Just One More Week to go...

Just one week to go until the end of term. We have worked 15 weeks straight, with 3 exams and multiple tasks set during that time. The other students on the course told me that they have produced as much work during this period, as they have during the whole of the two years for A levels. This course is also pre-degree level, and is intensive tough and diagnostic, so you are kinda forced to try everything at least once

I have now been "diagnosed" by the tutors who have decided to put me in the Fine Art category, which is more than fine with me lol. After xmas there are yet more exams, and then the final 10 week project, then that is it! Of course I get to play for longer in workshops etc as I am technically part time

I love the kids on the course - I have become a little bit attached to them, and they to me - which has really been an unexpected highlight. A lot of them will be there next year on the degree course so we will all stay in touch ....anyway here are some pretty pics of recent work. The image above is a textured acrylic painting I did of a puppet ballerina

The next image is a close up of the details of the dress....

The mixed media artwork below is to do with Hopes and Dreams, and uses welded steel flower heads to depict fortified childhood hopes that have survived to this day.









I loved making this piece, everything about it was a new skill learnt. Welding steel, and forming the flower heads in metal workshop - using hardboard as a mixed media painting surface, and the methods used to texture the painted dandelion heads. I really really love this course and there are early indications that I could be up to doing ta Fine Art degree afterwards, as well as my shop....so life is looking rosy :)




Samantha Braund

A Long Overdue Update

Crop of a portrait based on a photo of myself at the age of 3 yrs old

I know it has been ages since I've blogged here with an update. The truth is that the university course I am doing has been incredibly hectic, with an exam, then a 3 week intensive project and then another exam. I am now in the middle of a 5 week fine art project and have to draw, paint, and develop ideas into 3D work, as well as make use of workshops such as metal and ceramics...plus do contextual studies, all for another ruddy exam, which will be straight after xmas!

So, I have had next to little time to make jewellery or set up my extra shops...this will have to wait til the New Year now. I have been contacted about being featured in 2 magazines, one mermaid fantasy based publication (yay), and the other is a UK based jewellery making magazine - which is all very exciting.

Also I have to say that followers of my work on Facebook and so on have been especially kind and supportive. They have forgiven my lack of jewellery related updates and inspite of dedicating very little time to the shop, I made a fair few sales over the last few months. I am so grateful and humbled by this <3. Another two Mermaid Amulets will be flying off to a new owner by the end of tomorrow if all goes well....the shop is looking a little empty now, I think all the pieces will fit on one Etsy page after this purchase has gone through 0_o  .The funny thing is I have at least a handful of pieces I could list on the shop, but I just don't seem to have enough hours in the day to do all the chores that need doing lol...another job for the new year I think

Anyway, all these images are taken from University coursework. I can honestly say I have been improving with every week that passes. There are examples of collograph printing, metalwork, illustrations and paintings galore in this bunch...I hope you like them





Neville Brody inspired digital art piece


Collograph printing, using dried flower heads


Anselm Kiefer inspired Memory box/coffin, welded in steel, with an unfurling angel's wing on the lid



Illustration and painting of animals from Twycross Zoo



Gorgeous showgirl Flamingos at Twycross zoo



Samantha Braund

Latest Commission - Another Aquamarine Siren Ring

Gosh, it has been a busy weekend! I haven't really had a decent break after the course assessments last week - instead I caught up on commission work. Ironically, it was a welcome departure from all the uni stuff and it was great to get back to my wire sculpting roots

This ring is from my beloved Siren Ring collection, they are part of the Shipwrecked Jewellery family . They are made for Mermaids, that have discovered barnacle encrusted gemstones on their travels, perusing the ocean beds for Shipwrecks. This ring contains an Aquamarine gemstone (bluey-green) and is sculpted in sterling silver. The attractive elegant finger displaying the ring is that of my husband's lol....he has very elegant fingers compared to me, so he is the designated ring modeller in this household lol











Samantha Braund

New Camera Fun!

I had my assessments at uni this week, and it went really well.  It was the first time I had ever really been assessed on anything arty before. I was sooo nervous as were the others in my assessment group - then I was chosen to go first and present my work, so it was a case of sink or swim lol. Anyway I won't divulge all the deets here, but it is safe to say that I came away from the experience on a real high!

The hubby was ever so proud, and felt it was high time I got a decent camera with  great zoom capabilities. I usually make the best out of my pocket digital camera, but the demands of the course has been proving to be a bit of a strain. So he got me a brand new Nikon Coolpic P510 - the brand had been recommended by a friend at uni, and I'd had a go on hers too. I don't usually go in for product endorsement, but this is one of the most amazing cameras I have ever had my hands on.

I have been playing with it all morning around the house and garden, as you can see. I love how it really focuses on one area of the composition so sharply, and it's macro function is unreal. I usually have to mess about endlessly with white balance , but not with this camera - it is all automatically done for you, with a special  night scene setting too. I cannot recommend it enough - anyway next week I will be running around museums in Cambridge (cannot wait) and Twycross zoo, so my new toy will come in very handy...enjoy the pics :)






An alarmed looking Jasper, "Oh no she has another camera to torture me with"





Oh, I forgot to mention that this little Peacock Pearl swirly Necklace sold this week too. It's one of my favourite pieces, as it represented a creative turning point for me at the time...I'm happy it is going to a good home though :)






Samantha Braund

Happily Exhausted

This is the first time I have managed to catch a breath long enough to be able to post an update here, since starting my Art and Design course at DMU (DeMontfort University).

As you can see, there is no jewellery goin' on here lol. I will be doing ceramics and metals, and dabbling in glass at some point, but the initial phase of the course was to break us in, with tons of drawing, painting and lately, maquette making...

Everything had to be done fast, the tutors insisted that outcome isn't important right now, just the process. Basically this means being set numerous tasks and being given a time limit within which to execute them. I have posted up a few of my favourites in this post. The little scene above on the loveseat, is part of a narrative I had constructed from similarly fashioned little dolls - it was fun and just a little nuts lol

The images below are scenes photographed at Leicester Market, and collages I made from those images. We had to include materials collected at the scene which is why there are random bits of corn husk, paper, and cardboard packaging stuck to the pages...

I am loving the course so far, and am also exhausted by it, in a pleasant kind of way. It is full on, and there are 160 students all rushing around in this hulking cave of a studio! (which incidentally decided to burst a pipe of boiling hot water onto people's work today...what a mare...)

Anyway, things will be slowing down enough for me to make jewellery again soon, but for now, I hope you enjoy this departure from the usual on this blog :))























Samantha Braund

Concertina Altered Book

I am going to be starting my Arts and Design Foundation Course this week....yay!
The enrolement pack turned up only a few weeks ago, it included details of a homework Summer project, that had to be completed by the start date.....no pressure....

We had to make a concertina altered journal , with enough pages in it, that it would be taller than myself when unravelled. It is meant to contain drawings and paintings to serve as a sort of daily visual record of your Summer. I only just managed to complete it this week, the complete set of art-ified pages can be found here at my Flickr account

I particularly love the cover I did for the book. The base is constructed from mountboard, upon which I have fused polymer clay sculpted elements of a seashore landscape. The rest is textured tissue paper and gauze, painted in acrylic paints to complete the look. I have added some images of it below

Anyway, I am thinking of creating some altered books/journal covers for my second Etsy shop, which is on my to do list. The idea is that I take some time to settle into the course, then resume jewellery work, as well as set up the other shop. No rest for the wicked eh?...













Samantha Braund

My Serene Way Of Regaining My Mojo

This is my latest piece, called Serena. She is a necklace based on my shipwrecked jewellery themed collections, sculpted in Fine silver, with sterling silver wire elements. The gemstone is a pale green Aquamarine gemstone from the multicolour Beryllium family

Serena is a name with the dual meanings of Serenity, and calm, as well as meaning Mermaid in Italian. Creating this piece has been an exercise in serenity for me. I found having completed my wire jewellery commissions recently, that I had lost my "metal clay mojo". I came to realise that I hadn't sculpted in metal clay in almost half a year!

It was so frustrating having sketchbooks full of weird and wonderful ideas, and I just couldn't do a thing about it. Ultimately I decided to calm down, and indulged in zen like creative practices such as zentangling. This worked amazingly well for me. Initially, I tackled the patented zentangle exercises, then over a few days, having got the gist of it, I branched out and incorporated my own ideas. The last post has the large illustration I came up with in the end

It was a nice way of easing myself back into that rhythm of creative thinking , and designing in metal clay. I sought inspiration from my sketch and came up with a watered down design, as you can see below. Then I calmly and methodically worked out a way bringing the sketch to life as a 3D sculpture

The whole experience has been a joy, and I love the results. I'd recommend zentangling to anyone with a creative block . Anyway, I've added more images of the lovely Serena below. I hope you love her!















Samantha Braund

Experimental Chimeras

I’m starting to get back into my metal clay again (yay!). It has literally been months since I have gone near any metal clay work – I am a little faddish, and jump around from medium to medium anyway, but  commission work had pushed everything back a bit too.

So this week I have been doing a few experiments, drawing inspiration from my zentangle doodle thing that I posted below. I took a few elements from the illustration and tried to bring it to life in metal clay.  I’ve posted one or two of my experimental “chimeras” made by randomly combining various design elements I’m interested in

I kind of love the “centipede”  - and the “chimera” one is really weird isn’t it lol...I think it will sit on my desk  as a reference guide.  I’ll be making a proper metal clay piece next, incorporating some of these ideas... it feels sooo good to be back in the metal clay groove again


  (The doodle illustration my experiments are based on). Click the thumbnail to view in full

Samantha



Samantha Braund