Platinum Reflection

I reflected on my completed platinum piece to recognize what parts of the design were successful and what hindered me from making the top 10 of the competition according to the feedback I received from the organisers of the Angloplat design competition. I used Liz Taylor's Levels of Reflection (2017) to reflect on my platinum piece.

• What did I accomplish?

I designed and finished a pair of statement earrings that I entered into the Anglo Platinum Competition; the theme was a metamorphosis. The competition was open to students and professional jewellers, the only limit was that students were only given 20grams of platinum. I used my 20grams to make a wireframe to support my skeleton leaves embedded in epoxy.

• What is important about what I did?

In terms of self-development, I was given the opportunity to work with metal most jewellers don't get the opportunity to and I don't know if I will get a chance to enter the competition again. It was an opportunity to learn to use another material, in this case, epoxy, which gave me a way of combining my actual leaves with metal. The whole process started with making various prototypes. The skeleton leaves were the starting point for my fascination with the natural work so they are important to me.

• Where could I use this again?
• Epoxy-I could use to preserve other organic materials
• Platinum- In future client work
• Skills- I could make smaller earrings for my website or use the skills I learnt to incorporate the epoxy into other jewellery forms

• Are there patterns in my work/behaviour?

Work- Finding a way to preserve my skeleton leaves and make them durable, in high school I used wood glue and now I used epoxy to make leaves appear fragile but wearable. 

Behaviour- I struggled to find a starting point but once I had an idea I made test pieces.

• How well did I do and what could be done differently?

I personally felt like I did well because I finished the piece and submitted it even though there were external interruptions. If I had more time the earrings would have been smaller to reduce their weight, I would have been more selective in the size and shape of the leaf used. 

In terms of the competition, I did not make the top ten because of the weight of the earrings which I kind of expected, because I did not emphasise the platinum enough.

• How can I use this knowledge in my future work?

For my future work, I need to work with deadlines so I have more time to make prototypes and finish of pieces that I start. I also gained knowledge on how to taper wire and work with epoxy which I can add to my skills that could possibly use in my work in the future.

Taylor, L., (2017). Levels of Reflection