Third Piece Inspired by Tibet

I started designing with the idea of creating form out of flat plate. So I used the idea of bending the plate into a form that would be both dynamic and flowing to represent the lotus flower.

This idea lead me to create a kink in the metal that would run over all the separate sections of the piece and by piercing out the middle section I could keep the piece very light and create interest.

I wanted to still make use of enamel so I experimented with different ways of putting the enamel on the piece. I tried using just the ‘plique-a-jour’ technique but this did not give the look I was after.

I tried putting many enamelling techniques together, such as ‘cloisonné’ where small wires are added to the enamel to create patterns, ‘basse taille’ where engraving is added to the underneath of the enamel so that there is more interest and movement in the piece, ‘champleve’ where a border is used to keep the enamel on the piece and finally ‘plique-a-jour’ where the enamel has no backing and resembles stain glass.

This was the final design that I decide on.