The concept of designing is quite frightening to most of us, me included! When I began to make necklaces, I began with making very regular, well ordered and not really inspiring. Soon after my adventure into the Poynton Show and the fact that I didn't sell a single necklace (sold beads but nothing else) I decided that I needed divine inspiration. That came in the form of a wholesale shop that sold really nice gemstone beads. The selection was varied but nothing was exceptional. However I did begin to combine different beads and large silver accent beads. The upshot of that adventure meant selling lots more necklaces. I still felt that I wasn't making really good works of art! I did learn that making works of art really doesn't sell well.
In 2009 I began classes in silversmithing at the local Guild. We are really lucky to have a guild and to be able to do further adult education, just down the road, what a pleasure. I began by making a letter opener for my husband . The first feel of the silver was weird. I could imagine what I wanted, whether or not I could make it remained to be seen! A year later and a letter opener was produced!..umm to mild acclaim.
In 2009 I wanted to start making things to sell. I was still making necklaces in 2010 but had to stop selling them due to rules the government laid down...don't ask, even I don't understand it. During 2011 things started to make sense. Fire became my friend. The art of soldering, that age old mystery, suddenly became clearer. Amazingly the moment of change in the flux and the right temperature of the metal and suddenly the flash of silver as the solder flows...wow, it's like alchemy.
So 2012 should be a duzy. I got myself a complete lapidary set, some rock and now I am well on the way to cutting my own stones and designing my own pendants, earrings and the like. So that's where we came in! Designing, not the easiest of things to do.
I usually begin with the stone that will form the focal point and then build the design around it. So still not the easiest of things to do. Once you have a focal point, play. Draw lines around it, fill in spaces, load other stones...it is endless. I have a word of caution, a design usually doesn't just appear, it all takes practise. Swirls, dots and lines will begin to make sense when you play freely. Don't stress if you can't fabricate a design, it will come. In the meantime do what I did, make stuff from magazines, follow e-patterns and you will get the hang of it. The big stuff will come in time.
Christmas was lovely and quiet. Pressies for me!!! We had a great lunch and lots of laughs. The snow of the previous week had all melted and the weather was 'warm' enough to let Tuppytoo out onto the balcony for half an hour. I couldn't wait to open presents but John likes to eat first and then open presents later...much later!
I got a set of mineral make up blends. The idea is you dust the powder onto your face in a swirling motion which releases a minute amount onto your skin so no clogging of pores, which means fewer spots and blemishes. The obligatory socks and hot water bottle but in my case the freezing water bottle! The socks are really cute, white with red hearts to match the cover of the water bottle!
You remember when you were a kid and there was that one thing you wanted, really wanted, and never got for Christmas. Well for me it was a slab of toffee with a hammer to bash it into small pieces. I really wanted one, not for the toffee but for the hammer! Go figure. What I wanted it for, well I'll probably never know but I finally got that slab of toffee with the hammer and pulled a crown off with the first piece of toffee!!! Nothing to do with design I know but hey just thought I'd add it in...in case you want to lavish a gift or two on me!!!!
Back to design. I really went down the road of pressies because I bought myself 3 of the best pieces of equipment you could want, well that is if you want to make things that curve inside and out. I bagged a Eid Longhi anticlastic stake a Fretz goldsmith hammer and a Knew saw frame. I know you probably think ... yawn.... but they are all beautifully design and the feel of the hammer is so much more different from all the others I have. The hammer is light and very well balanced and the handle is so smooth it's a joy to use. Just remember to tap! The anticlastic stake is quite an interesting piece of equipment. Unlike the metal stakes, this 'plastic stake' bends the metal when you hammer against it and doesn't stretch the metal as it would, hammering against a metal stake. I finally got the message yesterday on the correct way to use it and what a dream. The Knew saw frame is a joy to use as well, light and accurate because you have the piece to focus on and not a bulky frame that wobbles and gets in the way. The self tensioning screws are so simple in concept but who knew???? Well I guess they did! I got the simplest frame and the second smallest depth because I use guillotine to cut longer, deeper cuts. The saw takes standard blades and is easy to get the hang of. So with the correct tools at the ready I am ready to make some good stuff!!! So back to design.
Chances are you have seen an artist who has ideas that flow. Designing silver jewellery is somewhat the same. The key is to feel the design. If you set stones or not the feel of the silver and /or stone has a weird idea of what it wants to be. Sounds a little crankie I know. I felt the same way when I was told this but it has some merit.
If you are designing a stone set pendant for instance. The shape and feel of the stone, together with the colour will bring you round to the design. I read in a book..I think it was 'Silver threads' that the easiest way to see your design is to use carpet tape and have a sticky side up and the design underneath. Then you 'place' the components on the sticky tape in your desired design and you get a good idea of what the end piece will look like. (just an aside...it also means you can take your design 'head' with you any where you want to go and you shouldn't lose a component). The other good point is don't be too precious about your components, well, except for big diamonds maybe! I found in designing and making beaded necklaces, the moment I gave up on the idea of not using too many high cost items and just designing and making as if I were making things for myself, things just started to become more cohesive. Designs just looked right and you could see I wasn't trying to get as many necklaces as possible out of a string of beads, the necklaces just looked better.
It's the same when I make greetings cards. If I just make things, using all I have, the cards look really good. Having said that, I'll never be a card designer just as I'll never really be a jewellery designer. I'm not destined to be the next big thing like the big designer names you here about. I will always be a hobbyist and will always dabble in design. I can see things in my mind's eye and can translate that to paper. Now I am learning how to make the objects I see!
So that's my offering for now. I hope you are encouraged to put pen to paper and play, who knows, you may be the next 'big thing'!!!
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