This cuff was my introduction to jewelry-making, as it was the first project in my Jewelry I class. The assignment was to create a cuff bracelet inspired by any book in our school’s library, and I was drawn to Art and Architecture in Italy 1250-1400 by John White, spectifically the religious architecture of the time. The ideation process for this project was a specifically really fun; taking the shapes and patterns from the facades of churches or from pages of books, I came up with the design for the bracelet. Then, learning how to saw shapes out of the metal, how to engrave it, and how to polish and patina was an incredibly rewarding process, despite its many frustrating aspects. We had to use only cold connections when piecing together our cuff, meaning that we couldn’t solder any of our parts together, so it is held together with rivets. Overall, I was very happy with how this piece came out, and the process of creating it was challenging but delightful at the same time.
