When I was younger, one of my favorite things to do was making Chess Sets. If I had time on my hands, I would often use it to come up with new designs for them. I made several and gave them all away except for this one. If you look at the Knight closely, you can probably see that I made this set about the same time I made "The Pearl". I had just been doodling, playing with some ideas for a series based on "The Pearl". One little thumbnail got me thinking of chess pieces - the one that became the Knight in this set. That was the catalyst. All the other pieces were designed around the Knight.
I really enjoyed playing chess in those days, but I didn't much care for the religious overtones. So all my sets did away with religious symbols. I also broke convention a little in the design of the King and Queen. In this set, the Queen is actually a much more formidable-looking piece than the King is. In fact, the King looks like an oversized Pawn! I thought that was appropriate given the power of the Queen as well as the limited mobility of the King. I describe the way I made this set below.
(Close-up)
The pieces in the White side are made using the same technique I used for "Coral". They are made of solid copper that has been built up drop-by-drop. The pieces in the Black side are made of steel that has also been built up with the torch. The squares in the Board are basically the same materials. I made an oak frame for the board, but what is hard to see in the photos is how the squares are attached. I spaced the squares off the bottom of the board and finished the inside of the board in flat black. The effect is that the squares seem to float in mid air. I think this is one of the coolest aspects of this set. It almost gives a sense of danger, as if the pieces are sitting on squares which are hovering over an abyss.
At this time, these pieces are in desperate need of some refurbishing. Originally, the colors were more intense. When I find the time to polish this thing up, I'll post new photos here.
* All Titles (eg "Man's Nature", "Possess 1", "Display 1", "Control 1" and others) and all images are copyrighted by J.P. Pendergrass and cannot be used without my expressed permission.
