Feeling Uninspired?

by Sherri Stokey

 

Have you ever had one of those days (or weeks, even) when it feels like your creativity has left the building?  You've ground to a halt; come to an agonizing standstill.  Your muse is on vacation.  The idea fountain has run dry... I think we've all been there, but I'm here to help today with some ideas on how to find that spark again.  I find inspiration everywhere!  The wall decoration above is a good example.  I found it at a yard sale for $1 and besides the fact that I love it in all its kitchy glory, it gave me a little seed of an idea that turned into this micro macrame piece:

Fun, don't you think?  Flea markets and garage sales can be a treasure trove of pieces that may just transport you to another decade and change the way you look at things for a little while.  Anybody remember these Tupperware containers in avocado green and burnt orange (my mom is still using hers):

Try to change your mindset and look around you.  Common, everyday objects can provide you with ideas on colors and textures.  Even sand:

And water:

And street signs (this is from my hometown, Valentine, Nebraska, and yes, they really do stencil hearts on the sidewalks on Main Street):

If you have a talented person in your family (or friends), maybe you can piggyback on their creativity to jump start your own.  My mom makes beautiful quilts, but maybe you know a painter or a weaver or a clothing designer?  These are a couple examples where I drew inspiration from Mom's work:

Are you getting excited yet?  Seeing some possibilities?  If none of those ideas appeal to you, you can always turn to color palettes pulled from photos.  

Try thinking of the photos a little differently, too.  Instead of just pulling a color palette, consider the shapes, textures and movement in the photo.  Is it something you can use?  Like these undulating lines:

Or this texture:

Or just pick up a feeling from the photograph and go from there.  In this next piece, I tried to capture the feel of the waves lapping up onto the sand; the foam; the colder, deeper water further out:

One more place you can turn in a crisis and then I'll leave you to ponder.  One of my all time favorite color palettes is pulled from the raku finishes on some of the art beads I've collected (these are from Star Spirit Studio).

I think I could use these colors for years without getting bored (raku focal pieces below are from Star Spirit Studio, Spinning Star Studio and Elements Pottery and macrame work is by yours truly)!

If you get to that point where you're uninspired, try taking a look around you again with fresh eyes.  Hopefully some of these ideas will help you.

 

Fibers Galore!

I don't know about you, but I really love the softness and texture that fibers add to every day life.

When it comest to using fibers in adornments, there are so many possibilities.

I find some good books (pretty much anything I can get my hands on to get my mind going) and I let the inspiration fill my mind. Not only from a design perspective, but also from historical, and other uses point of view. 

How do the techniques used many years ago affect our every day lives? It is such an amazing topic, and one I really look forward to exploring here on LMAJ through the next BootCamp!

And one can never quite have enough fiber material and fun tools to play with right?!

Keep an eye back here to see more fiber related posts!

Mapmaking

by Barbara Bechtel

Recently, as I reorganize and think more critically about my work, I went back and looked at my jewelry that I've made over the years in order to codify the various pieces and parts of my work and try to draw some parallels.

Symbols have always been a huge part of my work. Beginning in college when I began to build a body of work, I took a jewelry class as an elective. Little did I know that this would form the basis for how I'm working today....

work made while in my jewelry electives circa 2002

 Fast forward seven years to when I began making jewelry again, I had only a few basic materials, no torches or hammers, I began bringing home broken jewelry from estate sales and found several long unused blocks of polymer clay purchased on clearance from the craft store.

some of my very first jewelry when I returned to jewelry made with polymer clay and vintage beads collected at estate and garage sales.

 One of my personal goals going into the new year is to continue to source materials from things I already own and things that can be recycled, either by buying second hand or making my own tools, as others have done throughout history and time. I continue to source a large part of my materials and tools from these places and by intentionally recognizing that fact, it has been a great source of inspiration.

vintage lace and copper stampings found at an estate sale early in 2011

Now, as I begin to form the basis for new ideas in a new year, I am again returning to what I have found and collected as part of my journeys throughout the years. I was so inspired by Jeannie's post yesterday. Over the last weeks, as I've been doing a bit of reorganizing my home and studio, I've been reexamining what I've found and collected and wondering how I can use use these collected things, to make the most of what I have around me to add personal meaning into adornment.

I've also been thinking about the jewelry I wear on a daily basis and how my own jewelry fits in with the meaning I place on the things I choose to wear everyday.


What do you think? 

Is the jewelry you make a reflection of the jewelry you wear and find personal meaning in? 

What parallels have you drawn in past work you've created to the work you're creating now?

Get it Together with MaryAnn...

Hmmmmm?  I have been trying to think about what I want to include in my Sunday Post for LMAJ.  Since I also post for the Beads-of-Clay on Sundays, I wanted to keep it similiar, yet different.  Here is what I've come up with...subject to change depending on how this goes.  Today, it didn't go so easy since I'm so indecisive when it comes to creating jewelry.  Like many of us who create components, we often start out creating jewelry.  I'm working out the kinks right now in terms of doing both!  I hope to make one of our extra bedrooms into a studio of sorts.  It was being used for storage while my son and his family were between houses.  When they came to clear out the very packed room, they discovered that water had gotten in (It is a walkout basemet) through the windows that were at ground level.  Needless to say, there is going to be a slight delay with my plan. 

I am hoping, however, that once I can get everything spread out, my creativity will start rolling along with only minor bumps in the way rather than having mountains to climb.   You know....the ones that always seem to jump in the way right when you think you're sailing smooth....

Today I've come up with some ideas using a half dozen handmade components that I might pull out when trying to design a necklace.  Of course, I started out with about 3 dozen choices and then finally narrowed it down with sweat pouring off my face and heart palpatations serving as a drumroll.....to 6.  Now I'm going to write just a little bit more since that '6' keeps ending up on the next line all alone.....

Am

I

Obsessing?

Soooooo....I've got my materials out....time to design!!

Handmade items listed above from the following shops:

http://kdivinejewelry.etsy.com/

http://atlantisglassandbead.etsy.com/

http://hmbstudios.etsy.com/

http://jamnglass.etsy.com/

http://brassbouquet.etsy.com/

http://sculptedwindows.etsy.com/