photograph by Rebekah Robinson- This brooch was the first brooch I received. I opened the box and was confronted with, what I thought to be birds bones. These were infact a whole lot of plastic ‘Amore’ rings linked together as a chain. The finding was a bit peculiar it looked very surgical-bone-replacement. There was no clasp, you just threaded it through the weave in your jumper and gravity held it in place.
What I liked about this brooch the most, was that when you walked the spray of rings crashed against your chest making a soft chhh, chhh, chhh noise as you walked. You could feel them pull as they swung around with your movenment. People thought they were orchids, and would reach up and gently touch the bunch of rings like you would a spray of flowers.
I wish that the rings were chained together in a way that you couldn’t tell how they were put together. I loved wearing it.
When Fin, the previous wearer of Lillian's broach, kindly text me a warning that "he had never been fondled so much than with this broach!", I knew that this broach would be an exciting and playful experiment!
ReplyDeleteLillian's resin (?) clusters of hearts are very animated and when worn on one's sleeve on a day of relationship uncertainty the broach can offer friends, work colleagues and strangers on the street, a visual representation of one's emotions, without any verbal exchange taking place.
Wearing on my shoulder (sleeve) provided two key benefits: maximum kinetic energy and movement which bought the piece to life; and the resistance of the pin on the shoulder secured the position of the broach, as on the chest I was always very aware of checking it was there.
Overall, a very expressive broach that I immensely enjoyed wearing in different positions depending on one's mood. I suppose people feel more comfortable fondling male pectorials than females so I didn't get fondled as much as I would have liked but I think that's because the broach was telling people to give me some space!
Lucky messenger episode #1: Lillian's brooch
ReplyDeleteAs the logistical coordinator for BOM club, I have at times spent a few days with a brooch while arranging a drop off with the next wearer. With the holidays approaching the November exchange was more manic than usual, but luckily that gave me the chance to "guest wear" some brooches.
I wore Lillian's brooch hanging loose, vertically so it dangled straight down. I found that I had to pin it much higher than I usually wear brooches on my left lapel so that the brooch hung in an appropriate manner. I had heard other wearers mention this, but found it an interesting discovery all the same.
Once in place, I found that brooch amazing to wear. It was like my own little metronome. I never realised how much running and jumping I do during the day. Every time I ran up a set of steps, the brooch would jump from one side of my body to the other. My anxiety levels were directly reflected in the pace the brooch swung and it did actually force me to stop and laugh during the day when I realized the frenetic pace that the brooch was swinging.
The brooch and I had a busy day at work, then we went to wearer Finn’s opening at the Newcall Gallery. We got a little lost on the way and ran into wearer Sarah walking down Symonds Street. Then we rushed over to the Tessa Crisp photography opening at the Clayton Lane Art Gallery to deliver a brooch to wearer Janie. While doing so we ran into wearer Heidi who was also there. What a day! We didn’t have time to make dinner so the brooch and I were treated to a wagamama dinner.
While waiting for an apple, mint juice we did experiment with some loop through configurations. This was very fun as well but no where near as active, and by this time I was very addicted to the active version of this brooch. I found out a lot about my movement during the day. It was remarkable that a piece of jewellery could prompt such unrelated reflection.
Kinetic jewellery has been an idea that I have been musing over for a few years but never had a visual idea of what it meant. Lillian's brooch embodies the best aspects of what I had in mind.
I was really excited about wearing this brooch! When I first saw it at the BOM meeting, I thought it was made from bones, so was surprised to see that it was actually plastic hearts. Such a different experience seeing it from far away and close up.
ReplyDeleteI liked wearing it sideways with one of the middle hearts looped through; this made it move less and I felt more comfortable with it, unlike some of the other wearers who preferred it hanging loose. I was afraid it would get caught on something when it was hanging down.
I'm sure that says something about me that I might not want to admit. Too uptight perhaps?
I also found people wanted to touch it and it wasn't so much that they wanted to feel it as they wanted to hear it.
This brooch is as much fun as Zarah's! It was so fun configuring the Zarah brooch and similarly, once i got a knack for how to pin this brooch on it suddenly let loose a life of noise and movement and ever changing beauty!
ReplyDeletePeople really do come up to you, reach over, and touch this brooch! they NEED to know what it is made out of... they NEED to get a better look at the love hearts and lean in to read them, they NEED to jiggle the pieces. They just can't resist.
How could I feel anything but complete pride when such significant needs were pouring forth from my chest!
People were always intrigued to find that the brooch was a series of rings (clever isn't it, that one jewellery item is made into another) and always surprised that is was a light plastic and not a) bones or b) cloth.
Some, once having come up close. backed away and said "i prefer it from back here".
I'll be very reluctant to give this brooch back. Will life be as fun? as complete? What excuse will I have to jiggle my chest? Will there be less love in my life when my heart no longer says AMOR?
I Haaaate this brooch!
ReplyDeleteI received it from Kristin while we were at frisbee, and immediately put it on with my sports clothes, which did NOT look right!
It looks like bones, it feels like cheap plastic, the colour is the opposite to what is says, AMOR, the method of fixing annoys me, it dangles too much, it's a bit fragile, it's noisy and makes me feel ungraceful. Get the idea?
However, it definitely did engender social interaction, people were intrigued and it was a big talking point. One of the guys from frisbee (who's also in the Auckland Blues) said he thought it would be a good idea if you could take each ring off and give them to people, and then people would come across others wearing them and realise they knew the same person... He's a very sweet and sensitive jock! Kind of like facebook I guess!
So, I didn't want to wear this brooch all month... BUT, at the next exchange (good idea to have it at an art opening! Win win win situation! And we get to be proud of our makers!)I made a particular effort to dress around it and make it work for me. I think Kristin took a photo of me that might be on this site... I wore it dangling high from a black shirt's button line, with a cream vintage cotton lace skirt and little girl shoes that had matching colours. I felt pretty good as I walked the length of Ponsonby Road and definitely drew glances, I'm not sure if they were admiring... I kind of enjoyed the swinging but I wouldn't have if I'd been later. Which I usually am.
And then, disaster, my next brooch (the firey resin one) totally didn't work with that outfit...
ps. I wish I'd read the other comments before the end of the month, I would've liked to have worn it on my sleeve. It's even curved or able to be if I remember rightly. Hmmm, how am I going to decide when to read others' comments and when to not?
AJ
My reactions to the heart bones brooch where all over the place. When I first saw it nestled in the box I loved it. It looked precious and lovely. So delicate and I couldn’t wait to reach out and finger it tenderly. But when I did take it out of the box I was instantly disappointed with the feel of it. It was a bit like taking a spoonful of marmite when you thought it was nutella. It felt plasticky and cheap – not logical thought processes I know and didn’t give any credence to the cleverness of the brooch. It just didn’t have to tactile response I was expecting.
ReplyDeleteAnd then to the wearing. I fussed around with it a lot, worried about it falling it off and generally felt I hadn’t got it sorted. I didn’t practice in front of a mirror which probably would have made it a lot easier to work out and admire (as it didn’t look so good looking down from above). One outing I took it to the museum and the friend I was with loved it. She said I looked like a palaeontologist who had just discovered the ancient dinosaur bones of what was thought to be a mythological creature and was wearing them proudly for the world to see. I spent the rest of the day enjoying being a palaeontologist. I loved the movement and lightness of it – just like dry brittle bones.
The brooch always looked better when I saw it in the mirror than it felt to be wearing it. The nutella experience was surprisingly powerful (first impressions sometimes do count) and I never quite reconciled how I felt about it. Until….when we did the broach swap and the new wearer put it on it looked amazing! I instantly wanted it back again and regretted not wearing it (and looking in the mirror) more often.
-Emma (subbing for Kyla)
This brooch was the first brooch I received. I opened the box and was confronted with, what I thought to be birds bones. These were infact a whole lot of plastic ‘Amore’ rings linked together as a chain. The finding was a bit peculiar it looked very surgical-bone-replacement. There was no clasp, you just threaded it through the weave in your jumper and gravity held it in place.
ReplyDeleteWhat I liked about this brooch the most, was that when you walked the spray of rings crashed against your chest making a soft chhh, chhh, chhh noise as you walked. You could feel them pull as they swung around with your movenment. People thought they were orchids, and would reach up and gently touch the bunch of rings like you would a spray of flowers.
I wish that the rings were chained together in a way that you couldn’t tell how they were put together. I loved wearing it.
Finn