Making Mechanics Part of the Design

by Staci Louise Smith

Design is by far my favorite part about making jewelry.  I get excited when I have a bunch of items I'd like to see together, and the challenge is to put them together in the most appealing and eye pleasing manner.

The possibilities of this mess excite me!!!!

Sometimes during this process we are thrown curve balls- there are connections and mechanics that have to happen to make things solid, and hold items together, and the challenge is to make them look like an intended part of the design instead of a connection or an afterthought.  

I could probably find a million great examples, but I will focus on a couple, since this is what I was doing in the wee hours of last night as I prepared for my upcoming show.

I really wanted to use up some of my extensive bead stash on the pendants and focal arrangements I had laying out on my desk.  However, I did NOT want to use the dreaded Beadalon and crimp beads.  So, I once again grabbed my irish waxed linen.  One of the reasons I have not stuck with using the cording is because I have no idea how to finish it and make it look nice.  I would always tie small knots or add one or two beads at the end and tie it, and it never looked right enough to me.  So, I thought I would try to incorporate the ends into the design itself, the way the Kristin Oppold of Yay Jewelry does so effortlessly.  

Here are some samples of Kristin's work!!!!  She has really created a signature style for herself using cording!

I love how she has taken those ends and made them into the design itself.  So I tried it out too, and I love the results.

First up, I had two of my choker style focals laid out and wired together.  I wanted to do gemstones instead of chain, so I got out my linen cord and went to town.  On the first one I even added extra dangles on one side, to accentuate the asymmetry of the piece.

One this one I just left the single dangles on each side. (plus the chain dangle I added)

Then I came to the next two pieces I had to string up.  They were trilobite polymer pieces that I had riveted to a copper backing, and were awaiting completion.

The two on the left

These were a little more challenging to use the cording on, but I really wanted to use my new sea urchin spines with them, and I they way they stuck out the sides, it definitely needed more dangles around the focal for balance.  I was starting to get the hang of this cording stuff, and, I was really enjoying the little details and textures it adds, since I usually work in bulking wire.

When these were all said and done, I was thrilled with them.  They have such a nice feel to them.  It was a lot of work though, I had no idea all these tiny details took so long!  (Hats off to you Kristin!  that's a lot of knots and tiny composition to work out)

Then I got to thinking about my trilobite focal pieces...........and I realized that the rivets that hold those together became part of the design as well.  I started using ball rivets on my polymer pieces for a few reasons, the first is decorative.  When I rivet my pieces together, I try to use an arrangement of rivets that compliment the design as well.  And so this blog post was born, we do it all the time, incorporate the mechanics of a piece into the design itself.....and I bet we don't even realize it.

So, it can be challenging, but really fun,  to find ways to make every part of your jewelry flow into the design of the piece.  It's what creates continuity, it's what makes people just want to look at it over and over, finding new details............and I don't know about you, but I love the challenge of it.

I don't plan to give up my wire work anytime soon (or ever....lol)  But I do love the option this gives me as well.  Thank you again to Kristin for the inspiration to embrace cording!!!!

Is there anything you have worked into your design out of necessity???  

On Creativity and Flow

Indoor rock climbing. Photo by www.cliffhanger.com.au

by Patty Lakinsmith

I've been reading lately on the topic of creativity and Flow. You may have heard of the term "flow". Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the author of "Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life" describes flow as, "the sense of effortless action they feel in moments that stand out as the best in their lives". To an athlete this is often described as being in "the zone", and others describe it as ecstasy, joy, aesthetic rapture, being in the moment, and such. Simply, it is completely focused motivation.

Activities or situations that can induce a flow experience have a number of things in common:

1. There is a set of clear goals.
2. Immediate feedback is received.
3. A person's skills are required to overcome a challenge (e.g. a technical problem in your medium or design) that is just shy of his or her ability to meet.

Presumably, flow occurs when someone has a clear set of goals that require appropriate responses. So, in a game these would be the "rules" of the game, and in art they may be more self-imposed, such as those faced in some kind of challenge. Feedback is available to tell you whether you are succeeding or not in the activity, and lastly, the activity provides a challenge that is difficult enough to sustain motivation and interest but just within reach of your skill level.

I have personally experienced flow in a wide variety of settings: in graduate school projects, in work projects, some athletic activities, and in lampworking, but most notably and memorably in the latter. It's classic - I'm completely focused and don't hear the phone ring, I lose track of time and fail to hear messages my body is sending me ("your shoulder hurts!", "you really should go to the bathroom, don't you think?", and "when was the last time you ate?"). This is flow, and I must say, it is highly addictive and divine.

I usually can't achieve flow when I'm doing something from someone else's playbook. That is, a highly prescribed custom order (which I rarely do), or things that I know I have to do. But give me a challenge, e.g. a bead that can double as a mechanical element in a piece of jewelry , and a stretch of time where I know I have no other obligations and won't be interrupted, and I'll lose myself in blissful concentration.

Have you experienced flow in your creative adventures? What does it feel like to you? Have you noticed any trends about when it may or may not occur? Do you have a time tested method that is sure to get you in a flow state?