Ma'ri an Art Nouveau Saber

[sks1138]

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2020 TCSS saber building contest and hats off to all who entered and built amazing sabers.

The idea for saber started back in 2017 when a good friend of mine presented me with a challenge: what would a prohibition-era style saber would look like and thus the adventure began.

Ma'ri takes the name from the fictional owner of the saber.

The design process was lengthy but consistent during the build. She had a clear concept on fusing art nouveau with the Star Wars look, but with a caveat: everything used for aesthetics needed to have a reason or meaning to the character. So, a lot of research happened, ideas were formed and worked on only to be discarded as new, better ideas and designs were brought forth. She would send me a quick sketch of something she thought of, or an inspiration photo to explain her vision. I would then create a render in Illustrator or Photoshop and send it back to her to gather feedback and direction. She wanted something different, unique, something that pushed the boundaries of design, but safeguarding the basic elements of a lightsaber to the smallest of details.

As soon as she locked in the initial hilt design, that's when the build should have started.

Unfortunately, life got in the way and the saber build was shelved for a long time. After some years, everything came back together in December 2019 and the build started again. Final parts were bought. Old ideas, once great, were discarded or re-thought. I would get a text from her with a "OMG I have an idea!" and all I could think of was "Oh no!". Lol. But, I have to say, that the new ideas were always better than the previous and I would do my best to make them a reality. She made me push my skills further, and I had to learn new ones to achieve her vision for the saber. At one point she told me she had worked as a prop master. A prop master!! That explained her attention to detail and her standards for aesthetics. At that point I only hoped I could live up to that standard. No pressure, right?

The specs are your basic saber specs, MHS parts, prizm 5.5, R/G/rB tri Cree,
premium speaker, 3d printed chassis, and it was my first time doing a crystal chamber.

The premise is that the character built her saber from hardware she found from the ashes of her home.
Art deco patterns and colors adorn the hilt, along with a feeling of rustic, handcrafted work.

We incorporated real, vintage hardware in the design. The power and aux switches are hidden underneath brass lamp screws held in place by e-clips in a heavily modified switch box.
The crystal chamber door adorned with a Swarovski crystal is held on by small neodymium magnets.

Everything else on the saber has a reason as to why it is there. The turned wood shroud with brass inlay, crushed opal and Swarovskis,
the etched brass accents and each charm hanging off the chains, which also have a personal meaning to the character.

When the saber was 99.99% completed, I got one last request from her. "What if we made a protosaber variant to go with it?!"
I couldn't help to admit that the idea was amazing, albeit late in the race to get it ready in time.

So, we immediately went back to the design board. She sketched her idea for the protopack and I created the beautiful kyber crystal blade plug.

She based the protopack on the looks of vintage radios complete with rayon cable, speaker cloth,
and accent details that connect with the saber and character’s story, like the brass company logo plate on the side.

I made the protopack out of a plain wood jewelry box complete with a branded dial and working lights. On the inside, it has components for a prop circuit board (not pictured)
and the next step will be to add an Arduino board for added sound effects. We got another pommel and insert to be able to swap out between protosaber and the standard hilt.
It came together beautifully and it added another dimension to the build and story.

I also made a display box and stand for the saber as a surprise for my friend. The box is designed to look like an old worn box for a bottle of fine spirits. Complete with themed branding for a fictitious distiller in the SW universe.
The stand is cut from acrylic and printed with an art deco planet theme that matches a necklace my friend has.

I have to say, the moment I finished the saber and took a step back to finally look at it, it really made me proud of how it turned out.
I was able to capture every single detail of her designs and input some of my own for a piece that lived up to her original challenge: a unique, beautiful, art deco piece.

To close this thread, I asked my friend for permission to use Ma'ri's own voice for the moment she collects what's left of her house which will lead to the construction of her saber. Thanks everybody. Enjoy.

“There were still lit embers, smoking here and there. I could feel the heat as I walked, the only sound was coming from the charred wood crunching under my boots, as I tried not to trip
over the remnants of what once was my home. I clenched my jaw trying to contain the horrible pain that was building up inside my chest as I picked up pieces of scorched draperies,
examining the patterns on the fabric that once adorned my childhood living room. With a trembling hand and jagged breath, I flicked it weakly to move away half-burned furniture,
but the commode just shook a little and broke apart completely. My force attunement was as broken as my spirit. I tried one more time to move the fallen parts and under
the black wood I was able to spot something shining gold. The beautiful lamp that once lit our sitting room. It was warm to the touch, its shade had turned to ashes, only
the wire frame remaining. I swept the soot away and examined the beautiful brass under it. I tilted my head and squinted my eyes trying to consider a possibility. I ran my fingers
over the screws, the wooden sleeve that somehow survived. Yes. This would work. With a newfound resolution, I started more anxiously to salvage as many things as I could find.
I pushed away as much debris as I could. I saved seemingly meaningless furnishings, hardware, knobs, trinkets and handles. Things I could not bear to leave behind. A memory
attached to each one of them. My hands were covered in deep black now, but that didn't stop me. It was getting dark. Just a sliver of orange left, but just enough
to check one more place: my parents' bedroom, or the place where it used to stand, rather. Their majestic bed was reduced to nothing. I scattered ash from the floor,
and my heart skipped a beat when I found it. My mother's jewelry box. With my hands still trembling, I pressed it against my chest, and in that moment, surrounded by smoke,
the smell of burning filling my lungs and not caring how dirty my robe was getting, I let myself go and with the last ray of light gone, I fell to my knees and cried.”