Getting Home
This brooch I made depicts two leaves with dewdrops. People say that green leaves are full of life, but the dead leaves are dry and bitter. However, dead leaves were once green leaves. They are like old people who have gone through their whole life in this world, ordinary and extraordinary. When they fall on the ground, it represents the end of their lives, but dewdrops are like their baptism before the start of their new lives. They will all eventually repay their roots, return to their origins, and begin a new life.
My intention was to show this moment when the leaves begin their new lives. The reticulation technique was used to achieve the textures on the dried leaves. The liver of sulphur was used to add colour to it in order to bring out the dewdrops. The dewdrops were shown as little silver balls, and I used the granulation technique to fuse them onto the leaves. An extra piece of water-cast silver was soldered on the leaves to portray a water splash, which emphasizes the water droplets as something that gives new life.