DESIGN NAME: Tree of Life II
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Ring
INSPIRATION: Trees have been praised across the East and the West since ancient times. The awe and wonder of trees would be no less than those of life and death.
The ‘Tree of life’ in the book of genesis in the old testament is known to bear fruits of immortality. It is also believed to have been planted along with the ‘Tree of knowledge’ in the garden of eden. I have always been inspired by trees. Look at the trees branching out toward the sky. Think about constantly regenerated vitality. Trees have taught
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The project, ‘Tree of life,’ inspired by the nature focuses more on the design intention rather than the design itself. The base of this ring lies on the abstract and implicative values of trees rather than their physical shapes
Naturally flowing curves across the series of this project indicate perpetuity of life and the harmonious combination of different gemstones represents the complexity of life. The colored gemstones and pearls represent constantly repeated life and the spiral branches and
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: The story in my project is as important as the function as a ring. This ring was created in the hope of breaking the stereotype that artistic jewelry is non-wearable or uncomfortable. Instead I intended to create a ring with values of scarcity and practicality as well as artistry. On top of that, I also hope people who wear this ring truly appreciate the story in it so that it would not be affected by the change of trend in the passage of time. Like constantly repeated life of human being, I hope my ring can be loved beyond ages and I hope my ring can transcend time and space forever.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: From May 2016 to present
Private atelier in Seoul
|
PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: ‘Tree of life II’ is a hand crafted jeweled ring. I adopted wax carving method to formulate free curved lines. I used soft wax instead of general hard was. I heated spatula using an alcohol lamp, regulated temperature according to the room temperature and shaped wax. Band of the ring represents the infinite vitality as two embracing trees roll up together and bear fruits toward the sky. I adopted prong setting to mount main gemstones and only used curved lines to crystallize the energy of life. To present the ‘Eye of wisdom,’ I adopted amethyst prong setting. .
‘Tree of life ii’ in 18k gold (white, and pink) contains a main stone (amethyst, pink sapphire, pearl) and sapphires (pink, blue and/or yellow) and diamonds (blue, purple, white and/or multi-color). The beautiful combination of these brilliant gemstones maximizes the visual impact to portrait the design concept and the shape of the ring.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: Ring/18K Pink& White gold/22*30*22mm, Pink amethyst 11.25CT, 8.25CT/amethyst1.7CT, 6,95CT/South pearl15mm /Leather ring case/ Wax carving
TAGS: jewelry, art jewelry, pearl, diamond, ring, handcraft jewelry
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: I believe that jewelry is no longer a mere means of expression of individuality to pursuit beauty. Now jewelry satisfies the artistic and emotional values of people. Through this project, I would like to examine how jewelry can gratify the psychological needs of people who acknowledge the artistic value of jewelry that are unique and rare in design.
CHALLENGE: ‘Tree of life II’ is rather curvilinear without standardized pattern and thus requires meticulous attention to adjust the thickness of wax. However, I believe that the method that I applied is optimal to craft the desired design despite the long required time. In addition, finding the proper working temperature was challenging as well. At the low temperature, wax gets chipped off or broken. On the other hand at the high temperature, wax gets melted. I paid attention in particular to maintain optimal room and spatula temperature.
ADDED DATE: 2017-02-21 08:39:10
TEAM MEMBERS (1) : JungHee Kim
IMAGE CREDITS: JungHee Kim , 2016.
|