Reading The Key Essay 7 of 17

Fortify

Broken Plans

STERLING SILVER, WORDS OF VICTORIAN AUTHOR
ETCHED, FABRICATED, HINGED, OXIDIZED
PENDANT HEIGHT: 2.5 INCHES

After some months of dabbling in bookbinding, the parallels with the art of building a book and that of building a hinge became evident to the artist, whose primary endeavor is that of metalsmith, i.e. hingebuilder. As different as the two are in terms of media, they both afford the moment of discovery with the act of opening a closed object.

“Fortify” and “Broken Plans” are necklaces that allow the wearer the opportunity to open a simple hinged structure to reveal text inside. Like “Reconciled Themselves,” the completion of the story is not available from the piece and therefore must be discovered in the imagination of the viewer/wearer.

Both pieces feature handmade chains, incorporating simple linked structures of either forged bars or sliced tubing with balled round wire. The titles of “Fortify” and “Broken Plans” are remnants of phrasing borrowed from the text itself.

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©Ginger Meek Allen