The design

The black tulip is a story of commitment, devotion and the forsaking of all else in order to achieve one’s goal of having something unique and refined as we see displayed in this couple’s love. Since the husband hopes to remind his wife of how their love has cross pollinated, comparable to the tulip flower; I have tried to use this idea within the design.  I have therefore tried to capture the idea of cross pollination by incorporating beadwork in between the domed petals, as it is symbolic of how their love has cross pollinated into this unique product of love.

Since the cross pollination involves the fusing of various aspects into one new being, I had thought that the design would better depict this idea if the beads flowed from each petal. This would also be representative of how they have given off from themselves in order to flow into the others’ life, hence having a love which has cross pollinated over the years owning qualities from each individual. This has ultimately lead to a love which has been cultivated over years, yet is able to retain its unique quality of purity which like platinum remains pure from sunrise to sunset.

Figure 1: Ndongeni, S (2019). Drawing and silver base of ring.

Figure 1 is a picture of the design development before creating the final shank. In order to commit to the narrative, I decided to incorporate the leaf and stem design of the actual tulip, which would act as the design anchor.