Bodywork Australian Jewellery 1970 2012 Look, Learn and Make Children s Activity Book
BODYWORK is a travelling exhibition from the National Gallery of Australia that showcases 42 Australian jewellers who have been working from 1972 2012. Make your own Use some of the works in the BODYWORK exhibition as inspiration for your own jewellery making. This booklet will give you a few ideas but use your imagination to create unique pieces of wearable art. All of the items use materials that are easy to find and may well be found around your home. The National Gallery of Australia acknowledges funding support from Visions of Australia, an Australian Government Program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of cultural material across Australia; and the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program, an Australian Government program aiming to improve access to the national collections for all Australians. Some questions to think about while looking at works in the BODYWORK exhibition include: * How was it made? * What is it made of? National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical (including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system), without permission from the publisher. The National Gallery of Australia is an Australian Government Agency Published in conjunction with Body Work: Australian Jewellery 1970 2012 Cover Image: Elizabeth Olah Sunrise and shade brooch 1981 * What might it feel like? * Do you think it would be heavy or light? * What would it be like to wear? * Do you think it would be rough or smooth? * What shapes can you see? * Where would you wear it? Susan Cohn Systematic Gibsonia no.2 condom pendant 1995
Blanche Tilden Palais, necklace 2010, Melbourne, Victoria borosilicate glass, 925 silver: glass flameworked, silver oxidised gift of Sandy Benjamin OAM and Phillip Benjamin, 2010 Blanche Tilden s necklace was inspired by the work of Bruno Taut, an architect. Bruno Taut designed a building made out of glass! See how the artist has used square glass beads to make the necklace? This artist also likes to repeat patterns in her work. Consider this when you are creating your own jewellery. questions: What shapes can you see in this necklace? How have these shapes been linked together? We are going to make our own necklace using lots of one shape, but instead of a squares or rectangles, we are going to use circles.
What you need: * paper we used paper from a magazine and thin cardboard. Try and find paper in lots of different colours * lead pencil * scissors * 10 or 20 cent coin * string (coloured if you have it) or thread * glue stick * needle Instructions: 1. Using your lead pencil, trace around the 10 or 20 cent coin (depending on how big you want your beads to be). If using a 10 cent coin you will need five circles to make one bead. If using a 20 cent coin you will need six circles to make one bead. 2. Cut out your circles and fold them in half. 3. Put glue on one side of your circle. 4. Stick another folded half circle to the glued half circle. 5. Repeat the process with all of the circles. 6. Open up the bead and stick the two ends together. 7. Repeat the process until you have enough beads for your necklace. 3 4 5 6
Using a needle and thread (or string) push the needle through the small hole at the top of the bead. Continue until all of your beads are on the string. Tie it around your neck and wear it! You could experiment and try and make this with squares if you like. How do you think changing the shape of the beads would change the overall appearance of the necklace? For a different effect, use patterned paper.
Helen AITKEN-KUHNEN Ocean blue, necklace 2009, Queanbeyan, New South Wales sterling silver, cast glass pâte-de-verre, stainless steel purchased 2009 with funds from the Meredith Hinchliffe Fund Helen Aitken-Kuhnen has used a technique called pâte-de-verre, which means glass paste. She has crushed glass very finely and mixed it with other materials to make a paste. The paste is put into a mould and heated at high temperatures to fuse it together. Notice how the pieces fit together neatly? there are no obious joins or clasps. Questions: Do the colours of the beads remind you of anything? The title of the work will give you a clue. What do you think these beads would feel like? Rough or smooth? Warm or cold? We are going to make our own necklace, but instead of glass, we are going to use paper for our beads.
What you need: Instructions: * paper any coloured paper will 1. Place the ruler on the paper to do we have used three create a triangular shape. different colours, similar to those Tear the paper along the ruler. in Helen Aitken-Kuhnen s necklace 2. Repeat this process the number of triangles you make depends * skewers (or toothpicks) on how many beads you want * ruler * scissors * glue stick for your necklace. Remember to swap paper if you want beads of more than one colour. 3. Place the skewer (or toothpick) 1 2 3 * string at the shortest side of your triangle. 4. Roll the paper onto the skewer until you get to the tip of the triangle. Put a tiny bit of glue on the tip and roll it over so that it sticks down. 4 5 6
5. Continue this with all the triangles. The same skewer can be used for lots of beads. 6. Once the glue has dried on the beads gently slide them off the skewer. 7. String all of the beads onto the thread. If you have lots of beads make the thread very long, or you might like to make a double strand of beads. When you have finished stringing, tie it around your neck and wear it! You can use lots of different types of paper to make your beads. You could even make them out of newspaper. 7 You could also make a shorter version to wear around your wrist. To add some colour, paint some of the beads and use a combination of painted and non-painted beads for your necklace.
Gillian RAINER Mesembryanthemum, brooch 2011, Perth, Western Australia 925 silver, almandine garnets purchased 2011 For inspiration, the artist Gillian Rainer likes to look at plants, bone and coral under a microscope. She also likes to read myths, fables, rhymes and ancient histories. Gillian works in metal gold and silver and often adds semi precious stones to her pieces. Here she has used small garnets around the edge and in the middle of the brooch. questions: Look at the shape and texture of this brooch. What does it remind you of? What shapes and designs can you see replicated in this brooch? What will be the inspiration for your brooch? Use the shape of this brooch as inspiration for your own. Garnets come in many different colours including purple, orange, yellow, green and pink.
What you need: Instructions: * paper we used a fancy piece of metallic paper * lead pencil 1. Cut out four rectangles. Those pictured are five centimetres wide and seven centimetres long. * scissors * ruler 2. Take the first piece of paper and fold it in half. 1 2 * glue stick 3. Fold it in half again. * safety pin * small bulldog or fold back clips (optional) 4. And fold it in half again! Open out the piece of paper. You should have 8 folds in the piece of paper. * two four paper clips (optional) * sticky tape 5. Fold the paper backwards and forwards along the crease lines concertina style. 5 6 6. Fold the paper in half and glue along the inside edges. 7. Squeeze the glued edges together if you need to, you can use the bulldog clip to keep the edges together until they are dry. 7 8
9 11 8. Repeat this process with the three other squares 9. Put glue on all of the outside edges and stick them together to form a circle. You can use paperclips to keep the pieces in place until the glue is dry. Wear your new brooch! Using different types of paper will give you different results. You could also stick the fans together in a line. 10. Cut out a small circle of paper and stick it to the back of your brooch. 11. Tape the safety pin to the paper circle.
Robert BAINES The book, necklace 1976, Melbourne, Victoria 18 carat gold, silver, titanium, ruby purchased 1984 This artist uses techniques from a variety of cultures to make his pieces of jewellery. In some of his other pieces he uses modern materials including, Coca-Cola bottles, plastic and even toy cars. Here, he has used gold. The necklace also contains a small ruby in the shape of a meteor or shooting star. questions: Notice how the artist has created a small scene in his necklace. Can you see the city at the bottom? What would this piece of jewellery be like to wear? Do you think it would be heavy or light?
What you need: * paper we used metallic paper * lead pencil * scissors * ruler * glue stick * three drinking straws * gold paint (optional) * string * glitter, sequins, pencils (optional) Instructions: 1. Spray the straws with gold paint and let them dry. Fold them into a triangle shape. You need to tuck the ends into each other to keep them secure. 2. Put the triangle on top of the paper and trace around it. Repeat for all three triangles. Cut out the triangles. 3. Stick the triangles to the straws. You might need to trim them so that the edges are neat. 4. Line up your triangles. Thread the needle with the string and pierce it through the top corner of the first triangle. The needle should travel through the middle of the straw. Pierce the needle through the corner at the opposite end. 1 2 3 4
5. Repeat with the other triangles until they are joined together. Your necklace is now ready to wear! Try using different lengths of straws to make smaller and larger shapes. You could glue sequins, beads or glitter to the triangles for some extra BLING, like we did! You could even draw a small scene on your triangles before gluing them to the straws. Once you know these techniques the possibilities are endless Add some rolled beads to the other necklaces we have made, or turn the brooch into a necklace, or stick it to a ribbon and use it as a belt, or as a hair accessory... Julie Blyfield Brooch 1995