I’m starting to think it might be more than just a little fun to incorporate more science into my designs! I’m completely inspired!
(Either that, or I really am just a big, old geek!)
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 7:48 AM EST
March 6th, 2007
My inner geek yearns!
March 2nd, 2007
Accessorize, British style
That’s a bit misleading, but it turns out a pair of earrings have been found in Britain. They’re believed to be the oldest yet discovered
for the region.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 8:25 AM EST
February 27th, 2007
Knotty, knotty
Anybody caught selling macramé in public should be dyed a natural color and hung out to dry.- Calvin Trillin (Source)
Oh, drat. And me without any of my sought-after macrame jewelry pieces on hand…
One of my first businesses (along with selling a self-published short story and my very profitable babysitting lifestyle) was making friendship bracelets for classmates. After discovering macramé as an adult, I’ve been known to have a little fun designing pretty wearables with everything from hemp to embroidery floss!
It’s a great way to pass an afternoon and completely fascinate random strangers. Almost better than knitting chains, actually.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 8:17 AM EST
February 23rd, 2007
The beauty of wire
A few years ago, I made a tree from twisted wire and semi-precious gemstone chips. It was small and cute, and it was bought fairly quickly.
I’ve always thought I’d make more of them, but it hasn’t happened yet.
This pendant might change my mind. It’s already got me thinking about the fun things you can do with wire!
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 8:27 AM EST
February 16th, 2007
A jewelry designer’s toolbox
There are so many reference guides for the all-around crafter, but I have yet to find one I like for the organized jewelry designer so I thought I’d kind of share what my own looks like.
Actually, my “jewelry designer’s toolbox” is scattered across a couple of areas because of storage issues, but that really hasn’t proven a hindrance yet.
My kit
- Sketch notebook
- Mechanical pencils
- Colored pencils
- Wire in various gauges and colors
- Jump rings, grouped by metal, gauge and inner diameter
- Findings, organized by intended use of finding (all my clasps live in the same bin, all my earring findings like in one bin)
- Beads in various shapes and colors, mostly grouped by shape than anything else
- Wire components that I use frequently in my designing
- Wire jig
- Two pairs of round-nosed pliers
- Two pairs of bent-nosed pliers
- Two pairs of needle-nosed pliers
- Two sets of wire cutters
- Cleaning cloths
- Display tray (I use it as my workspace. It’s great for keeping components from escaping.)
- Tape measure
- A travel beading bag that is filled with components for pieces I’m currently working on. My tools live in this bag for the most part.
I keep nearly everything organized in large fishing lure boxes and then move what I need to the bins in my travel bag when I’m working. It’s been great, and helps me get a lot done, even if I just have all my boxes open and lying around me while I work.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 7:55 AM EST
February 9th, 2007
Feeling riffed
I guess derivative work must really be on my mind these days. I treated myself to a bookstore crawl last week, and in one of them I made the strangest find.
In a book on contemporary designs for chain mail, I found a picture of one of my very first designs…except the chain had amethyst in it, and I definitely was not the person behind it.
It was a bit disorienting.
I first created the box chain with beads embedded in February 2002. It was my second attempt to modify a chain pattern I had just learned. In mid-2004, I wrote out an instruction sheet, intending to use it with students in a hosted jewelry class that never materialized. In late 2005, I even put it online.
The picture was dated 2004.
It just amazes me that someone else came up with the same idea, although it really shouldn’t. The modification is a pretty simple one, a natural extension of the original box chain.
But it’s left me feeling unoriginal again…
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 7:48 AM EST
February 6th, 2007
Designing in my head
Now that things are finally settling down, my mind is starting to explore design possibilities again.
It started last week when I was looking over some of my designs from last summer. I was starting to explore playing with jump-ring rosettes, and it occurs to me that I never really finished my experimentation.
Then I gave myself the day off on Friday and went bookstore-hopping. This is always a dangerous practice for me, but it’s one of my vices. I’m now thumbing back through my book of knots and wishing for a couple of interesting books so I can play with knotting and try to work it into my wire-wrapping. I’m pretty excited about it!
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 7:33 AM EST
February 2nd, 2007
Derivative works
In thinking about Creative Commons and derivative works, I started looking toward my own jewelry.
I don’t mess with the copyright on my jewelry designs. Given my love for the ease of encouraging others to build on a theme, it really seems hypocritical to not want to share my jewelry. This actually ate at me for a couple of days, and then it occurred to me why I’ve been afraid to lighten up on these pieces.
My pieces are, to some extent, derivative works themselves. I saw a pattern or a real piece of jewelry and thought, “That’s pretty cool, but what if…” For whatever reason, I decided that if my work is derivative to a point, then I probably had no right to offer it to be further derived from.
This is silly. I’m one step in development by deriving, by inspiration. When I don’t open my pieces to be derived from, I break the creative chain.
That just doesn’t match with the artist I want to be.
It’ll take a bit, but I’m going to work toward sharing all of my jewelry and instructional guides under Creative Commons licenses.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 10:01 AM EST
January 26th, 2007
More color blenders
I realize I keep saying these color links are probably better suited to DesignNiche than here, but I’ve really become obsessed with color combinations in jewelry designs lately. No idea why, either.
Color blenders are fairly universal tools anyway. Decide what you want to add color to, and use one of these nifty tools to do it!
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 7:57 AM EST
January 23rd, 2007
When in Rome…
Yet another jewelry find (I love following archaeology blogs!)
This one is a 2,000-year-old serpent-shaped Roman bracelet discovered in England. No word on its potential symbolism or importance yet, but the picture of it is rather interesting.
Posted by Rebecca as Uncategorized at 7:54 AM EST