So here is this week's blog - which as it happens is about new designs as well as design theory. What seems like a heavy handed subject - the theory of design - is actually just a few musings on how I design.
Some people sketch or draw their ideas and then go from there...as I cannot draw, not for lack of trying, and sketching for me looks like spastic stick figures, those "some" people do not include me.
Some people work from photographs or design books, taking inspiration from architecture or nature, etc...and then translating that inspiration to their designs. I guess I do this sometimes...
But mostly my designs start from a pile of supplies. Gemstones, crystal, metal, chain, etc in a jumble on my design table...my designs begin as a pile of color and texture and then evolves from there. Perhaps begun with some antique brass chain from a vintage shop that I rescued from a very ugly necklace, and then a peruse through my large stones and pendants and other antique jewelry bits to find a focal point for the design which is forming in my mind.
From there, depending on the colors I am working with, I look for textures and colors to complement or match what I already have...then I begin my version of "draping"...basically a borrowed technique from my early days thinking I wanted to be a fashion designer. Those days were very short lived as I realized that I hated to sew...passionately hated it, and I sucked at it too, so that was handy. haha.
We all have our strengths, but sewing a straight seam is not one of mine.
So back to "draping" - I drape the jewelry piece with the raw materials the way I see it in my mind and then tweak as necessary for length and wearability.
All this without a single measurement or drawing....and while it seems like a very schitzophrenic way of designing jewelry, it has always worked for me. It does keep me up some nights, when the compulsion along with an idea suddenly jumps into my head, at 3am while I am trying to catch a few winks.
But the point of this blog is really about both the theory and the practice. I rambled about the theory and now here are pictures of the practice. Some shots of some of the finished pieces I have made the past week or so. Just a peek, until they are unveiled to the public at my show this weekend.
Happy Spring everyone - we're into March and the snow is slooooowly melting off my front yard. Hopefully that means that 70 degree temps are not far behind.
Toodles,
Leah :-)
