Jars in Cupboards

Now that my cupbaords are up and my main illustrations are in place, I am beginning to work on my jars. I have done several designs for each of these ideas, please see sketchbook.

Rapunzel               Little Mermaid            Ichelina

The first two jars are for Rapunzel. The first is a collection of seeds, grain and some potpourri. These represent the herbs the sorceress was growing, and the father was stealing at the start of the narrative. The second jar is a pair of scissors surrounded by thorny ivy. This represents the scissors used to cut off Rapunzel's hair and the thorns that poked out the Prince's eyes at the end of story. I felt it was important to represent both of these parts of the story, as they are often not known about. The third jar along is for the Little Mermaid, it is filled with sand and a variety of sea shells that are described in the narrative. The last jar is for Inchelina and contains a thimble sitting on a pebble surrounded by ivy. This symbolises the tiny person in the story and shows how big things would seem to her; I think this links to the main illustration very well, as it also has a similar representation of scale.

There are two more jars that have required more work, which I have documented.
Little Mermaid Jar

I began first by making the pitchfork, as this is quite simple and will allow me to get used to the material before it gets complicated. I began with a  simple structure made from twisted thick silver wire, and added some thick red wire as the structure of rubies. I then used a thinner purple/reddish wire and wrapped it around the red structure. This built up into a 3-dimensional jewel at the top of the prongs. I then used a thin gold wire to thicken the silver structure and add a royal theme. I am pleased with the outcome of this piece and am prepared to move on to building the crown.

I have begun the crown with the silver wire and made a strong ring. I then created a series of peaks, which I then attached to the ring to make the many tips of the crown. I then made another ring for the bottom and 5 diamond shapes. I then attached all of these together the make the basic structure of my crown. However, I then realised that I had made the diamonds out of the thinner wire and would not be strong enough to maintain their shape and the wrapping process.

So I disassembled the lower section of my crown and decided to rearrange the design. I reattached the bottom ring and began filling in the lower part with gold wire, I would then add the jewels to the tips. However, I soon realised that the gold was not working. It looked messy and was squashing the structure. It no longer looked like a crown and I didn't want this creation in my exhibition, it was ugly and harsh. So I set about making a completely new design, which was much simpler and more relevant to the pitchfork. See below.

This jar is now complete, and I am happy with the composition. I wanted to create a symbol for the mermaids and the mer-king, as it is very important that the mermaids come across in the illustration; otherwise I don't think the audience will make the connection and work out which story is being represented. I chose the crown and pitchfork/staff because this is something I always picture and associate with the king of the mermaids; and I think it represents fairy tale royalty well.

Inchelina Jar
I am now working on my final jar, the white butterfly from Inchelina that the girl tied a ribbon to to be pulled down stream.

I have bought a wire butterfly from a craft shop and am looking to attach a white ribbon to it using wire. The wire will help me to shape the ribbon inside the jar, rather than it just flopping straight down. This will help to create a sense of movement. I used a glue gun to stick the wire to the ribbon, which I folded in half to cover the wire. I then stuck this to the back of the butterfly and the piece was complete.

Above is the piece in position. I was going to have the butterfly inside the jar, but I realised that the cupboard was quite a lot taller than I needed it to be and so I decided to hang the butterfly from the roof of the cupboard. This created the illusion that it was escaping form the jar. I like this touch as it adds movement and a little character to the piece. Also when the door is opened the butterfly will most likely shudder a littler creating a better sense of life.

All of my jars are now complete and I can continue work on my digital designs.