drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain

last wednesday, i had my students submit their egyptian-inspired accessory as well as made them come to class in a roman toga.

i was actually very much impressed with all of their egyptian-inspired accessories but here are some of my favorites:



mabel's accessory was inspired by the beaded collars worn during ancient egypt. even though the reference is obvious, she managed to update the collar into a necklace that's definitely wearable by today's standards. the organization of the colors is interesting and i especially like how it sort of also looks like it was inspired by ethnic filipino accessories.



dondi made an awesome collar/neckpiece using various materials. he used capiz shells, which he spray painted bronze, as the base of the necklace and used copperwire (which he had to untangle from actual wires), pearls and beads as decoration. the neckstraps are gold and silver ribbons that he braided together.



i can't imagine how long it took him to make this! i really admire the fact that he was able to mix jewelry beads with unconventional materials.



eunice is actually one of my closest friends in sofa and i was really excited about having her as a student. her necklace is actually one of the most interesting pieces that was presented that day.



inspired by ancient egyptian architecture and decorative motifs, she carved that intricate design using soap and used it as her necklace's pendant. she mentioned that ancient egyptians placed a huge emphasis on personal hygiene and she used soap to reference that fact. i really like very conceptual designs and i like that she somehow managed to inject a little wit into her accessory.



using the nemes headdress as her inspiration, caroline made a tie-around belt with pleated details. i wasn't expecting a student to actually make a belt and i was really surprised and amazed with what she came up with. i had a chance to inspect her work up close and the construction is really amazing. she could really sell it right then and there!



last but definitely not the least, jezl redesigned a pair of shoes! jezl was actually a classmate of mine before and i remember her being interested in shoes, so it wasn't a surprise that she passed this. she referenced ancient egyptians' use of gold and animal/religious motifs in their jewelry.



she actually used glue gun to cover her shoes with that green and black ombre fabric. she also attached a black and gold ribbon around the heel and made a scarab-like decoration at the back of the shoes. she actually showed me the blisters she got from using glue gun! all that pain definitely paid off! she got one of the highest points for this activity.

we were actually tackling the costume of ancient rome that day and here are some of the students in their roman (or roman-inspired, since most of them deviated from the traditional ones) togas:



jireh and caroline, who both got the highest points as theirs looked the most accurate.



eunice and nino



karen and dondi

overall, i was really impressed by what everyone made and presented. i can't wait to see their next projects!

music fix: the beat goes on by the all seeing i