Snakes and Ladders : Enamel and Linen necklace

For our final assessment in Enamelling we had to create something that was inspired by 'games'. The word could be loosely interpreted and I chose the Snakes and Ladders board game I remembered fondly from childhood.

Snakes and Ladders prototype 1

To begin with, I made two different prototypes, experimenting with combining metal and woven linen thread. The first prototype was difficult to wear as the metal lengths stuck into the skin.

Snakes and Ladders Prototype 2

Redesigning my idea, I changed the linen thread to be more representative of a snake that weaves its way through the ladder. The design also changed the way it was worn, and the metal lengths no longer stuck into the wearer.

Cutting holes in the sterling silver lengths 

The next step was to make the design in sterling silver. After forging lengths of wire, I then cut holes into the flattened surface.

Plique a jour enamelled sterling silver

Using Plique a Jour methods (French for letting in daylight) I applied transparent enamel onto the cutout surface of the sterling silver.

Detail of the final Snakes and Ladders piece

Using a finer width of white linen, I wove the Plique a Jour lengths into place.

But before doing so, I had to thread the linen through sterling silver metal tube, which was then forged prior to threading the linen on the loom.

And this is the final result.