Module 3 Chapter 10

Designing an accessory.

Initial thoughts
My initial thoughts on reading this module were that I would make some sort of boned corset or boned shaped belt, but I think I would get bogged down in the "dressmaking" aspects to the detriment of the creative aspects.

At the British Museum I saw these metal arm pieces.

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I love the idea of making an arm piece that starts with a spiral on the hand, wraps around the forearm and ends with another spiral that sits below the elbow on the top of the arm. I would want it to be one continuous piece, with the two spirals fixed and the spiral wrapped round the arm - not as a cuff, but something you wrap and unwrap each time you take it on or off.

So I would need to experiment with making cords as they would need to be self supporting and keep their shape.

• Try making a number of simple cords and then make a much thicker cord using the simple cords.
• Try adding in or wrapping them with wires.
• Try making a cord that gradually gets thicker so that when it wraps around the arm, it gets more chunky as it reaches the elbow - or maybe the other way round, so that it is chunky at the wrist and gradually tails off as it winds up the arm. 

And then I remembered some Bronze Age jewellery and artifacts I had seen at the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest last summer. Don't speak Hungarian (!) so it was impossible to be certain what we were looking at - just all stunning!

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So I think this opens up all sorts of possibilities beyond the original idea, and gives me a lot of food for thought!  It strikes me that whilst all these objects were made to be worn, they look lovely on display, and whilst clearly whatever I make will be a wearable accessory, I think it is important that it looks good on display like a piece of sculpture.