For this project, I was inspired by several previous projects that were done on jewelry. I, myself, love jewelry, and wanted to incorporate my own touch to it for this final project. That being said, I want to explore different geometries, sculptures, and patterns that are prominent in the Mexican culture using different materials to create wearable 3D printed jewelries. My mother is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico and I figured it would make for a unique addition to this project by incorporating our family’s culture meanwhile using it as an opportunity to explore materials we haven’t used to create jewelry that may be deemed as unconventional.
The following image is taken from one of my related work academic papers; A Study on Exploration of Unconventional Materials for ‘Statement Jewellery’:
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Computational Element: As for the jewelry design, I ideally want it to be centered around different types of patterns. I absolutely loved the recent Tiling project and want to incorporate similar concepts into the jewelry. There is typically a lot of patterns, especially “tiling” patterns in the Mexican culture that can feasibly be written up in Python using Grasshopper. Below are some example patterns that I want to base my programs off of:
I also really LOVE the stringing that a lot of Mexican jewelry tends to take on as well. In this case, many of approaches from the GCODE assignment would transfer over nicely, especially for some of the unconventional prints that a regular slicer may not be able to slice. The following are some examples that I am referring to:
Like I have previously said, even though I want to experiment with different materials, the focus of this project will be the patterns that make the jewelry cultural and unique. A lot of these don’t tend to be common in the United States, and really focusing on generating these elements in my programs is what will make for the heart of this project.
Deliverables: For this project, I would ideally like to attempt to produce at least three “sets” of jewelry (a set being a possible necklace and earing pair, or a bracelet and ring pair, etc.) each using three different materials. The three materials I had in mind were a fabric, some sort of stainless steel metal, and nylon. Since I don’t exactly have access to these materials and suitable printers at home, I intend on using different printing services to get the jewelry in their final form.
The timeline is as follows:
Now – Nov. 12: Creating models and patterns for the jewelry – designing and finalizing on concepts and beginning to create programs that generate jewelry. My hope is to complete most of the programs and come close to test printing using my personal printer.
Nov. 13 – Nov. 18/20: Run test prints and fix programs where necessary. I want to make sure I have my programs sent out and scheduled with the printing service I intend on using to ensure for enough manufacturing and shipping time before project due date. I would ideally like to make sure that I have everything set up with the services by the end of this week or very early in the following week.
Nov. 21 – Nov. 28: Finalize any additional pieces/parts else not required for printing service use during this waiting period. If received sooner, verify that everything fits together appropriately. Allow for enough time for reprints or fixes if needed.
The are a few academic papers with related research I want to use to inform my final project. The research papers I chose are:
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6412/14/6/701
Hi, Desiree!
Great idea on your final project! Creating a jewelry incorporating culture and using unique materials that you can wear on day to day life would be extremely interesting! If you were to make a necklace, would you make it a clasp necklace with a mechanism or just slip over necklace? If you were making clasp necklace, do you think it will be difficult to generate it using Rhino/Grasshopper? Overall, Great idea and good luck you on your project!
Thank you! I initially intended to make a slip over necklace for the sake of time and simplicity, but I do imagine I’ll experiment with the clasp as well. I don’t think it should be too difficult generating the clasp piece in Rhino/Grasshopper, however, I’m more concerned about getting the functionality correct for it. Definitely something I’ll be looking into! Thanks again!
Hi Desiree,
Your proposal sounds amazing! I think it’s very cool that you’re incorporating elements of culture into your pieces. For the fabric jewelry, do you intend to computationally design a textile or 3D print onto fabric like in Travis Fitch’s work? Or something else entirely? I look forward to seeing how everything turns out!
Hi Liz,
I had the textile idea in mind for the fabric jewelry. I think it would be neat to incorporate some of the lessons from the semester into this project as well, so computationally designing a textile sounds most fitting for that particular set. However, I do want to incorporate patterns that are commonly seen on fabrics in Mexican culture that may not be deemed as a “textile” design. Thank you!
I really love this proposal. It brings so many ideas together, between the practical design, the use of multiple materials, and the cultural touch stones your proposal is doing a lot at once and I’m really excited to see how that turns out.
Thanks Beau! I think experimenting with differentiating ideas is what will really bring this project to life. Hoping for a beautiful and successful outcome!
Hi Desiree,
I’m really excited about your final project! One of my favorite things I inherited from my grandma was all her traditional Mexican jewelry 🙂 I have never really heard of nylon jewelry, do you own some currently or would that be an experiment?
Hi Astrid!
Thank you! Exactly, I inherited my grandmothers and often borrow from my mothers as well. I don’t actually own any but was inspired by one of the articles and a discussion we had in class. So to answer your question, it will be an experiment but I don’t imagine it being any different than working with other fabrics. Though I may take on a different material for one of the sets so I’m not working with two “fabric-like” materials.