The Secret behind the DONUT

Yeah! A time Capsule by Karelin. The secret behind the donut time capsule.

In my sealed envelope written on 15.01.09, the initial motive in making the capsule, it writes:

“I hope to give this person something that will motivate the person, be positive!” (Since by the time the capsule is opened, SCHOOLWORK will be piling and piling and piling up………. CHEER UP!)

Brainstorming: I tried to imagine myself at the time when my schoolwork starts to pile up. What can I hope and want to make me feel better. Usually, I’ll try to drink more coffee to keep myself awake and eat snacks to keep my hands moving. However, too much food and coffee is still bad for health. Next, the objective should be meaningful and preferably close to the idea of the archive. Well, I decided that light represents hope. Next, a food replacement. Lastly, it should smell good. The smell of the food and the aroma that acts as a mood therapy. So, why not a candle holder that smells and looks like food.

So the donut process begins……….

making the dough from white clay

top of the donut

Coloring it!

 

fresh from the “paint oven”! golden yummy brown.

top and bottom completed!

now…. the base to complete it.

coloring the top

of course, i need to gloss it up.

the almost completed donut

completed! on a clean surface

lastly, strawberry essence to complete the donut, making it smell yummyyyyy.

In the complete package that was given to Jackie (unfortunately, I do not have those photos that captured her opening expression), I hope that she will be happy to have this candle donut holder during her time of study. The light brings hope, lighting and adding fragrance to her workspace.  

I feel that it is very important to stay positive and being motivated at times of stress. Therefore, though the candle only acts as a medium, it is similar to how I wear a lucky charm with me, when I feel insecure. I wanted to see how much the psychological mind can affect the actual mind. The use of donut, was simply one of the choices I could get from pastries. I wanted to use pastries to convey the idea because, pastries harden as time goes by, hence creating an illusion of the pastry into the time capsule being hardened.

Together with the donut, I left a note, “What you see may not be what you get, What you get is more than what you see.”. This is a general message to any finder that you may not get to eat the donut, but you get a donut candle that will give off light and smell infinitely, with refill. Furthermore, donut makes you fat and once eaten, it is gone forever.

From this idea, it will be good if I can make a candle for everyone, but given the amount of time, I was only able to make one. If I try to make changes to the size, the donut won’t look convincing. Therefore, only one donut was made. Well, I decided to dedicate it to Jackie then, as she seemed quite sad the few days that I saw her when I was creating the donut. Additionally, her sweetheart is not in Singapore this semester, so I hope a happy candle will be able to motivate during the exams.

 

 

 

Time Capsule . Defined .

 

 

 

archive fever on 19.02.2009 . photos

finally, the archive fever exhibition and the opening of the time capsule. personally, i enjoyed the time capsule opening ceremony, especially zi rui’s potion drinking ritual. i seriously made a wish. hmmm. i am getting too superstitious. then again, i’ve always believed in the relation between superstition and our psychological reactions. that also explains my belief in charms and leading to my lucky charms chain book.

anyway, the final process is unveiled. sharing some photos of my archive.

 

the archive as such: the lucky charms chain book, comprising of a chain and charms.

my charms and chain book. the 2 sides, one showing the graphic, the other the charm. the charm is “housed” by a chain that can be unlocked by a hook, following the chain concept.

Featuring the title of the book. 

description of the book

book in the box

choosing a charm that you want and unhook to use it

 

the girls choosing the giveaway charms. some selected charms were chosen by me to be given away as part of the exhibition. this is my way of passing on the chain of luck, by following a chain. if they give the charms away to their friend, it forms a longer chain. this is significant because the charms were given away on the exhibition day hence it is symbolic. although i don’t know how they relate to the individual charm, but it was a part of my collection that was given away. hopefully after i die, it will hold a certain memory in every different person’s heart.

redesigned a more detailed poster for the archive fever. chose brown and orange for the main theme as i want it to complement with the color concept of my book. furthermore, brown and orange brought out the effect that i want for my timeless collections.

Chains Galore

My final possibilities. Only one really irritating problem. Housing the charms.

italian charms

Some additional information to be added into my charms collection. Italian charms are categorized under fashion charms.

An Italian Charm bracelet is a series of individual modular links hooked together on a stretchy band to form a single Italian charm bracelet. A typical Italian charm bracelet is comprised of eighteen Italian charm links. Each link features an Italian charm face (design or image) soldered onto the actual Italian charm link.

A starter Italian charm bracelet consists of eighteen blank links. In order to create a personalized Italian charm bracelet, these blank links are replaced with individually designed Italian charms. Italian charms are flat, modular links that hook together. While traditional charms dangle, Italian charms feature individual pieces soldered flat onto the surface of the link.

Italian Charms are compatible across brands due to standardized sizing. The modular design means that the charms on an Italian charm bracelet are interchangeable. An individual Italian charm can be switched out for a new look or to better suit the mood or changing interests of an individual.

An Italian charm bracelet can be assembled in many styles. Italian Charms can be grouped to follow a theme such as family, a specific color, career or hobby. Also, since there are many types of Italian charms, an Italian charm bracelet can feature a combination of styles. This may include laser Italian charms, photo Italian charms, hand-painted Italian charms, authentic licensed Italian charms, deluxe-link Italian charms and dangle Italian charms among others.

Italian charms are most often crafted using stainless steel backing and a gold-plated or 18 karat gold charm face. The face of the charm (which features the design) is soldered or glued to the stainless steel link. The charm itself may feature synthetic or genuine gemstones as part of its design.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_charms

The Lucky Charms

For the final archive presentation, I will need to choose a selection of charms. As mentioned in my previous post, I would include the ten symbolic  french charms as a part of my collection. I feel that it is pretty meaningful for someone to receive a set of lucky charms. As for the final presentation, it may be a book of charms or it may not. I hope to chain yet it may not be easy to chain a set of books in a suitably pretty presentation. I guess I can only reveal it at the exhibition. Hint: Chain

For now, some inspiration ideas from Tze. Thank you girl!

Timeless Collections

Problem
Letting people understand my thoughts and make something that keeps my charms collection eternal yet combining all my thoughts about superstition, psychology and design.

Sub Problem
The medium used to bring across all the ideas and the final presentation.

Charming You with All The Good Luck

Beginning in the early years of the 20th century and extending until around 1960, it was a mark of middle-class properity that young girls be given a charm bracelet before they reached puberty and that at every holiday or anniversay, a new charm be added to the assemblage, often by the doting relative who had supplied the original bracelet. One suspects that jewelers were behind the craze, but in fact, the demand for charms is ancient; only this method of marketing them is relatively recent. Not all the charms on these bracelets were lucky emblems — equally common were hobby-related and school-related charms. In fact, the multiplicity of charms available, and the mundanity of many of them — a telephone, a car, a cheerleader’s megaphone, a windmill — served to devalue the word “charm” in the English language, so that today one may be misunderstood if one refers to “charms” when one means “amulets.”

The legend reads “Le Langage de Porte Bonheur” (“The Language of Good Luck Charms”) and the 10 charms are labelled with their meanings — which, i feel compelled to note, do not accord in every case with their usual symbolism.

The charms are:

An Elephant: “Felicite” (happines)

A Heart: “Amour” (love)

A Four-Leaf Clover: “Bonheur” (luck)

A Horseshoe magnet: “Argent” (silver — or money, due to the magnet’s “drawing” power)

A die with seven spots: “Veine” (games of chance; gambler’s luck)

The number 13: “Joie” (joy; the usual use of this number is as general luck or gambler’s luck

A Pig: “Prosperite” (prosperity)

A Hamsa Hand: “Richesse” (riches; this is not accurate — the hamsa hand protects against the evil eye; this one is unusual in that in place of the bilaterally symmetrical filigree design of an Arab “hand of Fatima” or an eye in the palm (which would make it an eye-in-hand amulet), it has a little arabesque curlique in the palm which is not visible on this scan (and barely visible on the original)

A Horseshoe: “Fidelite” (fidelity; not entrely accurate — the usual meaning is attraction or “drawing”)

A  Pansy: “Souvenir” (remembrance; i have not encountered the pansy as a lucky charm elsewhere; it belongs more properly to the “language of flowers” than the “language of good luck charms”

The 20th century American charm bracelet at left features a variety of lucky charms in a bright mix of brass, copper, sterling silver, and gold-plated metal.

This bracelet is typical of the kind of jewelry worn by adolescent girls in the 1950s and 1960s, collected charm by charm while travelling through the tourist traps, flea markets, jewelry stores, and yard sales of the heartland.  There are 13 charms on it, demonstating the use of “unlucky” 13 as reversed bad luck. 

- A silver heart engraved with initials: love for the named individua

- A brass heart pierced by an arrow: smitten romantic love

- A silver horseshoe: attraction or “drawing” luck

- A gold wishbone: set with a pearl: wishes come true

- A silver horseshoe on which is placed a wishbone, a four-leaf clover, a horseshoe and the words “Good Luck”: good luck

- A gold and green enamelled four-leaf clover: luck

- A silver money bag with a $ sign: wealth

- A copper horseshoe on which is placed a four-leaf clover: good luck

- A brass heart padlock: faithful love

- A silver spread of playing cards: gambling luck

- A gold double horseshoe set with an artificial diamond: money luck

- A brass moneybag marked 1000: wealth

- A silver horseshoe attraction or “drawing” luck

Facing the Problems in Timeless Collections

The charms and necklaces archive will have an ending soon. There were problems faced and there has to be a solution soon. Initially. it started as my deep interest in collecting necklaces. Then, it went to finding the meanings in the charms i love. Eventually, I explored into the meaning of charms or amulets used in many different countries. There is no definite answer in the actual working powers of the charms but they just make people feel safe. Perhaps, we all have a need sometimes to rely on a miracle to give us hope in times of despair. A collection is a treasure. To me but not to you. maybe to you but not for the same reason.

The main problem is letting people understand what I am thinking. I hope to make something that keeps my collection eternal and combining all my thoughts about superstition, psychology and design. A necklace is ideal solution. A chain is what I was thinking about when I wrote about the article of the “never-ending necklace”. My sub problems include the medium to bring across all the ideas and the final presentation. The answer should come soon. very very soon.

 

the never-ending necklace in India

The Neverending Necklace in India

It started in 1998 to become the world’s longest and most valuable necklace. It is made from beads, which people have dedicated to dear friends and family. The necklace is divided into sections, which are beautifully mounted on framed panels. All these sections draw much attention and admiration during events everywhere. 

The Neverending Necklace is a string of love and peace, and to remember a special person and show it to the world 
will make you and that dear one unforgettable. All your positive feelings for whom you dedicate beads to are manifested 
on that string. Its purpose lies in raising money for charity, but in a creative and meaningful way.

Source: http://addbeads.com

Queen Mary versus Elizabeth Taylor- La Peregrina

The origins are sketchy, some say La Peregrina Pearl is from Panama and others think its birthplace is Venezuela. Most celebrated among the early American pearls was La Peregrina (the incomparable), or the Philip II pearl, which weighed 134 grains.

According to Garcilasso de la Vega, who says that he saw it at Seville in 1507, (Garcilasso, “Historie des Incas, Rois du Perou,” Amsterdam, 1704, Vol. II, P. 352.) this was found at Panama in 1560 by a negro who was rewarded with his liberty, and his owner with the office of alcalde of Panama.

Other authorities note that it came from the Venezuelan fisheries in 1574. It was carried to Spain by Don Diego de Temes, who presented it to Philip II (1527-1598).

Jacques de Treco, court jeweler to the king, is credited with saying that it might be worth 30,000-100,000 ducats, as one might choose to estimate, for in fact it was so remarkable as to be beyond any standard valuation.

If we can credit Garcilasso, at one time this pearl decorated the crown of the Blessed Virgin in the church of Guadeloupe, which was resplendent with gems.

“Queen Margarita on Horseback” wearing La Peregrina, by Valasquez, 1634-35, Collection Prado Museum

16th Century Royal Portrait- The painting of Queen Mary, by Flemish artist Hans Eworth

A contemporaneous account (Miscel. Academ. Nat. curios, Dec. 1, Ann.II, obs, 288.) notes that it was worn at Madrid by Queen Margarita, wife of Philip III, at the fetes given in celebration of the treaty of peace between that country and England in 1605

It will form part of the cathedral’s 450th anniversary exhibition of Mary’s marriage to Philip II of Spain.

In the painting, the monarch is wearing a giant pearl – known as La Peregrina – which was bought for actress Elizabeth Taylor, 400 years later.

The pearl – which is the size of a pigeon’s-egg – was given to Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon, by her future husband.

Actor Richard Burton later bought it from a British aristocratic family as a Valentine gift for Taylor.

 

 

 

The painting was acquired by the Society of Antiquaries in the early 19th Century.

In the picture, Queen Mary depicted wearing what is thought to be her coronation dress.

Known as the “Cloth of Gold”, it was woven from silk and gold thread and was later adjusted for the coronation of her half-sister Elizabeth.

Historian Dr David Starkey, who is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, said the painting conveyed the “passionate intensity” of her Catholic religious feelings.

“It is one of the great 16th Century royal portraits,” he said.

 

Mary and Philip II of Spain were married at Winchester Cathedral

“It is as iconic of Mary as Holbein is of Henry VIII, it is a picture of absolutely central significance.”

Dr Starkey added that the painting would be worth many millions of pounds if it were to put on the market.

The portrait will be on show at Winchester Cathedral until September 30 as part of the exhibition, the Marriage of England and Spain.

The couple were married at the cathedral on 25 July 1554.

Canon Flora Winfield, of Winchester Cathedral, said: “This exhibition is about trying to understand history in new ways and also to understand why she was so zealous in her Catholic faith.

“It is about trying to understand what were the things in her own experience of her own life which made her so zealous about it.”

Elizabeth Taylor, Present Owner of Famed Pearl

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3813065.stm

                http://www.karipearls.com/la-peregrina.html