Check your behind!

As an art teacher, I always tried to impress on my students to not neglect the back of their art work.  Even though it may not be seen, it was important to follow through on the back with their craftsmanship.

This is something I've tried to attend to in my jewelry making.   Now I'm not talking about making a piece reversible so that there is no back or front.  This in my opinion is getting a "twofer"  (two for the price of one, thus making the piece worth more.  An example of this is "Big Frog in a little Pond."

The original "front"

On the "back" a Koi fish

What I am talking about it taking great care with the back to make it just as interesting as the front, (even if it doesn't get seen.)   I try to keep my backs clean and smooth.  But, after being at the conference, I realized that just isn't enough.   How the back is treated separates the men from the boys (as they say.)

I sat behind a girl at one of the sessions and noticed how nice the back of her earrings looked.  I couldn't see the front of the earrings but the interesting texture on the back intrigued me.

At the "Show and Sell",  Vickie Hallmark's cloud pin http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickiehallmark/ not only had great detail on the front but she also included two cz's at the points where the pin attached to the backing.  (I just couldn't get over how nice it was to see such attention to detail...... even on the back.)

Lisa Barth's book (that I mentioned in a previous post) shows how much time and detail she puts into the backs of her stone settings.  These are not reversible, but the backs are just a lovely as the fronts.

http://www.cooltools.us/Lisa-Barth-Jewelry-Design-Gallery-s/1344.htm

Good art  requires careful designing not only from the front, but from the back also.   

Talk to Me

A former colleague of mine, Norm Milliken, did a reading of his poetry tonight in the Transit Buildings Great Room. This is the first time I've been to a poetry reading and the first time I've heard Norm's poetry. I was mesmerized by Norm's poetry and by his voice. (He has a great voice for reading poetry.) His poetry was inspired by his experiences in Viet Nam, fairy tales and his family. He also talked about how one doesn't just sit down and decide to do a good poem in a certain time frame. It takes time. The mind has to simmer and filter and work on it. It may take days, months or years for something to come together.

It's the same with the visual arts. No one sets out to make a masterpiece. It's like the cosmic forces all have to come together in just the right time and place for it all to work. Artist's can't predict the impact their work will have. Pieces that seem right don't click. Those that don't seem right, sometimes are. It's a strange process.

Now I know that I'm never going to create a masterpiece. But, my creative process takes a certain method just the same. For me, the work has to "talk" to me. I have work laying out all over my classroom tables. (There is room for six students when the tables aren't covered.) It lays there for days, weeks and sometime months. Every time I see it, I ask the question.... "Who are you?"

Sometimes I put it away and pull it out with a fresh perspective. Often it goes back in the drawer. The work evolves and it develops a life of it's own. Many, many pieces start out as one thing and end up as something different. I've even been known to take a piece that I've been wearing and re-work it. Sometimes you just have to live with it to know if you like it or not.

My sketchbook isn't over flowing but there are a fair amount of sketches in it. Sketching saves time and money when working out a piece. I know I should be digging into those designs and working on some of them. But, I have a tendency to jump in feet first and then "feel" my way around. Quite often, I work in reverse. Make a piece, then try to figure out what I am going to do with it through sketching.

Talking to colleagues for opinions and suggestions is another good idea. And, so is talking to your work (and listening!)

Designing Women

   I just got out of bed this afternoon at 3:16. (Too many late nights.  No not out drinking.... out PMCing.)   It has been a whirlwind weekend that was soooo much fun.  Several friends of mine from TN, came up this weekend to work in metal clay at my new studio.   I met them a year ago when we all came together from different areas to take a Level I Certification class in PMC.  There were five of us in that class and we all hit it off so well that we rented a cottage together and went back to class last June to take our Level 2 Certification and an enameling class.  We are going to come together again this spring to do the PMC retreat at Arrowmont.  

    Two 0f the girls wanted to learn about designing their own jewelry, instead of just following directions to make something someone else designed.   We discussed the elements and principles of design and a variety of techniques for use in generating ideas.  Then I gave them a list of assignments they could try out.  

   Time was short, but we burned the midnight oil and created several pieces of jewelry.  The major piece for both of them were pendants.   They both used magazine photos for design inspiration in their pieces.  

   Donna found a picture of a spiral staircase in a Smithsonian magazine for her inspiration and Nancy found hers in an advertisement for Charmin.  (It was the cute little puppies that drew her attention first.)  They drew up designs, tried variations on them and finalized their ideas with a drawing of what they wanted their piece to look like.  Most of this process was done well into the morning hours on Saturday morning.  After a couple hours of sleep (literally) we headed to the studio to bring their designs into being.  When we got home from the studio, it just kept on going as they learned how to make a Photopolymer plate.  Another late night ensued.  (I'm too old for this late night stuff..... but it sure was fun!)

    These designing women learned how to create a piece of metal clay jewelry from inception to completion.  In the words of Candace Olson "How divine!"