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| Cloisonné by Debbie Parent |
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| Art Jewelry by 2 Roses Studios |
by Julie Holmes
Do
you ever look around at the materials gathered, tools purchased, studio
arranged, brand created and thought…well I’ve done it now; this is what I HAVE
to do. I have become a thingamabob maker and that’s who I am. I
thought that. I wasn’t particularly having fun making settings, really
just wanted to make cloisonné and so I started wracking my brain for other ways
to present the stuff. Debbie Parent of Apparently Art had some amazing
cloisonné pieces on Grains of glass that were mounted in frames. They’re
gorgeous. (go look!) I went to her website to look some more at her
enamel work and to my utter astonishment found she also does wonderful stained
glass work, watercolors, pastels, sculpture, beading. (go look!) Is this
allowed? Can we do that? Isn’t this coloring outside the lines,
thinking out of the box…isn’t this against the rules?
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| Bad art by Julie Holmes |
...and
speaking of rules, I was once talking with John Rose of 2 Roses Studios and going on
about how I’d seen a very poor attempt at copying a design of a well known enamel
artist and how wrong that was. John shrugged philosophically and said
pretty much that the copy-cat hadn’t done themselves any favor by making
a bad copy and that we all get inspiration from others.
It’s the intention that’s important. It’s been said that imitation is the
sincerest form of flattery. He’s right. So, go look,
use Pinterest and Flickr and Tumblr. Visit art galleries and shows, talk
to your fellow artists, take classes. Get inspired, be inspiring. Make
bad art. What you make isn’t who you are, it is how you express who you are,
which is a fluid being, with a soul that wants to stretch and grow and
experience. Don’t deny yourself the opportunity to fully be.
| I stretched from making cloisonné to trying my hand at something different. I’m drawn to strong lines and vibrant colors….so I tried pyrography and painting on wood. It was fun! Fun enough that I opened a second Etsy store called The Waiting Place. It’s what I do while I wait to figure out what comes next with the cloisonné, the sons growing up, the laundry that needs doing and the full time job of being me. I hope you all try anything new you want to try, follow your hearts without fear, they will always lead you back to what you truly love. |
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| Pyrography and water colors |
5 comments:
Great advice Julie - there is something very liberating at trying you hand at something new just because you can, and wise words about being inspired by the work of others. I sometimes feel we expend too much energy worrying about someone whose work looks a bit like our own - it can be irritating but bad copiers won't succeed and the good one's will find their own way. Ultimately we should feel proud to have inspired.
Great post! Thank-you for mentioning the issue of copying. Until I met and married an art teacher, I always thought everything had to come from my head or it was not truly art. I have since taken on a completely different attitude and let other art forms (or jewelry designs) inspire me. For example, if I see a sculpture, I might think how that might look as a pendant. If I'm watching one of my favorite court TV shows, I think about how I could make something like the anchor woman's earrings in my own style. Lately, I have been just going from the heart, but if I'm stuck, there is nothing wrong with looking for inspiration. We all need it!
MaryAnn
oh, this is a good one - and timeless, it seems... as apprentices, some of the greatest painters ever directly copied and finished their master's work... as visual creatives, we cannot help but be influenced by what we see... most of us suffer from overload, i think (it's why i have gone on pinterest - i think smoke would start coming out of my ears because of too much awesomeness)...
intention is the key... we work with common metals, in similar techniques and colorways - but the important thing is that we make it our own... we let it sing our song... people get very upset about copying, my feeling is that even if someone directly copies you - they cannot sustain it - because it isn't coming from within...
(stepping down from soap box)
thank you for the wonderful post - and i am so in love with your paintings...
Flattery is what it should be not a negative. There are so many amazing artists that inspire me to try different technics and take classes, where would some us be if they didn't share their talents.
Love this post Julie, Thank you.
Theresa
Yay Julie on your new shop. Love it! I think it's okay to look at other's for inspiration but more important to make it your own. Great post!
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