2019 #12 Eyes: Eye-catching jewellery with ETS {by Dounia Large}

2019 Topic 12: Eyes

Don't be surprised how Dounia's wonderful imagination with this topic kicks into action!! I love the clever effects and relief she has created to make an 'eye' stamp become the focus for this  3D jewellery! ~ Leandra

Bonjour everyone, it's Dounia from France with you today, and I'd like to share with you a way to exploit the relief of good rubber stamps to make three dimensional pieces, here in the form of jewellery.

Eyes are an instantly recognizable shape with a lot of cultural, mystical and artistic meanings. They can be beautiful, haunting, mesmerising or unsettling. I like to put them where you wouldn't expect them for a slightly jarring effect. I find jewellery perfect for that: maybe an extra pair on earrings will help you keep an eye on things! This topic was therefore a handy excuse to indulge myself...

 

I love a striking eye image so this stamp set by Tracy Scott immediatly caught mine. I like the other stamps in ETS24 too, both bold and deconstructed, but the stylised eye really left a lasting impression. I immediately thought it is a beautiful 3D object in itself so I decided to reproduce it for jewellery.

I wanted to keep the same reliefs as the stamp so stamping in polymer clay was not the way to go. I therefore used some Mix-and-Mold to make an impression of the stamp after triming it closely. I love playing with molds, I feel liking unwrapping a present each time so this was an other treat!

I only had white and translucent polymer clay on hand but wanted to make blue eyes. I decided to tint it with PaperArtsy's Infusions and the tiniest bit of alcool. The different colours of the powders easily made a subtle marble effect.

Once cooked and cleaned, I painted the outside with Fresco Acrylic paints. I first tried a dark brown but finally decided on black. I think it provides better contrast to make the whites pop, which suits the style better. 

I then found the result a bit dull so I added the gold "eye-liner" and some Metallic Glaze on the irises for extra interest. I think I overdid it a little as you cannot really see the marbling anymore...

For the necklace, I cut off the lashes for a more streamlined silouette that resemble a common pendant shape. I like the constrast between the classical shapes and construction and the hight-impact images and colours. In some pieces I managed to keep the catchlight above the pupil from Tracy's stamp but I don't know if the effect really translate well.

The brooch gets to keep its lashes for a bigger and more dramatic look. I like the boldness of it, it really is a statement piece!

For the pictures in this post I was lucky to be able to use as a staging backdrop a table decorated by my mother. So to give a better idea of her work and also for the fun of it:

Making molds of stamps is a great way to use them differently. It can be an easy introduction to polymer clay but you can also use them with UTEE, resin or Grunge Paste. I would first focus on stamps with rather simple and clear designs to make pieces of jewellery but also embellishments or tokens.

Stay creative!
Dounia