Anakálypsi: Hidden stories embedded in charmed artifacts

This project takes a unique approach to storytelling, blending iconography and mythology from Ancient Greece with emerging technology. The final intent is for wearable jewelry to “unlock” AR-based content that tells the story of mythical Greek figures. As part of this micro-grant funded research project, Peters was able to move from low fidelity paper prototyping to using aluminum and brass in the development of the jewelry.

She took an 8-week Metals workshop series at Contemporary Craft and learned a variety of techniques, including forging, riveting, chasing and sweat soldering. Learning how to work with the unfamiliar materials of copper and brass, she developed new approaches to her practice. Simultaneous to her time learning small metals techniques, she illustrated and laser cut two mythical figures, Ariadne and Aphrodite; serving as pendants. Both the workshop and the laser cut pieces are derived from sheet material, however her background in architecture and environments design always leads her to dimensionality.

As this project continues to develop, Peters will be exploring ways that flat materials can be crafted, layered, and/or manipulated to create 3D forms. Finally, after experimenting with metal finishes in the workshops, she added paint to learn how color improved their aesthetic quality and storytelling ability. This aspect of the work will continue to develop as the project progresses.

This project was made possible with support from the Frank-Ratchye Further Fund Micro Grant #2024-036.