’d built out a box ring and was looking around for what to put on its top. I wanted the ring to have a proud, rebellious, but also protective nature. I just wasn’t finding the right stone in my collection of random ‘things to set’ though, and started looking through my personal Pile of Random Awesome Stuff. That’s what I spotted the Duiker horns and, after a quick check to make sure one of them would fit, realized I’d finally found the perfect home for it.

Read the full interview over at: http://www.anotherpassion.com/2010/interview/taras-jewelry-is-kind-of-strange/#more-755

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I’ve been in the process of locating a new place to live and work on projects. Now that I’ve found one, I have to do the moving & unpacking dance before I can really get back down to business. Once there I should be a heck of a lot more productive though.

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http://www.kindofstrange.com/2009/digitigrade-legs/

So what do I find this morning when I open my email?

Kim, on her digitigrade leg extensions, in the Weta newsletter!  Weta is now producing Kim’s wonderful leg extensions under the name ‘Weta Legs’.  They’ll run you around $1,320 NZD, so just under $1k USD.

http://www.wetanz.com/wetalegs

Way to go Kim, fantastic work all around!

Kim’s work outside of Weta may be seen at the following locations:

• KimGrahamStudios.com
• SilkMermaid.com

And in person at Semantics Gallery in Edmonds, WA.  (http://www.semanticsartgallery.com/)

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You can see some examples from a previous class here:

http://metalcyberspace.com/blog/archives/244

From this basic idea, students are asked to design and build their own personal box ring.  The time limitation of the project is set at 8 hours for anything beyond the basic ring construction, but that appears to be more of a general guideline than anything enforced.  Students may use whatever materials and construction techniques they want, as long as it builds off of the base box ring idea.

Here’s what I came up with:

Materials used: Sterling silver, 14k gold, peridot, deer leg bone, wolf fur

Additional photos and Meaning(TM) after the jump…

I wanted to make something that was both aesthetically appealing and personal in nature.  I have always connected with and sorted through concerns in my life a bit easier through a sort of personal symbolism.  Sometimes having a representation of a thought or concept can make it easier to relate to or focus on.

One issue that’s been particularly difficult for me in the past year is the death of my brother.  My father died when I was much younger and while I understood and accepted that in the way that the very young seem to, the death of my brother was a blow to my core.  We had just begun to reconnect over the last few years after most of our lives apart and to find him suddenly gone tore into my heart in a way I never fully realized was possible. 

I found myself reevaluating what I valued and had done with my life thus far.   Clichéd though it may sound, I found myself realizing that life is too short and too uncertain to keep putting off those things that you’re passionate about.   I find my passion in designing and constructing things with my hands, more specifically jewelry and the realm of personal ornamentation.  With that in mind (and my employer’s understanding blessing), I jumped into the JTI class at the Revere Academy to immerse myself in a way that otherwise really wouldn’t have been possible.

The ring itself is a culmination of the skills I’ve learned and as a symbolic focus for remembering and cherishing those that are now gone from my life. 

The organic elements and stone are symbols of remembrance, death, healing and strength.  The golden hoop at the bottom is meant as a connection point on which to suspend the name of the person I am remembering, which is then held in the palm of the hand.  The golden hoop on the side of the ring is meant to hold charms that represent life and growth, though I haven’t sorted out what those are just yet. 

I have spent a good deal of time in my life thinking about death and what it means.  Now it is time to think about what it is to live.

The following cards accompanied the ring:

Title Page:

Predator & Prey, Life & Death

Page One:

Wolf: family, teacher, protector, death & rebirth

Deer: gentleness, balance, love, healing

Peridot: healing old wounds, balance, releasing negativity, strength

Page Two:

“Live! Live! Live within your own mind, and never have a care in the world.  When you go to sleep and don’t wake up, we will know that you are cured.  We will dress you in your finest clothes and place you gently down in your bed, cover you with your favorite quilt.  We will kiss you softly on your forehead and wish you the very best of times as the infinite universe of the self opens to you, and all hurts are healed, and all will be forever well.

The rest of us will live, love, laugh, be hurt, weep, and die.  It won’t be an easy ride, to be sure.  But we’ll do it with each other.” – Pete Overton, 2009

 Page Three:

G. Aunt Betty, 2009

 I did not see Betty much, but I heard about her all the time while I was growing up.  She was vibrant, full of life and passion.  She was wild and funny, committed and loving.  She married the love of her life and they spent more than 50 years together, still visibly in love after all that time. 

The last time I saw great aunt Betty was during my trip back to MI for my brother’s funeral.  She comforted me when I needed it most, and for that I will always be grateful.

I see her personality in my mother and grandmother, a joy and laughter that the world could use more of.  She was a good person, and she was family.  I wish that I had known her better.”

Page Four:

Grandma Joann, 2009

Grandma Joann wasn’t technically my grandmother.  She was the grandmother of my ex step-father.  All the same, she acted like a grandma to me and accepted me into her life.  She watched me as a young child and helped me learn the value of doing things yourself and staying pro-active in life.  She was no-nonsense, but welcoming. 

I remember watching Murder She Wrote and falling asleep next to her on a regular basis, after a day of errands and running about. 

She had a great collection of random rings, though she seldom ever wore them.  I’m not sure why that always comes to mind, but it does.

Page Five:

Duri, 2008

Duri was a friend of mine, the kind you meet and feel instantly like you’ve known for years.  He was a tall, fanged, long-haired modern-day warrior, who just happened to work in the game industry.  The solution to many of life’s problems was a hearty laugh and a bellowing of AXE!

He was a kind person and always there for a good rant-and-relax session.  A good man who was troubled by the demons life had dealt him.  Unfortunately these foes were not ones the warrior could defeat, and a good man fell.

Warrior, geek, gamer and friend, I salute you and miss your laugh.  AXE! on into eternity, as only you could.

Page Six:

Ian, 2008

The consummate big brother. 

Once when we were young I hit Ian over the head with a baseball bat.  I was maybe 3 at the time, no idea why I did it.  My mom heard the yell of surprise and pain and came running.  Still clutching his head, Ian grabs me in a hug and starts saying ‘It’s okay! She didn’t do anything!’.  My mom still laughs about it today.

That was Ian.  Even if you didn’t really deserve it sometimes, he loved and protected you all the same. 

I will miss him always.

Page Seven:

Dad, 1987

My father was not a great person.  He had problems with alcohol and with his temper.  Despite this, my scattered memories of him are full of love and kindness.

After a long day at the foundry, soot still on his face, my dad would sweep me up into his arms for a big hug, m&ms and creme soda.  He loved me in that doting way that fathers do best.  The memory of that love still comforts me in times of need.

My father may not have always been the best person, but to a young girl he was a great dad.

Related posts:

1. Box Ring – Sneak Peak
2. Wisdom Tooth Ring

Sunday consisted of locating the school and getting settled in at the house I’m staying at.  (thanks Richard!)  The BART runs from a few blocks nearby to within just a few blocks of the school, so the commute is a breeze.  Well, mostly a breeze.  I’m currently staying on top of a rather large hill, so the returning home at the end of the day bit can be a bit rough.  But on the bright side, I’m getting one heck of a work-out.  My physical therapist would be proud.

Day one of the class was largely introductions to the teachers, classmates and general working practices around the studio.  The overall class size was more than 20 people, so classes were broken up into two smaller groups.  I choose the evening class, as I enjoy sleeping in a bit and generally hit my productivity upswing a bit later in the day.    

Day two:  Got to arrive a bit later, which was nice with regards to getting a bit more sleep.  The BART route is easy to navigate and found the school again with no problem whatsoever.  The weather took one heck of a turn, whipping wind and incredible amounts of rain around throughout the day. We worked on polishing a little brass alloy hummingbird charm and just started in on a boxy silver ring before we broke for lunch and switched over to the studio workspace.  Polishing is interesting, but I can’t claim it’s my strong suit at the moment.  The evening studio time headed by Alan focused on ring construction and soldering.  From a piece of square, silver wire we made a simple ring. A large piece of copper wire was drawn through the rolling mill to demonstrate how it worked and pieces were cut for use in making a ring the following day. 

Day three:  More work on polishing this morning on the pre-cast silver ring.  I wasn’t entirely pleased with my output, but it was a good learning exercise as I’d never attempted polishing a ring with such a sharp, stepped design.  Breaking in the new brushes was entertaining and I somehow ended up with copious amounts of rouge dust on my face.  I wandered around the city a bit at lunch, trying to get a slightly better understanding of the surrounding area.  After lunch we jumped into more lessons on soldering, another demonstration of ring construction and got to work on the thick copper ring. 

Overall, my initial impressions of the class have been very positive.  The teachers are very knowledgeable as well as personable.  Alan himself seems to have an endless reserve of patience paired with a steady manner and direction.  The class itself is, as it states, rather intense.  I’m finding it hard to remember what happened on what day as it seems impossible that it’s only been 3 days thus far. 

Photos to follow in the updates to come.  I have the short term memory of a gnat, so I’ve managed to forget the camera the past several days.  Go me!

Related posts:

1. Tools Purchased
2. Two weeks down

Unfortunately the tools I did purchase are being shipped directly to the Revere Academy, so I won’t be able to play with them until I get down there. Explaining the amount of hammers in my luggage was a less than desirable scenario though, so straight to the school they go! I do appreciate that Otto Frei offers that option with no additional fee, at any rate.

Related posts:

1. Foredom
2. Tuition Paid

Place to stay: Secured!
Plane tickets: Purchased!
Time off: Pending final approval

Now to suck it up and buy the required tools & books!

Related posts:

1. Tools Purchased
2. Quick Update – Revere Academy
3. Box Ring – Sneak Peak

I am both excited and a little freaked out.  The required tool list alone is intimidating!

Related posts:

1. Tools Purchased
2. Tuition Paid
3. First Impressions

Seen the Sea

I have seen the Sea

Shining bright through thick and thin

Golden rays of sunlight

Burnished slick on silvered skin

 Proud, strong, confident

Surging ever without shame

So happily accepting

Its neverending game

I would like to follow

The example of the Sea

And work at what I love

For me, and only me

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