RIC studio art major Gabrielle Lopez
If you are a fidgety person, you might want to pick up one of the curious devices (objets d’art) created by RIC studio art major Gabrielle Lopez ’15. Some are just intriguing and others give you a directive: push me, pull me, turn me upside down or tilt me.
All of the objects are made of brass and silver and are no more than a few inches long yet exhibit the highest precision in detail. Also the pulleys and inner mechanisms that make the objects work are left exposed, which gives the objects a classical antiquity, a museum quality.
Lopez, who specializes in metalsmithing and jewelry design, said her first creations were meant to intrigue and entertain viewers but she eventually developed them as personal tools for releasing nervous energy. The design of these well-crafted objets d’art were discussed by Lopez at an honors poster session attended by RIC faculty, administrators and students.
“I’m a particularly fidgety person,” Lopez explained. “When I would fidget in front of people, I’d feel self-conscious. So, I made these little tools for myself to feel okay about releasing my anxiety.”
The ring in the bottom-right photo above is attached to what looks like a paper windmill. A fidgeter would simply spin the windmill until they had spun out their nervous energy.
Another object calls for the user to pull a string on a pulley, and as the lever rolls up, it fluffs the tracing paper as it passes. “The idea for this one,” she said, “came from a hoodie with drawstrings that I was wearing. I tend to pull up and down on the strings. So, this is a tool for that kind of fidgeting.”
Another gadget has a tiny hourglass attached to the back. On the front are three vertical chambers. The user maneuvers the steel balls down through the three chambers while racing against the hour glass. You can lose or win at this one.
Labels are not given to these novelties because Lopez said she is more interested in the user’s experience of the piece. “I want their experience to inform what they think of the piece rather than the name of the piece informing their experience,” she said.
Her work was exhibited at the Society for North American Goldsmiths conference this summer. RIC was one of only 20 schools in the nation selected to present the work of its best student metalsmiths.
Upon graduating in May, Lopez said she will continue to work with RIC Adjunct Professor Heather Guidero who has her own jewelry line and a small studio in Providence. Lopez also works at Blick Art Material. In the future, she hopes to try her hand at product development, such as designing mechanical toys or medical tools.
“What I enjoy most,” she said, “is the problem-solving aspect – how to make something work.”