The Pill version

For the pill version I wanted to explore the perspective of the bride/umakoti. The reason why I chose to use pills is that they usually represent some sort of relief from pain and felt that it would be an interesting concept to play around with as she too is seeking relief. 

Figure 1: Ndongeni, S (2019). Pill version, earrings and pendant. 

I had therefore decide to use actual pills which were then set inside these wire elements, which could also be an indicator of how she feels void of what she is meant to have and the only solution she is able to find inside her is ending her life. I tried to romanticize the idea of suicide with these pieces as I wanted to give the idea that she is drawn into this belief that the afterlife will give her peace; hence the silver. 

Fold formed version

For the Silver part of the series, I have tried to play around with the idea that a woman is flowering during the course of her pregnancy and have expressed this through the use of fold formed leaves. I then decided to place the leaves in a bead shape as though to imitate the uterus shape of female anatomy as seen in an earlier post. 

Figure 1: Ndongeni, S (2019). Miscarriage Series, fold-formed pendants.

The I also decided have settings hang at the bottom of the piece so as to signify this unborn life which is eternally tied to that of it’s mother, forever forming part of her life. I tried not to I will be setting a pear-shaped Quart in the setting seen on the left in figure one and a piece of red shwe-shwe in the piece on the right. These are meant to signify the life lost, while the red beadwork to be attached to the jumprings instead of a chain will signify the umbilical cord, while also an idea adopted from Xhosa beadwork. 

What kind of Imagery and symbolism has she used?

As previously stated, the main focus of Stuntman's narrative works are women and she therefore relies on a lot of imagery which will depict the various aspects of created womenhood in order to express her narrative. 

Figure 26 Figure 27 Barbara Stutman, (1996) Stacking Reality Brooch. [ONLINE]

In her series entitled "Stacking Realities",  as seen above; she has created a womanlike figurine with a tray attached to her. 

Figure 28 Stutman, B (1993). One Being Female. Brooch [ONLINE]

Her work is a creative collection which uses a vast number of imageries all centred on that specific subject matter. An example of this is the 4 part brooch taken from her "One Being Female" series. With these Brooches, she has incorporated the use of tampons alongside fine silver, Spandex, colouredcopper wire, brass and copper. 

Figure 29 Stutman, B. (1998) It’s a girl! 2 Fine silver and coloured copper ring. [ONLINE]

She sometimes also used shoes, specifically high hills in order to mock media for their false idea of their ideal women.

As seen in the three examples provided, she has relied on the usage of various imagery based on the specific subject matter, but all pertaining to  women. 

Which materials has she used and why?

Figure 26 Barbara Stutman, (2015) Imperfect Beauty IB23 Neckpiece. [ONLINE] 

            

The above picture is taken from Stuntman's series entitled “Imperfect Beauty”, in this particular series she was trying to explore the beauty found in “the old, the blemished, the humble and irregular.” In order to create these pieces she has worked with stretch bead cord, coloured copper wire, freshwater pearls, seed beads and magnets.

She has chosen to use these materials in order to express her narrative as these materials are able to create a rough appearance and give the idea of something scrappy looking in comparison to what could be described as a beautifully polished finish. These materials also provide her with dimension without adding additional weight to the piece (Guyomarc'h, 2018).  

In her work, she predominantly places focus on her message and therefore tries to consider all the relevant factors which will influence the final delivery. Material is therefore ine of these important factors as displayed in the example above.b

Bead materials

When it comes to beading material, it is determined by the designer’s interpretation of what a bead could be, this would, therefore, supersede what is conventionally regarded as a bead. This could then be regarded as a contemporary interpretation of beading materials.

Today beads may be produced in out of a vast number of materials such as fabric to the most precious of gemstones and precious metal. Beads may be categorized into many groups; however, this report will divide into three classes:

•             Natural materials: Beads that have been made from organic or natural materials.

•             Precious Beads: Example: Pearl, Amber, Jet, and gemstones.

•             Synthetic Materials Example: Ceramics, glass, brass, bronze, and plastic beads.

Before discussing the various types of beading materials that could be used, it would be important to establish what is a bead .According to Hector, a bead may be described as “...small perforated globules or cylinders used for ornamental purposes.” (Boag, n.d.)

Natural materials Animal based origin Bone, Ivory, Horn, animal shell .etc. Plant based origin Seeds, wood, Tagua nuts, clay	Figure 5 [ONLINE][1] Ostrich eggs are a natural resource to the Bushmen
Precious Beads Pearl
Synthetic Materials Ceramics

Hence this paper has established that a bead to be a small decorative object or shapes made from a variety bought, found or manufactured materials.

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[1] Page title: moo won: Jewels of the Kalahari: https://www.moowon.com/stories/jewels-of-the-kalahari https://www.moowon.com/stories/jewels-of-the-kalahari 

Let's play

In the name of exploring, I decided to see how the silhouettes would look like on clay. So as you can see in the picture below,I have pressed the pierced out metal onto the clay.   

Ndongeni, S. (2016) Clay exploration

I have also decided to play around with the various shapes I pressed the shapes on.  

Once these have dried up,I will place them in the kiln and then paint them.