I began my visual research by drawing and painting the initial ideas that came to mind when thinking of the words crystalline and geometry. I did some observational drawings of crystals and some sketches of geometrical shapes which I then played around with in terms of possible vessels that could be made form each shape.

I then began thinking of different ways I could make my own geometric shapes so I started photographing shadows produced by chicken wire. I arranged paper to mimic the shapes from the chicken wire.

Following on from the chicken wire experiments, I began looking at other ways to create my own geometric shapes and decided to try printing with bubble wrap and scrunched up tissue paper with acrylic paint. I also embossed some wire squares on paper which I thought looked like camera film. I then looked at natural made geometric shapes and liked the pattern made by honeycomb. I replicated this with as many materials as I could, my favourite result was mixing PVA with yellow drawing ink and letting it set around a patterned jar I had.

After the first lesson I found it easier to work my way around the Rhino programme. I enjoyed creating the flat shapes to be etched and laser cut, I found it easier to work with than the 3D solid shapes. I also liked the tracing tool to replicate my drawing and extrude it to create a solid object. Al though it took me a while to figure out, I was pleased with the way the final object turned out.

 Having only used CAD a handful of times, I initially struggled with using the controls and properly creating a design, but after a few tries I was able to make some vessels I was pleased with.

 Sarah Cave is a Perthshire based maker who creates hand raised silverware as well as jewellery, usually working with silver and gold and on occasion, wood and precious metal combinations. Most of Cave’s designs involve contrasting metal detailing like the designs below, from gold plating to granulation. The high polished finish on some of Cave’s vessels create beautiful reflections of the contents of each piece. This finish is particularly effective when paired with subtle detailing and I think the placement of the single gold plated ring on Cave’s piece for ‘Silver of the Stars’ on the right reinforces its striking outcome.

 Hailed as one of the UK’s most prestigious silversmiths, Michael Lloyd, draws inspiration from his surroundings to create the majority of his work. His pieces are usually made from chased silver and gold and the illustrations on the surface of his vessels are a beautiful portrayal of the natural world. His designs offer a sense of escapism and provide a gateway to nature. I love Lloyd’s use of nature, its influence on his work is evident with the organic flowing lines chased on his vessels.

Cornelia Parker is a British artist who is well known for her impressive installation art. Despite destroying objects to create her work, Parker is more fascinated by the idea of objects’ worth being redetermined and revalued so they might find a new purpose as an artwork. Her work ‘Thirty Pieces of Silver’ (pictured below) shows an innovative use of metal to present a striking installation. The eerie suspension of each piece adds to the dramatic work and gives a sense of impending judgement to each object awaiting its new purpose.

Copper Pea Pod

I really enjoyed creating this piece for the icebreaker task as the brief was so open to interpretation. I decided to design a vessel to accommodate sugar snap peas and took direct inspiration from their form to make the piece. I made five small copper bowls with a 20mm diameter and bound them to two lengths of copper wire bent into the shape of a pea pod. Due to the binding wire, the piece doesn’t rock back and forth as I had hoped it would but if I were to make it again, I would allow for the piece to be more mobile by using rivets or soldering joints.