Silver Spoon

The spoon project was very fun to dip back into metalsmithing techniques. My first idea of what type of spoon I should created moved me to ice cream and cooking utensils. I wanted a spoon I could personally eat with for ice cream. Originally I wanted to design a big bowl, but I narrowed my single serving size to eat with. Slightly crooked and pretty like my smile. This spoon is designed like a vanity mirror to check your teeth when eating to dig out the fillers and extra food that gets stuck in between. My inspiration stemmed from stylized fancy spoons originally in the Victorian era with decorative elements such as crystals. I didn't set a stone, so I bezel set a mirror to still include a fancy element that is shiny and continually looked at. I also added curved edges to create a spork to catch the chunky accents that are also found in ice cream for interest of taste.


Below is my original inspiration statement.










Kaze Yisrael
Jewelry Design 431
Flatware Inspo
Tara Nahabetian

I love big rounded spoons with space to accumulate volume and large chunks of cereal. Big ice cream
spoons are the perfect style of the spoons I enjoy using, so I would like to emulate one of my own
design. Depending on how much mold I have from my silver I may make a baby spoon. With a designed
handle and very rounded eating section. I may set some stones and design a pattern in the handle to
keep my kaleidoscopic theme.
French Sterling Silver Vermeil Ice Cream Spoons – 1stdibs.com https://www.1stdibs.com/jewelry/silver-
flatware-silverplate/dinnerware-flatware/french-all-sterling-silver-vermeil-ice-cream-spoons-12pc-
rococo/id-j_107916/
American Antique Sterling Silver Assembled bright-cut flatware
Spencermarks.com – Item code: F5100 https://www.spencermarks.com/items/f5100.html
Crystal ice cream spoon – AliExpress.com royal luxury vintage palace carved crystal head coffee tea ice
cream scoop spoon. http://www.aliexpress.com/price/crystal-ice-cream-spoon_price.html

Color on Metal/Enameling

I absolutely love enameling. I wish I had the opportunity to leisurely play with colors and attaining the luxury of having a kiln and working to experiment with baking colors onto pieces and designs on metal. I enjoyed this and I can't wait to work on more.

Eyewear Voila

I am pleased with this project after all I endured. All of the hard work and hours invested were worth the beauty and function that they are now. I made a swivel of kaleidoscope drawn designs on the dome with cz set stones, textured my frames and coated them with real gold leaf. This was my first attempt to make hinges and I taught myself. I made my glasses shades instead of with regular lens because I wanted them to be worn only for occasions in the sun and treated with care for particular durations of the day. For my drawn on kaleidoscope designs I used primacolor pencils and gesso.

Eyewear Visuals 3

After my second attempt and follow up of crises, I started a third pair of glasses. I altered each pair of glasses to fix what failed and try something new each time until it became successful. I had fun with these, and still working to add more features to this design.

Eyewear Visual Drawings

Although I stemmed along a more rounder framed design I used two ideas from my drawings to make my glasses. I wanted my frames to be the most extensive focal point of course, with soft designed eye glass arms. I considered comfort with senses of unconventional creations that are eye appealing and still wearable.

Eyewear Visuals 2

The second attempt I made came out rather well, where I spent 76 plus hours on to thoroughly complete. My hair caught on fire making these due to fatigue of my dedication to working on these for as long as I needed because I was aware of all the work needed on them. I made these two different ways, and added and removed a few materials so I could make them cohesive and wearable.


The first set I made are made with a different bridge and different location of the frames.

Eyewear Visuals

This project was the most exciting project for me to research and plan to execute because I've always had the desire to make eyewear. I originally wanted to design a crown that whirled around the head and form into a opening that sat over the eyes. My desire of designing this would have taken more time than I had, and I tend to have impactful ideas with a lot of work so I wanted to simplify my ideas and make a pair of spectacles. I continued with my theme of kaleidoscopes to produce my idea.






I ended up making three models of these glasses due to mishaps, trial and error, and starting over to match the design. My first pair of designs were well textured but became thin. After 17 hours I've decided to construct them into opera shades. I worked well on these, and decided to start over to create a more kaleidoscopic feel and touch.

Kaleid 3

This last brooch was made with the challenge of having the movement of stone along with stability. I decided to make the cylindrical piece as an actual kaleidoscope and set the stone inside of a tubing. I wired the tubing on the inside to the outside tubing producing a form to realistically be able to view an actual kaleidoscope. When you view the back of my piece you can see geometric forms and multi colors as you move the tube around. The interesting part of this brooch is the cap I made along with it which pins into your sweater and clicks around after being pushed inside the tubing for a steady fit.

I wish I could execute my idea originally the way I had planned, although I enjoy the way I unintentionally found a solution to remake this item differently but similarly successfully.

Kaleid 2

For my second brooch, I wanted to still implement movement with abstract forms of edgy kaleidoscopic art. I used a method of riveting on the dome pieces so you can play with the visual aspects of hiding the stone which is intended to be the inside of a kaleidoscope and the rivet used to swing around to give the effect as if looking inside or through the kaleidoscope.

I curved and folded all of my edges, burnished the edges for hints of interest, and set my stone. 

Kaleid 1

My first brooch was so fun and hectic individually and collectively. So many changes throughout the designing of this piece, where its original design was altered more than five times. I used a technique of riveting to give my piece more of a kinetic feel, because kaleidoscopes have such intricate movement. I wanted to make an edgy simple piece with definition of eye movement and a surprise of color. The base is simple and the form on top is lightly interesting. I used a low resolution option of patina because I fell in love with it shiny and cleaned, but needed to strip away from the usual and work on building great statement pieces with the success and exploration of color on metal designs. My patina was used with vinegar and salt which soaked in coffee for 24 hours and I brushed away the grains of coffee removing most of the color, leaving the piece with oxidized finishes and a light patina color of greens. I have a shiny colorful heavy transparency foil grazed on in the inside of a ring. The surprise of a glimpse of certain colors on the inside of a kaleidoscope.

Finished with crystallized kaleidoscope effect made with resin. 

Petina 3

I used a Jax darkener just for a smudge on two pieces of brass metal. I didn't necessarily love the effect, although I can be open to playing with samples more and trying new techniques with this specific chemical. I want to work with Jax on top of textured metal.

Patina 2

This patina was used with ammonia and salt. The baby triangle I soaked in ammonia and salt wrapped inside of a paper towel. The second larger piece I soaked in ammonia and salt in a dried flowers containers. The branches were the main component they were soaked in for about 36 hours and the color came out defined.

Patina 1

Learning the techniques and demos in class were cool, but actually starting it became cooler. I had a hard time executing my patinas to come out just a little at first to trying to make them bright as ever. The process takes up to ten to 24 hours, sometimes longer. I used several types of oxidation, fumes, and chemicals to make my patinas successful. I am still working on other techniques just to explore the methods and calculate timing with procedures.


This sample was executed with Vinegar and Salt

I placed this in a container and covered it with ground coffee. The smell mostly drew me to only sticking with using ground coffee, although I'd like to explore with another layering of covering to determine different effects with another element like flowers, or another texture.