The finished cloisonné smiley!

[afmetalsmith]

Cloisonné Smiley, in setting Glass enamel on fine silver cloisonné, set into a sterling setting. Gemstone accents are natural yellow sapphires, and black diamonds. I created this piece for a show at the Worcester Historical Society, devoted to the smiley in various media. Worcester, MA is where it was first created! I wanted to capture the light-heartedness of the design in its setting. The "ribbons" are forged silver and undulate toward and away from the viewer, as well as from side to side. The playfulness is accented by the deliberate asymmetry of the the piece as a whole. (The black background of the photo is modifying the color of the sapphires a bit; in real life, they match the color of the enamel.)

Comments

[eudaimonia.livejournal.com]

Oh Amanda! That's fantastic!

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm pretty pleased- it turned out as nice as it looked in my head, which is cool. And a relief. :)

[malinaldarose.livejournal.com]

I don't go for smiley faces in general, but I really like this, probably because of the ribbons. It is cute and playful and definitely something I'd wear.

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm not really a one for smileys myself, as a general rule. I have no idea whether I'd ever wear either of these!But I'm pleased with the way they turned out, and am looking forward to seeing what other local artists have done with the theme. Show opening is Oct. 5, I think!

[malinaldarose.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, maybe you need to try them out -- after the show, of course.

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

Hee! I think I will. Now to resist the temptation to make matching earrings...

(And I don't even LIKE smileys all that much per se!)

[anderale.livejournal.com]

Lovely! I adore the decorative ribbons.

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I had the idea for forged 'ribbons" pretty early on, and the basic way the stones would be incorporated, but Plan #1 was 4 of each and 4 ribbons, symmetrical. Right before I started doing that, I got the inspiration that asymmetrical would be better for the piece, and easier as well. :) I was pretty concerend it wouldn't hang the way I wanted it to, with the stones slightly off from vertical and horizontal, but I got lucky on that.

[belgatherial.livejournal.com]

Again I have to say... that's REALLY cool!! :)

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you, again! :) I think they're pretty fun.

I wonder if there will be any other jewelry at the show...?

[medvssa.livejournal.com]

Very nice! and I would like to see a pic from the side to see how the ribbons go back and forth, I bet this one gains so much for real.

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

Ack! I cannot get a side picture now, since they are out of my hands. I do expect to get them back- I think the prices will discourage buyers- and I'll try to get one then. J did get a picture of the back, and I'll post that in the next couple of days.

It does look cooler in real life than in photos- that's such a problem with jewelry in general!

[medvssa.livejournal.com]

Hey! I don't mean you have to. Just that it would be nice, just because it is difficult to have an idea of the volumes with just one front picture :)

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

Right now I rather wish I had asked J to get a picture with something of a side view- the dimensionality, both of the cloisonné dome and of the "ribbons"- really adds a lot, and the picture does flatten it. Oh, well- if I get it back unsold, I'll add such a shot.

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

Well, even if you do sell it, you could probably ask them to bring by for a couple more pictures.

[silme.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like this one also!

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

[dreamingcrow.livejournal.com]

I *REALLY* like this, Amanda. It's something that I would wear and I don't even like smileys!

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

I'm not really a smiley fan myself, in the abstract: Wall-Mart's usage has sort of polluted them for me.

And yet- working on them for a show with NO Wal-mart connections (that I know of) was a lot of fun, and was in some ways a weird way for me to get in touch with myself as a teen.

So I'm glad I did it, and am thinking that I need to do more purpose-built stuff designed for a particular show/book/whatver.

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

Very nice!

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)