Brooch in memory of Murzik
Project by Anna Ivashechkina
This year began with a huge loss for our family —
our adored cat Murzik, who had been with us for almost 13 years, died
our adored cat Murzik, who had been with us for almost 13 years, died
In his memory I created a brooch where I encoded information about Murzik:
153 months
153 glass beads
14 days
14 biserins
10 nicknames
10 beads
4 homes
4 hearts
favourite treat
fish
green eyes
illuminated letters
153 glass beads
14 days
14 biserins
10 nicknames
10 beads
4 homes
4 hearts
favourite treat
fish
green eyes
illuminated letters
Process
1
Data
It took me a long time to realise that it’s even possible to count in a cat’s life. Especially when he is no longer around and it is impossible to start any counting.
I decided that the time between the two dates is suitable. Also Murz was very sociable, so he had a lot of acquaintances and was someone "his" for everyone: that’s how the idea of nicknames came about. And that’s why the beads are different colours.
At the end I decided to add an abstract in the form of his favourite fish.
I decided that the time between the two dates is suitable. Also Murz was very sociable, so he had a lot of acquaintances and was someone "his" for everyone: that’s how the idea of nicknames came about. And that’s why the beads are different colours.
At the end I decided to add an abstract in the form of his favourite fish.
2
Type and colour
I knew right away it was going
to be the kind of brooch that I could wear to carry around. There were
no questions about the colours, either — I chose the ones that Murz himself wore: white, green, pink, black.
to be the kind of brooch that I could wear to carry around. There were
no questions about the colours, either — I chose the ones that Murz himself wore: white, green, pink, black.
3
Shape and materials
Originally planned to use glass beads
and biserins to code them into weeks and days respectively. Just to type linearly and fix them up nicely somehow. In fact, it turned out to be impossible because
the length was too long. Then I started
to think about shapes: flowers (=life), cat’s paws, etc.
But in the end I realised that the best option was to encode months and days, distribute them by years and then by loops of the brooch blank. It worked out evenly:
4 strips of 3 years and 1 day each, with 9 months and 2 days in the middle.
and biserins to code them into weeks and days respectively. Just to type linearly and fix them up nicely somehow. In fact, it turned out to be impossible because
the length was too long. Then I started
to think about shapes: flowers (=life), cat’s paws, etc.
But in the end I realised that the best option was to encode months and days, distribute them by years and then by loops of the brooch blank. It worked out evenly:
4 strips of 3 years and 1 day each, with 9 months and 2 days in the middle.
4
Creation
Since I haven’t worked with beads
for a long time, it was a bit
of a challenge to get to grips
with them.
But overall it didn’t take as long
as I thought it would.
for a long time, it was a bit
of a challenge to get to grips
with them.
But overall it didn’t take as long
as I thought it would.
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