I usually start by displaying materials on a table, I do a small layout to see what I have and the possibilities available, here you can see bits and pieces found on the street, on the beach.. just different walks, as time goes by I also have friends that find little pieces and give them to me just in case I can use them..
Why is there that innate eagerness of collecting?
Why do we do this? sometimes there is really not a financial value for these objects still, we feel accomplished when we find something that just fits.
But why do we have this light obsession, why do some of us do it, some of us don´t?
I have been very interested in the topic, specially because I try to understand why do I get that light sense of “joy” when I find certain materials, I am attracted to things that have a worn aspect, a sense of time that has gone past them, everything, even the smallest thing has a story.
It is all a way to understand my own nature through making, I like giving these materials a chance, a space, why not?
“We use keepsakes to stimulate memory, especially to trigger fond memories but even if memory cannot be relied upon to faithfully reproduce a record of the past, it remains vital to our understanding of the past.” Terry Shoptaugh
Photographs, toys, train tickets, the lists are endless and it varies from person to person, do you collect anything?
Back to the piece:
I made boxes to keep and display them as small treasures and kept experimenting with arranging, re-arranging, and classifying parts of a-big-world-out-there, I found a composition that made sense to me, the piece that fitted each box.
This is the first brooch I made where I did made some boxes specifically for some pieces I wanted to use but for the second one (which I will show you later on) it took a little longer, I made the arrangement and then just waited until I found the correct piece for each box.
Since this is a brooch I didn’t want the copper to go directly in touch with the clothing so I made a sterling silver frame to give it a bit of volume and stability as you see the boxes are in mixed positions, so having a frame in the back gives me a good space to make the mechanism.
At the same time, I made and soldered bezels, tubes and all the parts to hold the pieces in place.
Patina and wounded finger:
Preparing for rivets.
Some are tied with waxed cord, the knots can be burnt and is held securely in place.
Riveting
And after finishing off, removing some of the patina in certain places, oxidizing and placing the stainless steel needle in the back, this is the result.
It makes a little noise since the bell is tied and swinging loose 🙂
After finishing, the piece left me and it’s off in the Museum of Anthropology of Palencia, for a while.
Natalia Araya - Atelier 