Learn To Bead

At Land of Odds – Beads, Jewelry Findings, and More

Beaded Tapestry Contest Winner and RunnerUp Announced

Posted by learntobead on January 16, 2012

THE ILLUSTRATIVE BEADER:
Beaded Tapestry Competition

Congratulations to:

WINNER
Dot Lewallen
Westerville, OH

RUNNER-UP
Patty Rockhill
O’Brien, FL

 

FINAL RESULTS posted on the Land of Odds website at:

http://www.landofodds.com/store/tapestry1contest.htm

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also check out

THE UGLY NECKLACE CONTEST
A Jewelry Design Competition With A Twist

ALL DOLLED UP: Beaded Art Doll Competition

JEWELRY DESIGN CAMP

 

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OnLine Voting Ends 1/14/12 – Beaded Tapestry Competition

Posted by learntobead on January 5, 2012

VOTING ENDS 1/14/12: BEADED TAPESTRY COMPETITION


Beaded Tapestry Competition
GO VOTE OnLine:  Voting ends 1/14/2012

http://www.landofodds.com/store/tapestry1contest.htm

Visit the web-pages of each of our 4 Beaded Tapestry Competition Semi-Finalists.

#1. KAY FIELDEN, Auckland, New Zealand, “The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold
#2. JUNE JACKSON and JAMIE BRUNS,
Bryan, Texas, “Lizzie Borden” by Elizabeth Engstrom
#3. DOT LEWALLEN,
Westerville, Ohio, “Black Notice” by Patricia Cornwell
#4. PATTY ROCKHILL,
O’Brien, Florida, “When Night Falls”, by Jenna Ryan

 

International 2011
THE ILLUSTRATIVE BEADER:
BEADED TAPESTRY COMPETITION
Theme: Mystery Genre Book Covers

Sponsored by:
Land of Odds
The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts
Be Dazzled Beads

Posted in beadwork, Contests | Leave a Comment »

THE BEAD STRINGER AND THE CLIENTS

Posted by learntobead on December 10, 2011

THE BEAD STRINGER AND THE CLIENTS

New Post in 
How To Bead  A Rogue Elephant column.
Read more… 

 

It remains a curious fact that necklaces were once believed to protect the wearer against getting hypnotized.

Yes, hypnotized.   This made sense in that the inherent beauty of the necklace was thought to distract the gaze of the ill-intended hypnotizer away from the lady’s eyes.

Thus, this piece of jewelry protected its wearer from the unwanted advances and influences of undesirable gentlemen, who spent their days and nights maliciously trying to hypnotize her.    And it followed that women, (and their protective parents), wanted the very best, most spectacular, and most distracting necklaces from the very best artisans.   They believed the more elaborate the necklace, and the more expensive its components, the more powerful it was in this regard.   With more powerful necklaces, the parents were less likely to lose their wealth through an ill-spent dowry.    And the more likely to retain the honor of the lady.

Such a purpose puts an awesome responsibility upon the shoulders of the jewelry designer….

Read more… 

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APPLIED FASHION

Posted by learntobead on November 14, 2011

APPLIED FASHION

Women don’t just wear pieces of jewelry – they inhabit them.

Buying a piece of jewelry for yourself – a necklace, a bracelet, earrings, a brooch, something else – isn’t a task easily given to someone else.  It’s often not a spur of the moment thing either.  You just don’t rush off to the local boutique or the local Wal-Mart, grab whatever you see, and go home.

I’m not talking about that impulse buy during your leisurely visit to the mall.   I’m referring to purchasing those pieces of jewelry you know will have to do a lot of the hard work to accessorize your wardrobe and help you get the compliments and notice of your family, friends and c o-workers you comport with and compete with each and every day.

No, buying a piece of jewelry for yourself is a multi-purposed moment, one which must be thought through carefully and one which must be savored.  Lest you buy the wrong piece.  That doesn’t really go with what you intend to wear.  Or is over-priced.  Or poorly made.  Or conveys the wrong impression about status.  Or is out of fashion.  Or something one of your friends already has.

The jewelry you buy has to conform to quite a long list of essential criteria before you could ever think of buying it.  It is something you will wear more than once.  As such, it is your companion.  Your necklace is not merely lying around your neck.  Or your bracelet around your wrist.  Or your earrings dangling from your ears.

Jewelry can cause you to lose face with others.  It can irritate or scratch your skin, or get caught up in your hair.  It might weigh you down or stretch or tear your ear lobes.  Jewelry can break without warning in the most unexpected and embarrassing of places.  It can get caught on things, sometimes hurting you in the process.

Jewelry conveys to the world something about who you really are, or think you are.  As such, jewelry is very personal.  Your private, innermost, most soul searching choices made very public for all to see.

As you caress it, as you touch the smooth or faceted or creviced beads and metal parts or the clasp or the material the beads are strung on, when you twist and move the piece within your hand, you are confirming to yourself the extent to which your jewelry is doing its job.

When you buy new jewelry, the dilemmas multiply.  How will  the new compare to the old?  Will it be able to handle all these responsibilities – looking good, representing you, fitting in with your wardrobe, meeting the expectations of others?  Like divorcing, then remarrying, changing your jewelry can take some time for readjustment.

And you do not want to be seen as noncommittal to your jewelry.  This would sort of be like going to  a hotel, but not unpacking your suitcase while staying in the room.   Conveying some sort of social or psychological distance from your jewelry can be very unsettling for others.

So you need to inhabit it.  You need to inhabit your jewelry, wear it with conviction, pride and satisfaction.  Be one with it.

Inhabiting jewelry often comes with a price.  There becomes so much pressure to buy the “right” pieces, given all the roles we demand our jewelry to play, that we too often stick with the same brands, the same colors, the same styles, the same silhouettes.  We get stuck in this rut and are afraid to step out of it.

Or we wear too many pieces of jewelry.  The long earrings, plus the cuff bracelets on both arms, plus the head band, plus the hair ornament, plus the 7-strand necklace, plus the 5 rings.  We are ever uncertain which piece or pieces will succeed at what, so hopefully, at least some combination or subset of what we wear will work out.

In a similar way, we wear over-embellished pieces – lots of charms, lots of dangles, lots of fringe, lots of strands.  Something will surely be the right color, the right fit and proportion, the right fashion, the right power statement, the right reflection of me.

And our need to inhabit our jewelry comes with one more price.  We are too willing to overpay for poorly made pieces in our desperation to have that right look.  The $100.00 of beads strung on elastic string.  The poorly dyed stones which fade in the light.  The poorly crimped and overly stiff pieces with little ease for accommodating movement and frequent wear.

It is OK to inhabit our jewelry.  In fact, it is necessary, given all we want jewelry to do for us.   But we need to be smart about it.  We need to learn to recognize better designs and better designers.

This need not be expensive at all.

Just smarter.

Posted in beads, jewelry making | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Was Freedom Enough?

Posted by learntobead on November 14, 2011

Excerpt from column 
HOW TO BEAD A ROGUE ELEPHANT

WAS FREEDOM ENOUGH? 

I emancipated myself from my upwardly mobile position, after 18 years of progressively more responsible positions, having attained an annual salary the income taxes from which supported one whole government worker.

And what did that do for me?   Emancipation.  Over the next 20 plus years of starting all over again.  At the bottom.  Learning another trade.  Having no accumulated reputation or power or wherewithal to get ahead.  I had freed myself to make my own choices.  I  had painted myself into a picture of my own dreams.   To be an artist.  To make jewelry.  To play with beads.  And to make a living at it.

But what did I achieve, except for the very freedom itself to be free to make my own choices?  …

 Continue reading….

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Read THE DESIGNERS GAZETTE, Fall 2011

Posted by learntobead on November 8, 2011

LAND OF ODDS – JEWELRY DESIGN CENTER

Take a Moment To Read….

THE DESIGNERS GAZETTE
Fall 2011
The Design Perspective On Beading and Jewelry Making

http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/pdf/fu111011/fall2011pdf.pdf
Chilled Morns and Eves Warmed by Fall’s Soulful Colors, Stylish Clothes, Sophisticated Thinking, and Layered Looks. Nostalgia – for changing leaves, apple cider, turkey and dressing, family gatherings, office parties, warmth by the fire. Fall is all about presenting a more elaborated side of you to the outside world. Work and play. Online and off. Jewelry to tell the world to open up, you’re coming in from the playful summer heat.

The Illustrative Beader: Beaded Tapestry Competition – SemiFinalists Announced
Jade Carving Event
Three Artists at SOFA: New York
Bracelets in 3-D Print
Erotic Watches Auctioned Off
Australian Jewelry Topos
Tiffany Video
Ara Kuo
Robert Ebendorf – Mixed-media
Asagi Maeda – Art Jewelry
Daniel Porter Stevens – Metalsmith
Creative Mentoring – Andrea Rosenfeld
Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
Snakes – Claire Kahn
Cristobal Balenciaga
LOOT 2011
SODAmore 2011: Contemporary Art Jewelry
Empowering the Jewelry Designer
Existence for the Jewelry Designer is Befuddling
The Ugly Necklace Contest – Enter to Win
Getting Started in Beading and Jewelry Making
Jewelry Design Camp
Sherry Serafini Workshops

The Design Perspective on Beading and Jewelry Making
Land of Odds
Be Dazzled Beads, &
The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts

718 Thompson Lane, #123, Nashville, TN 37204
http://www.landofodds.com
615/292-0610

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Go VOTE – Beaded Tapestry Competition

Posted by learntobead on November 4, 2011

Semi-Finalists Chosen!
Beaded Tapestry Competition 

GO VOTE OnLine:  Voting ends 1/14/2012

Visit the web-pages of each of our 4 Beaded Tapestry Competition Semi-Finalists.

International 2011
THE ILLUSTRATIVE BEADER:
BEADED TAPESTRY COMPETITION
Theme: Mystery Genre Book Covers

#1. KAY FIELDEN
Auckland, New Zealand
“The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold

#2. JUNE JACKSON and JAMIE BRUNS
Bryan, Texas
“Lizzie Borden” by Elizabeth Engstrom

#3. DOT LEWALLEN
Westerville, Ohio
“Black Notice” by Patricia Cornwell

#4. PATTY ROCKHILL
O’Brien, Florida
“When Night Falls”
by Jenna Ryan

Evaluate their images, their write-ups, and their materials and techniques.
Then use the on-line form you will find at the bottom of each of their web-pages
to Score them in terms of
Visual Appeal,
Artist Insight,
Artist Technique, and
Use of Beads in the Design.

The judges were blown away by the quality of all 4 semifinalists.   It was truly amazing how well each artist captured the essence of their book.  Each artist brought these books to life within their book cover design.  Yet each artist’s approach was different.  These artists should commend themselves on the amount of thought, insight, and coordination of ideas and techniques which went into producing their Beaded Tapestry pieces.    Bravo!

Here we use the concept of “Tapestry” in its broadest sense as a stitched, sewn and/or woven wall hanging. Your tapestry may be woven, loomed, stitched, quilted, cross-stitched, crocheted, knitted, sewn, braided, knotted, embroidered, macrame’d, beaded and the like. Your tapestry will combine fibers/threads/and/or cloth and beads in some way, and the surface area must consist of at least 70% beads. Beads may be used in many ways, such as forming the background canvas of your piece, and/or embellishing your canvas, and/or as fringe, and/or as stitchery covering parts of your piece. Your piece should be mounted or framed in some way, ready for hanging on a wall. Your tapestry may utilize many different techniques.

GO VOTE OnLine:  Voting ends 1/14/2012

http://www.landofodds.com/store/tapestry1contest.htm

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The DESIGN PERSPECTIVE

Posted by learntobead on November 3, 2011

The DESIGN Perspective
On Beading and Jewelry Making

The DESIGN PERSPECTIVE is very focused on teaching beaders and jewelry makers how to make choices. Choices about what materials to include, and not to include. Choices about strategies and techniques of construction. Choices about mechanics. Choices about aesthetics. Choices about how best to evoke emotions.

These choices must also reflect an understanding of the bead and its related components, and how all these pieces, in conjunction with stringing materials, assert their needs. Their needs for color, light and shadow. Their needs for durability, flexibility, drape, movement and wearability. Their needs for social and psychological and cultural and contextual appropriateness, satisfaction, beauty, fashion, style, power and influence.

This DESIGN PERSPECTIVE contrasts with the more predominant Craft Approach, where the beader or jewelry maker merely follows a set of steps and ends up with something. Here, in this step-by-step approach, all the choices have been made for them.

And this DESIGN PERSPECTIVE also contrasts with another widespread approach – the Art Tradition – which focuses on achieving ideals of beauty, whether the jewelry is worn or not. Here the beader or jewelry maker learns to apply art theories learned by painters and sculptors, and assumed to apply equally to beads and jewelry, as well.

The Craft Approach and the Art Tradition ignore too much of the functional essence of jewelry. Because of this, they often steer the beader and jewelry maker in the wrong directions. Making the wrong choices. Exercising the wrong judgments. Applying the wrong tradeoffs between aesthetics and functionality.

The focus of the DESIGN PERSPECTIVE is strategic thinking. At the core of this thinking are a series of design principles and their applications. These principles provide the beader and jewelry maker with some clarity in a muddled world.

The belief here is that, since there are so many different kinds of information to be learned and applied, it is impossible to clearly integrate this information all at once. When learned haphazardly or randomly, it becomes too difficult or confusing to bring to bear all these kinds of things the beader or jewelry maker needs to do when designing and constructing a piece of jewelry. Thus, the beader and jewelry maker best learn all this related yet disparate information in a developmental order, based on some coherent grammer or set of rules of design. This is the DESIGN PERSPECTIVE.

So, we begin with a Core set of skills and concepts, and how these are interrelated and applied. Then we move on to a Second Set of skills and concepts, their interrelationships and applications, and identifying how they are related to the Core. And onward again to a Third Set of skills and concepts, their interrelationships and applications and relationship to the Second Set and the Core, and so forth.

In the DESIGN PERSPECTIVE, “Jewelry” is understood as Art, but is only Art as it is worn. It is not considered Art when sitting on a mannequin or easel. Because of this, the principles learned through Craft or Art are important, but not sufficient for learning good jewelry design and fashioning good jewelry.

Learning good jewelry design creates its own challenges. All jewelry functions in a 3-dimensional space, particularly sensitive to position, volume and scale. Jewelry must stand on its own as an object of art. But it must also exist as an object of art which interacts with people (and a person’s body), movement, personality, and quirks of the wearer, and of the viewer, as well as the environment and context. Jewelry serves many purposes, some aesthetic, some functional, some social and cultural, some psychological.

The focus of the DESIGN PERSPECTIVE is on the parts. How do you choose them? How should they be used, and not be used? How do you assemble them and combine them in such a way that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts? How do you create and build in support systems within your jewelry to enable that greater movement, more flexibility, better draping, longer durability? How do you best use all these parts, making them resonate and evoking that emotional response from your audience to your style, vision and creative hand that you so desire?

The beader and jewelry maker is seen as a multi-functional professional, similar to an architect who builds houses and an engineer who builds bridges. In all these cases, the professional must bring a lot of very different kinds of skills and abilities to bear, when constructing, whether house or bridge or jewelry. The professional has to be able to manage artistic design, functionality, and the interaction of the object with the person and that person’s environment.

Read: ABOUT GOOD JEWELRY DESIGN: Principles of Composition

Enter: The Ugly Necklace Contest – A Jewelry Design Competition With A Twist!

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Ara Kuo

Posted by learntobead on October 25, 2011

Ara Kuo
http://www.arakuo.com/

 

 

Ara Kuo is a young jewelry artist from Taiwan.    She displays a very whimsical sense of design in her pieces.

Visit her website to see more of her pieces.

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Robert Ebendorf – Mixed Media

Posted by learntobead on October 25, 2011

Robert Ebendorf – Mixed Media Jewelry Artist

http://galleryloupe.com/exhibitions.php?sn=0&exhibit=39

Robert Ebendorf uses unusual objects like soda pop tabs, crab claws, squirrel paws, silver spoons to create his unique and unconventional jewelry.

At Gallery Loupe, they have a retrospective of his pieces posted online.

It’s always fun to re-purpose things, and play with different media and materials.  However, it is often difficult to mix media and materials into a successful, satisfying piece of jewelry.

 

 

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Asagi Maeda – Art Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on October 25, 2011

Asagi Maeda – Art Jewelry

http://www.asagimaeda.com/#/en/

 

 

Asagi’s favorite motive is the Box, or the Box as container.    Often he creates little “scenes” and encases them in an acrylic box.   The box becomes a component in a larger piece of jewelry.

His works are what you would call “Amusing”.    And amusement is one of his primary goals.

Each piece has a story.    The story is told like a play on a stage.

 

His “box” motif represents something inside and something outside.     He tries to build the “emotions” or “theme” or “energy” within the confines of the box.    The viewer experiences these by experiencing the jewelry outside of his box.

Posted in jewelry design | Tagged: , , | 1 Comment »

Daniel Porter Stevens – Metal Smith

Posted by learntobead on October 25, 2011

Daniel Porter Stevens – Metal Smith
http://www.danielporterstevens.com/

I had recently read an article showcasing the work of Daniel Porter Stevens.    The reviewers were talking about his sense of “line”.

“Line” is an important jewelry design element — one of the most important things the designer needs to control.

Line establishes a “silhouette” — it delineates a part of the body above it and below it.

The curvature or straightness of the line evokes a wide range of feelings and emotions on the part of the viewer.

Sometimes the line is like an arrow pointing the viewer’s attention to one place over another.

Lines can be blurry or sharp.

Lines can be rigid, or the designer can somehow “break” the line.

Lines are important.

 

Visit Daniel’s website and look at his slide-shows of his jewelry.

 

Posted in jewelry design | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Creative Mentoring – Andrea Rosenfeld

Posted by learntobead on October 25, 2011

Creative Mentoring – Andrea Rosenfeld

http://www.savorthesuccess.com/member/andrea-rosenfeld
http://openstudiocoach.com/
http://openstudiocoach.com/about-andrea-rosenfeld-coaching/articles/ 

 

I recently came across an article Andrea Rosenfeld had written about Creative Mentoring.   I thoroughly enjoyed the article, her extremely clear and accessible writing style, and was very interested in taking a little internet road trip to her website.

How do you take your passion and your art work to an audience?    I deal with this type of question from our students and customers almost every single day.

She offers many ideas and many services.     I suggest reading some of her articles are articles by “visiting creatives”  for special insights.

 

 

Articles to Grow By

 

~OPEN STUDIO~

 

 

Broadcast Louder helps Artists supercharge their creative business, starting them on the path to more visibility and more sales

Playing it Safe in Your Studio

Time Management Strategies That Play Nice

Marketing your Art Business using Retail and Wholesale Sneezers and Brand Advocates

10-Tips to Stay Organized and Increase Creativity

Are You Vibrating Yet? Here’s Why You Should Flip Your “ON” Switch

Are you an Expert or an Experimenter? Your sales strategy depends on your answer

Is Your Website Scaring People Away?

Visual Art Copyrighting Basics

Looking For Trade Show Stories For Upcoming Article (Interactive Article)

How to Create a Healthy Relationship With Money to Gain More

Dear Creative – DON’T do-it-yourself!

Should You Create Art or Create to Sell?

Court Your Stores

Dear Creative, Don’t Do It Yourself

Who is Your Customer, Who Are You?

Would You Dance? *how do you handle adversity?

Look Up! You’re Missing Life! 

Five Important Things to Know Before Doing a Store Show 

Collaboration is KEY to Artistic Growth 

Why We Need Art 

Tips a Jewelry Artist Can Use to Survive the Economy (or any Creative, for that matter) 

 

~VISITING CREATIVE AUTHORS~

WordPress for Beginners

WordPress for the Savvy

WordPress: Who’s Sharing Your Content and Increase Blog Performance

Ready for wholesale? Find out with this MUST-HAVE Checklist

Grow Your Business Through Charitable Giving

Tips For Running a Successful Small Business Publicity Campaign

Why You Should Join Local Art Associations to Increase Your Art Business

How to Bounce Back from Disappointment and Manage Your Thoughts

Jewelry Artist’s Guide to Diamond Buying (Part One- Beginner)

 

 

 

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Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Posted by learntobead on October 25, 2011

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
Online International Jewelry Exhibit
55 artists

Cintra Harbach

http://www.ganoksin.com/exhibition/v/beb/

 

 

Ginny Benton

This exhibit highlights jewelry made from materials other than gold, platinum or silver.    Many use found objects.    There are many “green” objects and materials.

Jill Morrison

Jewelry is defined as wearable art using a variety of materials.

Melanie West

You will see such materials as copper, brass and bronze.   Vinyl, velvet, machine components, bone, plastics, rubber, magnets, aluminum, wire, wood, plant seeds, pearls, and gemstones.

Shu Hsuan Tu

This exhibit shows a tremendous range of the possible.

Nancy Overmyer

You can see the full exhibit online.

http://www.ganoksin.com/exhibition/v/beb/

 

Sarah Kelly

 

Louve and Don Coulson

 

Burcu Buyukunal

 

Wired Elements

 

Patricia Alvarez

 

Valerie Ostenak

 

Louise Gore Langton

 

Valerie Ostenak

 

Sheila Schwede

 

 

 

 

 

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SNAKES – Claire Kahn

Posted by learntobead on October 25, 2011

SNAKES

“Snakes” are popular jewelry themes and forms.

Claire Kahn

The undulating body form.
The sharp, threatening teeth.
The relationship to the Adam and Eve story.
The use of the snake in various cultural myths and mythologies.
The patterning of the skin.

Claire Kahn

The snake evokes something primal within us.    It has an aesthetic that we all recognize and share, perhaps sensuous, perhaps threatening, yet always steeped in beauty.

 

Claire Kahn


Many of our students and customers love making snakes.     Snake necklaces.  Snake bracelets.  Snake cuffs.  Snake rings.

Claire Kahn

 

Claire Kahn‘s work recently caught my eye.
http://clairekahndesign.com/

 

 

 

 

Claire Kahn

Her website displays many beautiful, detailed images of her pieces.

 

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Ugly Beads

Posted by learntobead on February 22, 2010

Ugly Beads

The deadline for our The Ugly Necklace Contest is fast approaching — 3/15/10.

I thought I’d do a Google search on “ugly beads” and see what I came up with.   While a necklace made from all ugly beads might necessarily be “ugly”, I thought it would be fun nonetheless to see what I ugly beads I could find.

Lo and behold! – an ugly bead contest! called Share Your Shame.    A fun read about the origins of the contest, and the winner and other submissions.

Sig Wynne-Evans writes a blog and bemoans her collection of ugly beads, to which she’s given them a new home — a bead jar.

One friend-seeker named herself Ugly Beads Need Love.    She posted her profile on freeganmagazine.com

And we have a fashion report that shows that “ugly” may be contextual.    These beads are ugly relative to the dress.

And as one bead artist writes on her website:

“Even an ugly bead can unlock another door….”

Posted in beads | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Consignment Selling – A Last Resort

Posted by learntobead on February 22, 2010

Over At The Consignment Shop

“She’s CHEATING ME!” the woman from Rhode Island screamed into the phone.    She could hardly catch her breath, the anger overtaking her ability to explain why she was calling.

“I read your article about Pricing and Selling on-line, and I’m not getting my $70.00 for my piece.”

She didn’t have to say anymore.   I knew right off the bat she was talking about CONSIGNMENT.     I recognize the anger.  The frustration.   The feeling that someone put something over on you, and you’re powerless to correct the situation.    You don’t know what to do.    You know the sweat, time and cost you put into all the pieces you let some stranger have, and now what do you do?

“I put 10 of my pieces of jewelry in her shop in Northern Rhode Island – not a big shop, no sales, except, this one piece sold, not in a major place,”  she continued, taking breath after breath, to get it all out, in some way that made sense, and some way that kept her from losing it.

“What do I Do?”   “She sold my piece for $70.00, and didn’t give me my money?”    “Should she have given me my money right away?”   “Should I take my jewelry out of her shop?”   “Should I never do consignment again?”   She peppered me with questions, not waiting for an answer.

She indicated that the store owner told her that she paid her artists 30 days after a sale.   Her customers had 30 days to return something.    If the store owner paid before that time, she would be out the money.     Store owners can set whatever policies they want, and in this case, I told the woman it was reasonable to wait 30 days, given the policy.

Of course, it had already been 7 weeks.

“Should she call her?”   Her husband told her not to call yet.   He didn’t want her to make waves, or ruin this opportunity to sell her jewelry.

“Call her,” I said.   If the store owner said 30 days, then 30 days it should be.

Consignment may be a necessary evil, especially when you are getting started in the jewelry making business.   But consignment is not the best situation to be in.    Most stores that accept consignment do not understand the consignment business.    As a result, when the time comes to pay the artists, there’s no cash flow.

In Consignment, the store is at greater risk than the artist.   The store has to make space available for the pieces, and forgo the opportunity to get something else in that retail-real-estate that might do better.    The store has to display the pieces, and keep them clean and presentable.   The store has to train its sales staff so that they have sufficient information and motivation to make the sale.   And, of course, there’s the tracking and accounting that goes with every consignment piece on sale.

Your best clue to whether a particular consignment situation is a good or better one, is the percentage split between the store or gallery owner and the artist.    Given the level of risk each party assumes, the optimum distribution is 60/40 with the store or gallery getting the larger amount.     But if the split is 40/60 or 50/50, this would be a acceptable sign as well.

However, when the split is 70/30 or 30/70 or outside this 60 and 40 range, yellow flags should go up.    This shows that the store or gallery owner is not aware of the level of risk in their business.    You probably won’t get paid on time, and not get paid without a lot of time spent yelling on the phone.    Your pieces won’t be maintained.  They won’t be displayed in a prominent place.   No one will be trained or motivated to sell your pieces.

Just because you confront a potentially bad consignment situation doesn’t necessarily mean that you should walk away.     There are a few prominent boutiques in Nashville that offer a 70/30 split between the store and the artist.    They rarely pay their artists when the pieces sell.     It takes a lot of screaming, “Bloody Murder!” before you get paid.    But these are very prominent shops.     Letting other stores and galleries know that you have pieces in these shops will open many doors for you.    You might view the delayed payments and the effort to get your money as “marketing expenses.”

Other reasons you might settle for a bad situation:
- You’re just getting started, and saying your pieces are in a shop anywhere has some marketing cache that goes with this
- You can direct customers to this shop.     At least you have a place to send people.   You might not have a central base from which to work.   Your main business might be doing craft shows, and here you can direct people to your jewelry between shows.
- This might be the only game in town.

But otherwise, if consignment doesn’t have some added value for you, you want to minimize your consignment exposure.

When you negotiate consignment terms with a shop, try to:

1) Get a feel for the amount of consignment they do (and how long they have been doing this), the range of artists, the range of types of merchandise on consignment, and the types of customers they have
2) Get a 60/40, 50/50 or 40/60 split
3) Work with store or gallery owner on final retail pricing of your pieces.
4) Get a written contract
5) Get in writing if possible, but an oral agreement would suffice, to convert the situation to “wholesale terms”, if you pieces sell well.   (Be sure to define what “selling well” might mean.)

6) Determine a specific date when to take your pieces out, or trade them out for new pieces.   Usually it’s good to trade them out every 3-6 months.
7) Determine exactly how and when you will get paid, after any one piece sells.    A 30-day waiting period is reasonable.

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Pearls

Posted by learntobead on February 25, 2010

PEARLS

There is a major international exhibition of pearls at the Qatar Museum.   The exhibition covers the range of types of pearls, the history of pearls and the pearl industry, designer jewelry made from pearls.   Unfortunatetly, it’s been difficult to find any images of pieces on display.

The Qatar Pearl Monument

I have been able to find some images of the types of things on display.

Melo Collection of Myanmar Pearls
Black Pearls from Mexico
Mikimoto Pearls
Yagumura Pearl Jewelry
Work by Professor Henry Hanni
Conch Pearls
Harvesting Oysters for Pearls

Melo Pearl


Melo pearl in ring

Snail with Melo Pearl

Nautalus Pearls

Deco Pearl Necklace

Cross section of  a pearl

South seas pearls

Mikimoto Necklace

Yagumura bracelet

Pearl in the oyster shell

Conch Pearls

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Skulls of Codognato

Posted by learntobead on March 4, 2010

Skulls of Codognato

The House of Codognato, a jewelry house in Venice, is known for its skull-themed jewelry, among other pieces.    The skull motif has been a favorite of theirs since they began in the latter half of the 19th century.   The skull motif, to this jewelry house, represents a positive symbol:   Live life to the fullest now before you die.

Now on display in Paris within a large exibit about vanities in art.

Click Here for more information about this exhibit.

SOME OTHER JEWELRY
From The House of Codognato

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WOMEN and men

Posted by learntobead on March 6, 2010

WOMEN and men

New article posted under Rogue Elephant.  

Click HERE.

… Women get together and bead in classes.    They get together and bead around the dining room tables in their homes.    They attend workshops, and sit in a circle and bead.   They join bead societies, and sit in a circle and bead.    They arrange retreats so that they can sit in circles and bead.     Why do so many woman like to sit around in a circle and talk and bead?   

But anthropologists tell us this was always so.    Women sat in circles and talked and crafted.     The circles provided a measure of convenience.   They provided a sense of safety.   They allowed women to reconfirm their places within the group.    They allowed women to learn the basic rituals in life, and to transfer this knowledge to their children.   They offered women some sharing of responsibilities, especially for child raising.

It was because women so frequently came together to sit, circular, with one another, and because the tasks they did, while in these circles, were so involved and complex, that language was born.  ….

Click HERE.

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Conceptual Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on March 17, 2010

Conceptual Jewelry

Wikipedia defines “conceptual art“  as “art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns.”

Conceptual art, as a movement, has been around a long time, since the 1960′s.    But its influence on jewelry has not been as great as with painting or sculpture.   Usually conceptual art requires a lot of narrative text and background information, for the viewer to understand what’s going on.    Because jewelry is only art as it’s worn, this makes it awkward to have all this textual material tag along with the wearer.

But it is important that artists be able to incorporate conceptual ideas within their pieces, and have these pieces reflect these ideas, as part of the overall aesthetic and appreciation of the piece.      How does the artist accomplish this?      How does the artist influence how the viewers interpret the pieces and the associated concepts?

Is it sufficient for jewelry to be ‘intellectually stimulating’?   Or must it be beautiful and appealing, as well?

If concepts and meanings change over time, is this something the artist can anticipate or control?    Or does the artist have to settle perhaps for achieving ‘success’ in the present moment, but ‘failure’ over time?

What do we find online about conceptual jewelry?

Conceptual jewelry – a list by lahutter – BLOG
http://www.thisnext.com/list/7B23931F/Conceptual-jewelry

Lahutter lists several items of Concept Jewelry, including these 3:
1. Laura Bezant Jewelry

2. Beats Necklace

3. Definition Necklace

To me, these pieces are more 1-trick ponies, kinda surface’y, not deep, concept but not conceptual.    Not subtle, not elegant, good ideas without the resonance associated with good design.

Let’s continue to web-surf.

On this CRAFTHAUS BLOG, there is a long discussion about what conceptual jewelry is, should be, and is not.

One person in this discussion asks, if the piece is still “jewelry”, if you need a narrative contextual explanation of social, political, or otherwise conceptual meanings?    Great question.   At one point in my life, I had founded and directed The Social Movement Gallery — an art gallery devoted to social and political art.    We used the art to trigger social and community discussion and action.    But we found that the art lost it’s punch outside the exhibit and its timeframe.   Even art about the struggles of women seemed dated one year later, as the discussions and vernacular of these discussions changed as the issue changed with new times and challenges.

Another great discussion of conceptual jewelry and art can be found on this blog Conceptual Metalsmithing.    “When we look at jewelry, we don’t see through it to look at the content it contains, we look at it directly. We look at its objectness, we look at its craftsmanship, we covet it, we are seduced by AN OBJECT. If we attempt to communicate or infuse content into our jewelry for the sake of the viewer/wearer we are often thwarted because of the inherent preciousness and objectness of the medium. Further, it will take quite some undoing in order to retrain jewelry viewers to see more than just the jewel.”

To what extent can Jewelry communicate content?   Or be made to communicate content?

This piece of jewelry is made with discarded pills and capsules, and the artist intends to communicate something about drug use:

Here, a picture of the ring is inserted into the ring itself.    The artist intends to convey a sense of narcissim.

Continuing surfing the web, we encounter many jewelry sites, where the label “concept” is used in a way to show that the artist had some special kind of insight when combining materials and shapes.     Should we equate “concept” with “creativity” or “intuitive insightfulness”?    Don’t know.

I visited one artist’s website – So Young Park - where she took simple concepts and enfused them with artistic vitality, in some unexpected, yet appealing ways.     Her pieces are not there to change minds and move worlds.     Her pieces are there to allow the viewer to experience concepts by experiencing the art itself.

Some of her pieces:
1. BLOOMING

2. GLOWING

3. NATIVITY

4. SPROUTING

So Young Park divides her pieces up between “HANDCRAFTED” and “CONCEPTUAL”.    So, she loses me here a little bit.

Is she trying to say that one category is more saleable, more wearable, more approachable, and the other category is not?     Does Conceptual, then, mean that the piece does not have to be wearable, or as wearable, if it were not?

Her pieces are wonderful, and these two non-conceptual, yet handcrafted necklaces below, earn but a Number.   Not a concept.  Not a title.   They are beautiful anyway.    And seem conceptual to me nonetheless.   Has the artist a sense of fear by avoiding assigning them a concept or conceptual underpinning?    Or is this strategy?   Or some sense of good business?    Or does the artist view these pieces as without concept?   Or where concept should be subordinate to aesthetic and material concerns?

No. 155

No. 149

Sorry, I think if you call yourself a Jewelry Designer, and see the works you create as resulting from a sense of design, you can’t but not have applied concepts in their creation, and these concepts are at least as equally as important as aesthetic, material or technique.

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FIRST DIBS SALE – LAND OF ODDS

Posted by learntobead on April 13, 2010

Next FIRST DIBS SALE is On
at Land of Odds
Sale ends Mon, 4/19/2010

http://www.landofodds.com/store/firstdibson.htm

Usually when we order gemstones and pearls, and sometimes when we order Czech glass and jewelry findings, we have to order by containers. We have a general idea of what we will be getting, but not a full idea. That’s because when we order this way, all we do is provide the suppliers with a wish list, and we get what we get. This usually means we also get a lot more of some items than we can move in a short time. We have to prepare the merchandise for resale and we have to store much of it. These kinds of things add to our “cost”, and get reflected in the final prices. So here’s your chance to get a jump start on the merchandise before it gets priced.

CLICK HERE to receive notices about future First Dibs Sales.


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Ideation – Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on April 15, 2010

IDEATION – JEWELRY

How do you begin to create the idea of a piece of jewelry in your mind?   What do you start with?   How does the drawing or sketch of the piece begin to emerge?

Noam Elyashiv is a metalsmith and jewelry artist.   Her reputation is based on focusing intently and intellectually on the process of this “jewelry ideation”, and seeing what kinds of pieces of jewelry emerge.   

Her ideation process begins with the exploration of correlations and interactions between line, plane and volume through the composition of her form-related jewelry. 

pair of earrings

She is graduated of the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, Jerusalem, Israel, Elyashiv’s work is regularly exhibited and published internationally. She has won several awards — among them the America Israel Cultural Foundation Award, the Absolute Vodka Emerging Artists Award and a Rhode Island State Council for the Arts Artist Fellowship in Crafts. Most recently her work was honored by the Art Jewelry Forum.

 

Her current exhibition is  at:

Gallery Loupe for Contemporary Art Jewelry

 

 

I’m not sure that if you begin your ideation process with lines and geometric shapes, that your jewelry has to be tightly bound to these ideas.      But here Noam is making a scholarly and academic point.

And I personally think that the good jewelry designer is one who has a personally elaborated and developed ideation process of her or his own.

 

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Giovanni Corvaja

Posted by learntobead on April 15, 2010

Giovanni Corvaja

Inspired by looking at fibers and sponges through a microscope, Italian goldsmith Giovanni Corvaja pushes finely spun precious metal to its limits.
The jewelry is intricate.   Seems gossamer floss thin.    Otherworldly.    He uses a variety of techniques, including knitting, micro welding and granulation to form wisps of gold into sculptural jewelry.

I think part of the successes of these pieces is that he creates this chaotic micro-world, but locks in tightly within a very clear, concise, geometric form or series of lines.


I think this piece below is less satisfying because it lacks that juxtaposition of clear and chaotic forms.

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More Ideation – Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on April 15, 2010

More Ideation – Jewelry

Stefano Marchetti is another metal artist who has spent a lot of time thinking about and discussing ways to think through jewelry design.    In his personal process, he likes to take classical pieces and forms, cut them up or break them into different pieces, and reassemble them into something that meets the contemporary sensibility.

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POOR JEWELRY DESIGN

Posted by learntobead on April 15, 2010

Poor Jewelry Design

Here’s an article about Poor Jewelry Design, with many images of examples of such design.    The author makes the point that jewelry must have some kind of personal or cultural meaning, so its value can be measured.     Much contemporary jewelry has an ephemeral, temporary personal or cultural resonance, and ways to value these pieces is difficult or no longer makes sense.

Click HERE.

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Using Beads/Jewelry As Economic Development Tool

Posted by learntobead on April 15, 2010

Using Beads and Jewelry
As Tools For Community and Economic Development

Recently, I read a column by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times entitled Partying to Change the World.

I wanted to share this link with you.

In the article Kristof discusses the work of BeadforLife.

Here two women created an economic support system based on the talents of African women who make beads from trash, and the profit-motive — selling the beads in finished jewelry at home parties in America, and reinvesting this money back in the local enterprises in Africa.  

Moreover, they developed an educational program about Africa for American schools.    The motivation was marketing, but the outcomes far exceed that.

Fascinating story and case study.    I meet many people each year who work with local villagers around the world, to help them find markets for their jewelry, better beading supplies for their craft, and strategies for improving productivity in their efforts.     Here’s a very full and flushed out operation to learn from.

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Semi-Finalists Announced — Ugly Necklaces

Posted by learntobead on April 27, 2010

8th International The Ugly Necklace Contest, 2010
A Jewelry Design Contest with a Twist!

Semi-Finalists Announced

OnLine Voting will begin June 1, 2010
on the
Land of Odds website

It’s that time of year again.    Time to put aside all your desires for beauty, art and taste, and put on your jewelry design skills cap.      Because here they are.  The 2010 Semi-Finalists of The Ugly Necklace Contest.    Each will be waiting for you to judge and evaluate them online.   So one can go home with the prize of $992.93 shopping spree on the Land of Odds website.

It’s Not Easy To Do Ugly!

Your mind and eye won’t let you go there. As research into color and design has shown, your eye and brain compensate for imbalances in color or in the positioning of pieces and objects – they try to correct and harmonize them. You are pre-wired to subconsciously avoid anything that is disorienting, disturbing or distracting.

Because of this, any jewelry designer who attempts to achieve “Ugly,” has to have enough control and discipline to override, perhaps overcome, intuitive, internally integrated principles of good design. Thus, the best jewelry designers will be those artists who can design the Ugliest Necklaces.

Our Special Rules for 2010 required that the color ‘purple’ be predominant in each necklace submission.

OnLine Voting will begin 6/1/10.

Here’s the line-up, with apologies to anyone who might be offended.    Let see how well these jewelry designers did to create something that is Ugly:

(1) Kimberly Allison
Escondido, California
“The Ugliest Necklace.  Period.”

(2) Alesia DiFederico
Southbury, Connecticut
“Super Duper Purple Pooper Scooper”

(3) Sandy Borglum
Chicago, Illinois
“The Purple Eyesore of Texas”

(4) Sharon Wagner
Sterling Heights, Michigan
“Round and Round”

(5) Deborah Eve Rubin
Rockville, Maryland
“The Colors of Purple”

(6) Bonnie J. Scherer
Palmer, Alaska
“Drinking Girl’s Necklace: The Grapes of Wrath”

(7) Lynn Margaret Davy
Wimborne, Dorset, United Kingdom
“Wrinkling”

(8) Jane W. West
Pelham, Alabama
“What Can I Make Today?”

How well do you think you can do?    You might consider starting now on your submission to our next contest.   Deadline is 3/15/2012.

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BUSINESS AND JEWELRY ART

Posted by learntobead on April 27, 2010

Business and Jewelry Art

To what extent do (and should) business concerns influence the artistic choices bead and jewelry artists make?

I’d say “A Lot!”  But this isn’t what a lot of artists like to hear.

You have to market to audiences.   You may have to standardize things to be able to make the same thing over and over again.   You may have to work in a production mode and repeat making certain designs, rather than freely create and design anew each time.   You have to price things so that they will sell, and you have to price things so that you can make a sufficient profit.    You can’t undersell yourself, like offering discounts to family, friends and co-workers.

You have to conform to prevalent styles and colors and forms.    You have to make things that will photograph well for sale online.     You have to make things that local stores want and are willing to buy or put on consignment.    You may end up with a lot of “one size fits all.”

You find that if you want to make your jewelry design into a successful business, you may have to compromise with yourself, your artistic drives and sensibilities.    You may have to limit what you offer.    In order to make that sale.   In order to make a profit.   And stay in business.

Business involves:
- Putting your artwork on a sound cost/revenue footing
- Developing market-driven strategies (as opposed to product-driven ones)
- Pricing your pieces for sale
- Implementing various selling strategies
- Compromising artistic and design choices, in the interest of the business

Over and over again, I have seen one jewelry artist after another fail as a business.    The reasons repeat themselves as well.

1. A reluctance to learn how to conduct oneself as a business.    

Many jewelry artists get so excited after selling their first piece, that they think they don’t have to get too involved with business principles.      They understand their “business” as a “necklace-by-necklace” endeavor.   Make something, sell it.   Doesn’t matter what the price.   Doesn’t matter to whom.  Doesn’t matter if making the piece in the first place is in line with the resources you currently have to make the piece, or will drive you in debt in order to get those resources.

Artists need to focus on what’s called “Velocity”.   You need to have in place sufficient strategies for keeping the money turning over at a constant rate.   If you can’t maintain this rate, you  go in the hole.    You make something.  You sell it.  You reallocate the money you just made to reinvesting in more inventory, replacing the inventory you sold, evaluating the pros and cons of the sale that just happened, adjusting accordingly, and strategizing how to keep this velocity going at a constant, or ever-increasing, velocity.

And artists need to keep good records, and implement good accounting principles.

2.   Gets Bored.

People who get started are very excited.   They’ve made a lot of pretty pieces, and someone has bought some of them.    But then you need to leave your creative mode, and enter a production mode.   You need to discipline yourself to make the same things over and over again.   Many artists quickly lose interest.

3.  A fear of marketing your own things

You won’t succeed without marketing.   Marketing is more than advertising.  It includes all forms of self-promotion.  It includes doing research on your markets and market niches, how to reach them, how to get their attention, how to get them to translate this attention into needs and wants and desires, and how to get them to part with some money.    

Many artists are shy about self-promotion.    Time to train yourself, if this is you, to get over it.

4.  Trying to please all audiences

When people get started, they are reluctant to use the “No” word.    They want to please everyone.     But when you get started, you can’t.    It will put you out of business.

Let’s say you have some jewelry that is predominantly purple.   Someone at work loves the jewelry, but asks if you can make it in red.     If you don’t have an inventory of red beads, and will have to go out and buy them, it may make this sale foolish, from a business standpoint.   You can’t buy just one bead at a time; you need to buy strands or packages of these beads.   

When you start, you need to pursue a strategy of depth, rather than breadth.   You want to buy a limited number of pieces in large quantities to get adequate price breaks.   So, initially, your designs will be limited, as well.     You need to be able to say No.    No  to your family.  No to your friends.  No to the people you work with.

In my experience, such as the situation with red vs purple beads above, when you say No, the potential customer tends to make a face.     Pitiful.   Angry.   Frustrated.    Sad.   Pleading.      If you can wait 60 seconds, in almost every case, the customer stops making this face, and says, “OK, I’ll take what you have in purple.”      But so many jewelry artists can’t wait that 60 seconds.

And don’t give these people discounts.    They’re already getting it cheaper, than if they bought the same piece in a store.    One major way your business will get built up is word-of-mouth.   You don’t want some of that information to include extremely low price expecations that will never be self-supporting in your business.

5.  Doesn’t do homework on the competition

You need to understand how other jewelry artists you compete with function as a business.

How do they define their markets?
How do they price things?
What kinds of inventory do they carry?     What kinds do they NOT carry?
Where do they advertise?   How do they promote themselves?
How do they define their competitive advantage — that is, all the reasons people should buy from them, rather than from anyone else, like you?
Where do they sell things — stores, shows, fairs, online, etc?      What seems to work better for them?

You can find a lot of this out by Googling.     You can look for jewelry designers.  Directories of jewelry designers.    You can plug in a jewelry designer’s website, and see where they are listed, and who lists them.

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Carla Reiter Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on April 28, 2010

Carla Reiter Jewelry
www.carlareiter.com

I came across an article describing Carla Reiter’s metal-knit jewelry, and I had to take a look for myself.

I was impressed, so I thought I’d share some images with you.

Her jewelry looks soft, looks like it drapes well, comfortably and would move well as the wearer moved.   It’s very earthlike, rich, organic.  

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Finnish Jewelry Retrospective Exhibit

Posted by learntobead on April 28, 2010

All That Glitters: Finnish Jewelry
traveling exhibit now at the Fitchburg Art Museum, Massachusetts

Organized by the Helsinki Design Museum, this exhibition of Finnish jewelry from the 1930s to contemporary conceptual art pieces follows changes in the meanings and design of jewelry over the decades. The exhibition includes uncluttered Jewelry design from the 1950s by Elis Kauppi, Bertel Gardberg, Börje Rajalin and Paula Häiväoja, Björn Weckströms forceful Lapponia jewelry of the 1960s, and the most interesting achievements of the jewelry industry and designers from recent decades.

It gets frustrating going online, finding out about important jewelry exhibits, and trying to see images of what will be in these exhibits.      Museums and Galleries seem to operate on the hide-and-seek business model.    They hide any images of the pieces to be exhibited, hoping to entice you to come into the exhibit personally.

Alas and alack, this isn’t feasible for most people.    These Museums and Galleries need to evolve from the pre-internet, pre-globalization eras, and look at what Museums like the Smithsonian or the Hermitage or even the Vatican are doing, to make their collections and exhibits more accessible to the masses.      They might be surprised how providing images and information might have positive impacts on local attendance, regional and national recognition, and card, poster and gift sales.

So, here are some things I think you might see at this exhibit.

Eva Gylden, Cameo, 1929

 

Bjorn Weckstrom/Lapponia Jewelry, 1969

 

Reino Saastamoinen, late 1960s

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GROUPON Coupon for Be Dazzled Beads, 5/6

Posted by learntobead on May 5, 2010

Groupon Coupon online for Be Dazzled, May 6-9
http://www.groupon.com/deals/be-dazzled-beads

GET YOUR GROUPON COUPON
For Be Dazzled Beads
$20.00 for $40.00 of merchandise

Look for their SIDE DEAL in their email offers
Between May 6th and 9th,

or go directly to their website to get the coupon.

If you’re not registered for GROUPON, check them out:
www.groupon.com
They have incredible deals, almost daily, for Nashville. Mostly restaurants.

This time we are their Side Deal.     This means that the link to the coupon is a little bit down on the page on the email they send you.    The main heading on the email they send will reference another business.

Groupon is a fun advertisting program.    For a deal to become active, a minimum number of people have to register for it, in our case, 25.     So tell your Nashville Area friends, on FaceBook, My Space, and whereever you’re linked.   The coupons are good for 6 months.     You’ll get $40.00 of merchandise for $20.00.

Other store discounts do not apply with this offer.

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All Dolled Up Competition – 2013 – Announcement

Posted by learntobead on May 14, 2010

ALL DOLLED UP:
Beaded Art Doll Competition

Theme: Transformations
Deadline 8/31/2013

Create a Beaded Art Doll by manipulating beads and forms into an imaginative tactile and visual 3-dimensional representation of this year’s theme: Transformations .
And then writing a Short Story (between 1000-2000 words) about your Beaded Art Doll, what it represents, and how it was created, starting with the sentence:
“As she turns towards me, her hands no longer seem familiar;
her face, once recognizable, now unexpected;
her aura, a palette of changed colors,
I want to share, but can’t all at once.
She is transforming, before my eyes, as if I wished it to happen,
for whatever reason — fun, mundane or sinister — I’m not sure.
But as she moves and evolves, a special insight occurs to me,
so I name her… “

The Fifth 2013 ALL DOLLED UP: BEADED ART DOLL COMPETITION is offering a first prize of a $1000.00 shopping spree on the Land of Odds web-site (www.landofodds.com), and a Runner-Up prize of a $400.00 shopping spree on the web-site.
Entries will be judged by a panel from The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts. These distinguished Beadwork and Jewelry Artist instructors will judge each doll based on
1. INSIGHT: The Bead Artist’s inner awareness and powers of self-expression through sculptural beadwork, particularly in terms of how well this year’s Competition theme is incorporated into the piece.
2. TECHNIQUE(S):
a. Primarily, how well a particular stitch or stitches (or any other technique for applying the beads and embellishing the doll) is (are) executed within and around the piece.
b. Secondarily, how cleverly the internal structure/form/body of the doll has been created/constructed/chosen in relation to the artist’s goals.
3. USE OF BEADS/BEADING AS ARTISTIC MEDIUM: To what extent the doll may be viewed as a work of “art”, rather than “craft”; has the artist fully utilized the power of the “bead/beading stitch” as a medium for art — an expression of color, light, tactile sense and emotion; to what degree does the piece make you want to view the doll from all sides?
4. VISUAL APPEAL: The overall visual appeal of the doll.
5. QUALITY OF WRITTEN STORY: How well the written short story enhances an appreciation of the Beaded Art Doll, as well as the Artist’s talents in design, insight and implementation.
We Need Submissions!
A Beaded Art Doll is a physical representation in three dimensions, using human figural and expressive characteristics, through the creative use and manipulation of beads. Beads are a unique art medium, allowing multidimensional surface treatment, and phenomenal opportunities for interplay among colors, light, shadow, texture and pattern. Beaded Art Dolls submitted as entries for this Competition should be immediately recognizable as a “Doll” as defined above.
That said, Beaded Art Dolls submitted as entries for this competition may be realistic, surrealistic, whimsical or imaginary. They may be humanistic, animalistic, caricatures, cartoons, impressions or abstractions. The doll may take many forms, including a figure, purse, box, vessel, puppet, marionette, or pop-up figure.
Beaded Art Dolls should be between 8” and 36” in size. The surface area of the doll must be at least 80% composed of beads.
The doll’s internal form and structure may result from many techniques, materials and strategies. The bead stitches themselves might be used to create the skeletal structure. Various forms of cloth dolls might be stitched or embellished with beads. The underlying structure might be made of polymer clay, wood, ceramic, porcelain, Styrofoam, wire, corn husk, gourd, basket weaving, yarns, cardboard, paper, cotton, or some combination of materials. It might be a found form or object.
The Artist is given wide leeway in techniques for how the doll is to be beaded, and may use one particular technique or several. Techniques, for example, may include bead weaving stitches, bead embellishment, bead appliqué, bead knitting, bead crochet, bead embroidery, lampworking. For the 80% of the surface area that must be beaded, these would NOT include the application of rhinestones, sequins, nailheads or studs. The beads may be of any size, shape, color and material. [For the remaining 20%, any material is OK, including rhinestones, sequins, nailheads or studs.]
The Artist may include a doll stand or display support with the Art Doll, though this is not a requirement. This stand or support may be an off-the-shelf piece, or created from scratch by the Artist. It may be a base, a created setting, a decorative box, or frame. The stand or display support need not be beaded.
The Artist may interpret and apply the theme “Transformations” any way she or he chooses. The Beaded Art Doll might be thought of as a plaything; or as a visual representation of a person, feeling, spirit or thing; or as a tool for teaching; or as a method for stimulating emotional development or healing.
As an object of art, the goal of the Doll should be to make a statement, evoking an emotional, cultural or social response, either by the Artist her/himself or by others.
The Doll must be an original work, and may be the work of one Artist or a Collaboration.
Dolls have been a part of human existence for many thousands of years. Whether part of a ritual or part of child’s play, dolls function as symbols for meaning. Sometimes these meanings are broad social and cultural references; other times, these meanings focus on an individual’s relationship with oneself.
ALL DOLLED UP: BEADED ART DOLL COMPETITION is more than a beauty pageant. It is a design competition. The Competition will take into account the Artist’s intentions and how well these are incorporated into the design, both in terms of the use of beads/beading, as well as the construction of the doll’s form.

The Fifth 2013 ALL DOLLED UP: BEADED ART DOLL COMPETITION is offering a first prize of a $1000.00 shopping spree on the Land of Odds web-site (www.landofodds.com), and a Runner-Up prize of a $400.00 shopping spree on the web-site.

OFFICIAL RULES

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GO VOTE! — The Ugly Necklace Contest 2010

Posted by learntobead on May 29, 2010

VOTING HAS BEGUN -
8th International 2010
The Ugly Necklace Contest
– A Jewelry Design Competition with a Twist

Click:   GO VOTE!

 One of our semi-finalists will win an almost $1,000 shopping spree on the Land of Odds website!

Who will it be?

2010 Semi-Finalists Announced
OnLine Voting ends July 15, 2010
Jane West, Pelham, Alabama
Alesia DiFederico, Southbury, Connecticut
Lynn Margaret Davy, Dorset, United Kingdom
Deborah Rubin, Rockville, Maryland
Sandy Borglum, Chicago, Illinois
Sharon Wagner, Sterling Heights, Michigan
Bonnie Scherer, Palmer, Alaska
Kimberly Allison, Escondido, California

 

Read the rules for The Ugly Necklace 2012 contest at:
www.landofodds.com/store/uglynecklace.htm
Entries due 3/15/12. Top Prize: $992.93 shopping spree on the Land of Odds website. 2012 Special Rule: Necklaces must consist 75% of beads – however, you define “beads” – and not be longer than 32”; the theme:  “From My Garden Of….” .

Posted in Contests, jewelry design, Stitch 'n Bitch | Tagged: , , , | 4 Comments »

Summer The Designers Gazette, 2010

Posted by learntobead on June 15, 2010

The Designers Gazette
Summer Issue, 2010

available on-line
CLICK HERE
http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/pdf/sg062010/summer2010pdf.pdf

To receive emailed copies of our quarterly newsletter – The Designers Gazette –, as well as occasional First Dibs Sales Announcements, go to this web-page:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/landofodds/join/

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Loom Work of Douglas Johnson

Posted by learntobead on July 1, 2010

LOOM WORK
Of Douglas Johnson
http://www.douglaswjohnson.com/index.html

The loom work of artist Douglas Johnson is breathtaking and very large.     If you’ve ever worked on a loom, creating Large pieces can be quite a challenge.   Many people sew panels together, and you can always see the seam.    Others create larger and larger looms and strategies for managing large projects.    This is what Douglas Johnson has done.

“I first came in contact with seed beads in 1970. At first I strung them into necklaces using different patterns of color. I loved the colors and was soon shown how to weave them on a loom.

Being a guitar player at the time I decided to make a guitar strap out of beads. So I built a long loom and started weaving a strip of beads to be sewn onto leather. As I was weaving this long strap, I thought it would be nice to get wilder and make a scene out of beads. Imagine a house and barn or even a little village.

So I built a loom that could hold four strips in a row, each strip was 25 beads wide (like my guitar strap) so I ended up with a piece 100 beads wide. I wove each strip separately and sewed them together when they were done.

It was not until 1990 that I figured out how to connect the rows on the loom ending up with a solid piece when taken off the loom.”

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When The Reporter Comes A-Calling…

Posted by learntobead on July 3, 2010

PUBLICITY – WHEN THE REPORTER COMES A-CALLING…

Kathryn was so very excited!    She had just finished speaking with a reporter for a local arts magazine.     He wanted to do a story about her as a jewelry artist.    The magazine was 4-color, very substantial and distributed widely in her hometown area.   Moreover, the reporter promised he’d include 5 pictures in the article.     They made an appointment to meet in the middle of next week.   And Kathryn was thrilled!

The reporter met her at her home.    She greeted him, somewhat giddy, not sure what to say, or say next.    She thought she would let him lead the conversation and interview.    She gave him a short tour of her house – her beading room, her den, her living room.   The reporter marveled at her collection of Pez dispensers and puppets.    A short time later, a photographer joined them.

After 2 hours, the reporter and photographer had left.   Kathryn was satisfied that they had seen several of her bead-woven jewelry pieces.    She felt that she had given them a good history of how she got into jewelry making.    The photographer had taken at least 20 shots of her around the house.   The article was to come out in 3 weeks.

Three weeks later, and there it was.  

A 4-color article.   In a prominent local art magazine.   About her wonderful Pez collection.   And the long staircase from the street level to the living level in her house.   And all her puppets.   And information about her moving from Connecticut to Tennessee and having lived in Georgia.   And she had three children.

And no pictures of her jewelry.  Or her bead room.   Or her making jewelry.    And no pictures, surprisingly, of her Pez collection or her puppets, given how prominently these were featured in the article.   There was a picture of her staircase.   Three pictures of her sitting on a couch or chair.   And a picture of a treasured vase, and quite beautiful.

Kathryn had thought – Now Nashville will know about my jewelry making and design prowess.  

Until she saw the article.

And knew now she’d be known for Pez dispensers.

The opportunity to get featured in a newscast or newspaper or magazine doesn’t come around often.    However, when the opportunity does knock, this can have a big and positive impact on your jewelry making business.    But you have to be prepared.    You have to remain in control – even if this leads to a little tension between you and the reporter.    

First, pre-prepare. 

Determine the 4 or 5 or so major points you want to make about yourself as a designer and about your jewelry.

No matter what questions the reporter asks, turn the conversation back to your major points.    During the interview, keep making the major points.    When the reporter returns to his notes to quote you, this will be all the material he has to draw from.

If you give a reporter a tour of your home, only take him to the jewelry-relevant points of interest.   Where you make the jewelry.    Where you display your jewelry.   Where you have people try on your jewelry.   Where you get inspiration for your jewelry.   And if there’s a photographer or cameraman there, direct and narrow their attention and focus as well.

Pre-think what will be the 5 or so most strategic pictures that should be taken.     Definitely have an “action” shot that shows you making jewelry.   Perhaps another “action” shot that shows you fitting someone with your jewelry, or them trying on your jewelry.     Have some pieces of your jewelry “staged” so that they are photo-ready, with great background, foreground and pedestal.     Don’t wait to take your jewelry out of a box to show them.    Because jewelry is made up of very small pieces, it might not photograph well.   Show the photographer the parts of your jewelry that lend themselves to detailed close-ups.

Make your points.   Get your images.

Second, set the stage.

When the reporter (and photographer or cameraman) arrives, butter them up, and find out how deep and wide their knowledge is about jewelry.   If they only have a shallow understanding, educate them.   How do you find the parts?   How do you determine how the pieces should be constructed?  Do you use specialized tools?    How does someone learn to do what you do?

Also, ask them about the “audience.”   What kinds of things do they think that their “audience” would most like to know about jewelry and jewelry design?

 

Third, before they begin, ask for tips.

If this is getting filmed, ask about how you should stand, (or sit), the direction you should look at, and any do’s and don’ts, as they see it.  

What kinds of things do they like to see/hear in an interview?

Last, when you are done, ask to get a copy.

Be sure you will be sent copies of the written articles, or DVD or video copies of any filming.   Don’t assume they will automatically send you something.

Don’t think all this will make you seem too pushy.
Remember: Everyone will be happy if the story comes out great!

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Winner and Runner-Up Announced!

Posted by learntobead on July 16, 2010

2010 8th International
The Ugly Necklace Contest
- A Jewelry Design Competition With A Twist

Winner and Runner-Up Announced!

Congratulations!

Winner
Sandy Borglum
Chicago, Illinois
“The Purple Eyesore of Texas”

 

 

RUNNER-UP
Lynn Margaret Davy
Wimborne, Dorset, United Kingdom
“Wrinkling”

It’s not easy to do Ugly!, so bravo!

To view all the final results, please visit this web-page.

The next The Ugly Necklace Contest deadline is 3/15/2012.    View the Official Rules here.

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Shoe Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on August 10, 2010

SHOE JEWELRY

The staff had been joking about shoes yesterday, and this led me to my recent online exploration of shoe jewelry.    I found a lot.

There were shoe clips and shoe lace clips.   There were anklets that were connected to the shoe itself.    There were charms in images of shoes.   And rhinestone decorated shows.    And bead decorated crocs.

Lots of things.    Here are some of what I found:

Eleven Best Shoe Jewelry Sites
(More information here: http://www.bessed.com/jewelryforshoes/)
11 of the best sites for finding jewelry made to be worn on shoes and sneakers, sometimes also known as shoe ornaments, shoe charms, shoe tags, or shoe grillz.

1.  Kickbars
http://www.kickbars.com/

Shoelace clips studded with diamonds, emeralds and other jewels, made to go with your favorite sneakers.

2.  Shoeworthy
http://www.shoeworthy.com/

Handcrafted Shoe Clips in every imaginable design and material.

3.  Jibbitz

http://www.crocs.com/jibbitz/jibbitz,default,sc.html

“Charms” to decorate your Crocs, by pushing then into the holes of  your shoes.



4.  Absolutely Audrey

http://www.absolutelyaudrey.com/

More shoe clips.

5.  Make Your Own Shoe Charms
http://www.121collection.com/product_info.php?products_id=516

Here’s your chance to decorate your Crocs with anything you can hot glue!!  These little doodads are similar to Jibbitz or any of the other crocs charms out there.  You can glue buttons, beads, or even fabric appliques to them.  Here’s a great idea:  Hit the scrapbooking store and see what you can find to glue on.

6.  Shoe Jewelry at Advantage Bridal
http://www.advantagebridal.com/shclandac.html

Shoe clips for wedding shoes.     Want a big fluffy flower, or an intrictate rhinestone pin, to clip to your bridal shoes?   Here’s the place.

7.  Shoe Spinners

http://www.icedoutgear.com/SPN239.php

Like a mini hub-cap charm to wear on the sides of your sneakers.

8.  Litter SF
http://www.littersf.com/bootstraps.html

Anklets as part of your shoeware.

9.  J.R. Dunn Jewelers
http://store.jrdunn.com/category_s/112.htm

Shoe Charms

10.  M&J Trim
http://www.mjtrim.com/Centers/Projects/29.aspx

Rhinestone decorated Flip Flops.


11.  SHINE
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/spruce-up-your-shoes-fringe-501516/
You can always add fringe to your shoes.

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New Latin American Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on August 10, 2010

“THINK AGAIN: NEW LATIN AMERICAN JEWELRY”
Exhibit at Museum of Arts and Design, New York City
Oct 12-Jan 11, 2011

This exhibit will feature the latest trends and movements through works by 50 jewelry artists, representing some 23 Latin American countries.

There is a history of relationships between jewelry worn and the culture within which it is worn.    This is as true in Latin America, as elsewhere.     So it is important to question the artist and his or her pieces, as to what the wearing of their jewelry would signify about their understanding of contemporary Latin America.

You would look at their choices of materials.  Their use of pattern, form, image and theme.    Their choices of colors.    Their techniques.

Some artists use traditional techniques and/or materials with modern references.   Others use modern techniques to express the interconnectedness of traditional and contemporary life.     Some are abstract; some literal.

There is always tremendous pressure on artists and fine craftspersons from traditional and developing societies to work within and preserve traditional images, motifs and techniques.   It is difficult to break out of and from those expectations.    Yet the artist wants to be able to express their artistic selves, their psychological, sociological and cultural beings, as members of contemporary societies that don’t bear as direct a connection with the past as outsiders would have it.

The relationships between contemporary Latin American society and traditions is much more complex today.   Will outsiders, like we in North America, ease up on these expectations, allow a contemporary jewelry artist scene to succeed?   The situation is no different than how we impose expectations upon our own contemporary Native American artists.      We make it so difficult for them to break from the past, and make some kind of living from their art, as they experience their world today.

Here are some of the Latin American artists, and images of things that might be on exhibit.

Mirla Fernandes (Brazil)
http://www.mirlafernandes.com/

Dionea Rocha Watt (Brazil)
http://dionearochawatt.blogspot.com/

Claudia Cucchi (Brazil)
http://www.klimt02.net/jewellers/index.php?item_id=5286

Valentina Rosenthal (Chile)

Elisa Gulminelli (Argentina)
http://elisagulminelli.blogspot.com/

Francisca Kweitel (Argentina)
http://www.klimt02.net/jewellers/index.php?item_id=859

Silvina Romero (Argentina)
http://silvinaromero.blogspot.com/

Jorge Manilla (Mexico)
http://www.jorgemanilla.com/

Mariana Shuk (Columbia)
http://marianashuk.com/blog/

——-

If we are to judge these pieces with the added burden of the label “LATIN AMERICAN JEWELRY”, then I’m not sure how successful most of these pieces are.     If we are to judge them as simply “Contemporary Jewelry”, then most of these are very successful.


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Murf The Surf and the Star of India Theft

Posted by learntobead on August 14, 2010

The Gem Heist of the Century

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxSbDnTeONw

For those of you who were unable to attend “The Fifth Annual Conference on Jewelry & Related Arts” held in New York in May, ASJRA presents the second in their series of jewelry history videos. The amazing heist by Murf the Surf of the gem hall at The American Museum of Natural History is a fascinating story.

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How Sparkle Enters People’s Lives

Posted by learntobead on August 31, 2010

How Sparkle Enters People’s Lives

New post under How To Bead  A Rogue Elephant.

“… And as in other situations in life, the jewelry designer must be very sensitive to how sparkle enters people’s lives.   

 

Jewelry may help people feel attached to their surroundings,     Be more aware of themselves.   Their status.  Their situation.  Their power.  Their sexuality.   Jewelry may serve to open up a whole new world for someone.   Jewelry may signify how people may safely interact, and not interact.    It may start conversations.   As well as end them.   

 

The jewelry artist designs jewelry.   She or he selects materials to use.   An order or arrangement is decided upon.  A hypothesis is formulated about how best to assemble the pieces.   And the hypothesis is put to the test.    And hopefully the finished piece is more than the sum of its parts.    Because it has to add sparkle to people’s lives.” …

 

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LOOT! 2010

Posted by learntobead on September 21, 2010

JEWELRY FUNDRAISER
For The
Museum of Art and Design

In New York City 

LOOT!2010
Oct 20-26, 2010
http://madmuseum.org/DO/Calendar/201010/loot_2010.aspx

Cutting edge jewelry designs, ranging in price between $300. and $30,000, with an average of $2700.

LOOT is MAD’s biennial juried exhibition and sale of one-of-a-kind contemporary art jewelry, created by acclaimed American and international artists. This year’s event – the first LOOT in the new 2 Columbus Circle Galleries — will be held October 20th- 26th. It will open with a Gala evening preview on Wednesday, October 20th to benefit the Museum’s exhibition and education programs.

A full weekend of programs will accompany the exhibition and sale in the second floor design galleries including curatorial lectures, panel discussions with experts and designers, artists’ talks and workshop demonstrations in the MAD artists’ studios. Special family focused hands-on workshops will be held on the weekend.

For further information please contact Rebekka Grossman at 212.299.7712 or rebekka.grossman@madmuseum.org.

The exhibition and sale continue from Thursday, October 21 to Tuesday, October 26 during regular museum hours.  LOOT will also be open on Monday, October 25 from 11am – 6pm.

Whether you can attend this fund raiser, here are some of the types of pieces you might see.

Emerging Dutch artists

 

Beppe Kessler
http://www.beppekessler.nl/

 

Iris Nieuwenburg
http://www.droog.com/aboutus/designers/iris-nieuwenburg/

 

 

 

 

 

Truike Verdegaal
http://www.truikeverdegaal.com/

 

 

Native American Artists

Gail Bird and Yazzie Johnson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gail_Bird_and_Yazzie_Johnson

 

Richard Chavez

http://collectionsouthwest.com/html/rchavezpage01.html

 

Verma Nequatewa

http://www.americanmastersofstone.com/Biographies/Verma%20Nequatewa.htm

Charles Loloma
http://www.americanmastersofstone.com/Biographies/Charles%20Loloma.htm

Other Emerging Contemporary Jewelry Artists

Pat Flynn
http://www.patflynninc.com/

Jennifer Trask
http://www.jennifertrask.com/Site/Home.html

Anastasia Azure
http://www.anastasiaazure.com/

Jocelyn Kolb

http://dailyartmuse.com/2009/09/04/jocelyn-kolb-computer-aided-design-jewelry/

Giorgio Vigna

http://www.giorgiovigna.com/

Kiwon Wang

http://www.kiwanwang.com/

 

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Your Personal Style

Posted by learntobead on September 21, 2010

Your Personal Style

It’s always important to develop a personal style within your jewelry creations.   Something that helps people recognize that the jewelry was made by you, and not someone else.   A signature, or signifying element.

This can be a certain choice of colors.   It can be the addition of a special bead to each piece, or special dangle, or special tag.    It can be the use of a custom made clasp.    Or a certain style of construction.  Or the use of certain images, forms or motifs.

Carolyn Morris Bach is a jewelry artist from southern New England.     She has a very strong signature motif she uses:   tiny creatures with solemn or half-smiling, ovoid or moon-shaped faces carved from ivory or gemstones and the like.   Her pieces are mythical and allegorical, yet very contemporary.

She makes it very easy to associate her pieces with her.     This, in marketing terms, is a kind of branding.    When people see these motifs and styles, they automatically begin to associate the jewelry with Carolyn Morris Bach — even if someone else had created the piece.

Here are some of her pieces:

The piece above would be beautiful without the owl.    Or the “owl” element did not have to be a bird motif per se, but could have been anything.     By making that element an owl, and styling the owl as she did, her jewelry comes with her signature.   That’s important for all jewelry designers to do.

You can visit her website:
http://www.carolynmorrisbach.com/

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Jelly Bellies

Posted by learntobead on September 22, 2010

Jelly Bellies – Vintage Jewelry

Lots of people collect vintage jewelry today.    One of the most collectible vintage piece is known as a Jelly Belly.

Jelly Bellies are an animal made out of sterling or vermeil, with a carved piece of lucite for its belly.    It is rumoured that the lucite came from old airplane windshields.

A lucite belly is more valuable than a glass belly.   A clear lucite is better than a colored belly.

You can usually find these at next to nothing.   They resell for hundreds of dollars.

The first jelly bellies made have been made as early as 1938.  Most were made between 1943 and 1945, and set in sterling or vermeil.  Sterling was rationed and very expensive during these war years, so adding a piece of Lucite to the design made it possible to produce large, eye-catching designs. After the war and into the 1950’s they were made in base metals, but all of them are delightful!

Many costume jewelry manufacturers used the Jelly Bellies which means some are marked and some are not, but most famous are the Trifari and Corocraft sterling designs, which incorporated fantastic design with breathtaking quality of materials and craftsmanship.

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Another Collectible Vintage Jewelry Artist

Posted by learntobead on September 22, 2010

Theodor Fahrner
Another Collectible Vintage Jewelry Artist

Fahrner created sterling with gemstone, crystal, or rhinestones, pieces of jewelry in the 1910′s and 1920′s in Germany.    His style varied a bit from avante garde-art nouveau-art deco to more traditional styles.

Fahrner is an example of a big enterprise jeweler.    He patented several processes for mechanically or partially-mechanically reproducing jewelry.    While he designed jewelry himself, he also worked with jewelry artists all over Germany, and reproduced their designs under the Fahrner label.

His jewelry is associated with high quality workmanship.   He tended to avoid flowery and lacey forms within his pieces, because these would be difficult to mass produce.

Fahrner died in 1919, but his “label” continued until 1945.

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Artisan Eco Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on September 22, 2010

Lionel Aubert
Artisan Eco Jewelry

It is truly amazing what kinds of jewelry can be made from wood and other similar natural materials, encrusted with gemstones held in place by the force and shape of the wood.    No glue or prongs here.

Posted in jewelry design | Tagged: , , | 2 Comments »

Combining The Wearable With The Theatrical

Posted by learntobead on September 22, 2010

Michael Zobel
Combining the wearable with the theatrical

http://www.atelierzobel.com/

Can you the artist ever be appropriately flamboyant, sensitively flaming, “out-there” yet still “in-here”?

Michael Zobel is an artist known for his dramatic works.    How successful do you think he has been, walking that line between wearable and costume?

What does it mean to walk that line?

Something showy?

Something evocative?

Something which shows the materials (metals and stones) off in unusual ways?

Something that has your friends running towards you, rather than away from you?

I find it interesting that the many pieces he has on display seem much more dramatic than the pieces he has on his website for sale.      What does this observation mean, when thinking how dramatic to get with your own pieces?

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THE DESIGNERS’ GAZETTE, Fall 2010

Posted by learntobead on November 10, 2010

Read the current issue of:

THE DESIGNERS GAZETTE
Fall, 2010

http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/pdf/fg111510/fall2010pdf.pdf

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Beads Display No Powers Here

Posted by learntobead on November 17, 2010

Beads Display No Powers Here

I visited Vietnam this fall for about 3 weeks.    Somewhat to my surprise, I didn’t get the eyes-wide-open response to the Czech cut glass beads I had brought with me.

Outside Da Nang, we visited a farming village.    We went to a school.   I had brought some loose Czech cut glass beads to give away.    I handed some of the children some beads, and they were clueless.    They at first thought they were food.   I put one in each child’s hand, and held their hands up to the light.    But nothing.    No sense of excitement about the colors.    No sense of the bead.

I met a grandmother with 2 grandchildren, and tried to give the grandmother a bead.    Same thing – blank stare.   Put the bead in her hand, and held her hand up to the light.   Nothing.   She tried to give it to her grandchild, but I told her it was for her.    Such a different reaction to beads that I’ve found most other places.

I knew ahead of time that Vietnamese do not have a jewelry culture.   They don’t wear jewelry, and haven’t in their past.   They have few beads historically, and what beads have been found, were found in the Champa culture, which had originally settled the central part of the country.

But it is interesting that the Vietnamese sell strands of pearls and gemstones, as well as some beaded necklaces, to tourists.     At two stores in Saigon, one in a market, and one more established boutique, both of which sold jewelry made with beads, I tried to have a conversation about beads.    I drew pictures.  I explained how stringing beads creates a necklace or bracelet.    Blank looks.   I showed them the beaded strands of pearls and gemstones they sell, and they see these as “necklaces”, not “strands of beads”.    I showed one of them a bead-embellished scarf.     This made the concept of “beads” a little clearer for her, but she still saw the piece holistically as decoratively embellished, rather than something made up of individual beads.

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Edges, Fringes, Straps, Surface Embellishment

Posted by learntobead on November 19, 2010

Edges, Fringes, Straps, Surface Embellishments
Should these be Critical to the piece,
or, merely Supplemental?

In our Bead Study group, (full discussion notes posted here) we began a unit on learning what I call “turns of the needle” techniques.   These are small, bead-woven  shapes and forms that you make with seed beads and needle and thread.   You can adapt these shapes and forms to use as edging, surface embellishment, straps and fringes.

Classical art theory would say that these kinds of elements in jewelry should be supplemental to the core piece, such as a pendant.    The pendant is “art”, and any fringe, strap, edging or extraneous surface embellishment would merely supplement this.

In painting, these kinds of components would equate with the “frame.”   In sculpture, these kinds of components would equate with the “pedestal base.”  Neither the frame nor the pedestal should be required to appreciate the painting or sculpture as art.    Nor should these detract.  Or compete.   Or take center stage.  Or overwhelm.

If our goal is to elevate beadwork and jewelry to the realm of art, rather than craft, we need somehow to accommodate, confront or revise this concept which is central in art theory, if we don’t agree that edges, fringes, straps, and extra surface embellishment are as important to the jewelry as it’s core.

Should these be supplemental, or complimental, or incidental, or critical to jewelry?

Is adornment and embellishment “art”?

What makes a piece of jewelry an “art” piece?

Is there a design element to creating fringes, edges, straps and surface embellishment?     That is, are there a set of principles that we can follow and share, so that we don’t over-do, or don’t compete with the central part of any piece of jewelry?    Are there a set of rules of construction that we can learn and adapt?

What is the value of decoration?     What principles regulate this?

Ornament Magazine , one of my favorites, uses the image below in their promotional materials.    I love this piece as is, but, based on our bead group discussions, the piece begs the question whether the fringing and straps are helpful or hurtful to the core piece.   Appropriate or inappropriate?   Dragging jewelry back to a craft-base, or elevating jewelry into an art-form?

What do you think?

The discussion continues here.

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Natural Materials and Embedded Gemstones

Posted by learntobead on December 1, 2010

Natural Materials and Embedded Gemstones

More of Lionel Aubert’s Work

 

After posting some of Lionel Aubert’s jewelry, he wrote me, and sent me more images of his pieces, which I share here.

Lionel wrote:

Passionate about gem stones, I realized that nobody had encrusted gemstones from natural materials without glue. So I developed my work and creativity on this combination of materials. I created this embedding method in order to propose new jewelry and objects that are innovative, not by the material but by their marriage. The idea of embedding gemstones with no glue is unique. It is made from natural materials like wood, bamboo, horn, seeds, bones, etc..

 

 



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nOir Jewelry – Capturing a Fantastic Style

Posted by learntobead on December 2, 2010

nOir Jewelry – Capturing a Fantastic Style
www.noirjewelry.com
blog.noirjewelry.com

nOir Jewelry is a phenomenal hit among the celebrity set, and a visit to their website shows you why.     Fantastic, imaginary pieces.

Leeora Catalan is the owner and designer of this 14 year old company.    She produces jewelry that is glamourous, fun and edgy at the same time.    She has produced special pieces for various clothing designers, musicians and actors.

From a marketing standpoint, how do you capture the excitement and thrill her pieces generate?

Let’s look at some of her pieces, and then look at one of her marketing ads, and compare.

 

 

 

And now the promotional ad:

 

Now, I’ve only presented a sample of her pieces, so it may not be fair to compare what I’ve shown to the ad-copy.     However, to me, the ad seems to showcase nOir as art deco jewelry.    But it seems to be so much more than that.    Her jewelry has power and artistry beyond deco.

What do you think?   How would you begin to get ahold of noir jewelry, from a marketing and ad-copy perspective?

With or without the marketing, it’s clear that Talent has found Talent.


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The Silver Jewelry of Oman

Posted by learntobead on December 2, 2010

The Silver Jewelry of Oman


Oman has a very rich and distinctive jewelry tradition. Due to the nation’s long history of seafaring and trade, many influences of other cultures can be seen in Omani jewelry. Oman in particular traded with India and the Golden Triangle: trading partners whose influence is still visible in Omani jewelry today. Many Omani anklets and bracelets are reminiscent of Indian jewelry. A specific type of Omani necklace clearly derives from the jewelry of the Hmong tribes in the Golden Triangle.

 

The jewelry is characteristic of traditional, nomadic societies, but with special touches, techniques and motifs, with all the influences from the outside world.

The use of coins or ‘umla’ is widespread throughout the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. Issued by an official mint long before the introduction of silver hallmarks, coins were an indication of an established and guaranteed silver content.   Two coins that both possess a high silver content and are of consistently good quality, proved to be of major importance in the nomadic societies of the Middle East, and indeed in the economical landscape of the entire world. They are the Spanish columnario or pillar dollar, and the Austrian Maria Theresia Thaler.

Originally, Bedouin and traditional jewelry did not carry hallmarks; the region’s jewelry tradition predates their use, as well as modern state boundaries. As each piece of jewelry was individually ordered from a silversmith, the amount of silver to be used was carefully discussed, weighed and paid for. To establish the correct amount of silver, the material was balanced against a known amount of silver, for example a set of coins such as the Maria Theresia Thaler.

At around the beginning of the twentieth century, most countries adopted an official hallmarking system. For a very long time, existing pieces of jewelry were marked only when they were sold; their exact value only needed to be established at the moment of sale. To illustrate its value, an item of jewelry usually displayed its silver stamp on the outside, where it would be most visible.

One of jewelry’s most important functions is to reveal the status of the wearer. If a husband gives jewelry to his wife it shows respect. Jewelry can also indicate social status, or the religious group to which the wearer belongs.

 

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Natural Combinations of Amber and Jet

Posted by learntobead on December 2, 2010

Natural Combinations of Amber and Jet

In many traditional cultures, the religious, the mystical, the magical, the royalty wore jewelry that consisted of combinations of amber and jet.     These natural fossils were believed have special qualities and powers, and when used together, even moreso.

Amber is fossilized tree sap.   Amber flowed from pine trees that flourished 50 to 60 million years ago.    Most amber comes from either the Dominican Republic, the Baltic area of Poland and Russia, and China.

Amber is one of the oldest substances used for jewelry.    In ancient times, it was prized as “solid sunlight”, and believed to have many of the sun’s properties.

Image above from Thyme2dreamwww.thyme2dream.com ),  blog: www.thyme2dream.blogspot.com from her Mabon Collection (http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?sterm=mabon&sub1=SEARCH&name=Shop&op=new&seller_id=10747&sort_cats=0&sc_id=0)
Amber comes in a wide range of colors.    The colors often are called food names.   We have cherry amber, custard, butterscotch, butter, caramel, egg-yolk, tomato, honey, cognac, orange, fatty, and cream.   There is also green amber and blue amber, tiger amber, black-and-white amber, blonde and white.

There are some simple tests to determine if your amber is genuine.   One is that you take a hot needle and touch it to the maber.    There should be a faint piney smell.   Another, rubbing amber with a soft cloth will often cause it to give off an electrical spark, and attract a very light object like a feather.   Yet another is a salt flotation test.  Place several tablespoons of salt in a glass of water, and float a piece of amber in it.   Amber floats; glass and plastic sinks.

Jet is the fossilized remains of trees.    It was often called “black amber”.    Jet comes in different softnesses, so some is less durable than others.   Jet from lignite coal is the softest, while that from anthracite coal is the hardest.   Jet became very popular during Victorian times in England for use in mourning jewelry.

Jet is easily confused with glass.  There is only one test.  First,wear safety goggles.    Take a single jet bead and suspend it from a wire, and hold it over a flame with a a pair of pliers.     Genuine jet will smoke and often turn white at the edges, while plastic will melt and glass will simply explode.

Image above from Thyme2dream ( www.thyme2dream.com ),  blog:www.thyme2dream.blogspot.com from her Mabon Collection(http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?sterm=mabon&sub1=SEARCH&name=Shop&op=new&seller_id=10747&sort_cats=0&sc_id=0)

Jet is more likely than glass to display tiny cracks and scratches, or to be irregularly faceted, and to feel lighter and warmer to the touch.    Jet is a generic term in jewelry, so buying “jet” is always something of a risk.   French Jet is glass.  Austrian jet is glass crystal.   Bakelite jet is a plastic.

The “magical union” between amber and jet dates from ancient times.   It probably represented the union between light and dark, yin and yang, female and male — dualities.

The combination of amber and jet is believed, by many magicians and witches, to be the only combination of stones that gives a full spectrum of electrical energies, from positive to negative.

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Grape Cluster Earrings

Posted by learntobead on December 4, 2010

Grape Cluster Earrings

This is a good 2nd project for beginner earring makers, after making simple dangles using head pins.     Instead of head pins as the “skeleton”, you would use a piece of cable chain as the “skeleton”.

Here are simple instructions how:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5591811_make-grape-cluster-earrings.html

 

 

Use your imagination.     You can make these into necklaces.   You can make them bushier, or more spare.    You can leave part of the chain showing, and dangle only from the end, or dangle intermittently up the chain.

 

 

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Vicente Gracia

Posted by learntobead on December 4, 2010

Vicente Gracia
http://vicentegraciajoyas.com/


One of Spains leading contemporary jewelers.

See a videos of his studio and jewelry on his website above.   Click on the link for ART, and wait a few seconds for a slideshow.   Click on the link for SHOWROOM and play the video.

 

 

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THE COMMUNITY CROW

Posted by learntobead on December 16, 2010

THE COMMUNITY CROW
A message from David Chatt

David Chatt recently sent out an email calling attention to his current project, and requesting financial support.

This project and this process for finding support of one’s creative self are fascinating.    We have a professional campaign for personal philanthropy.   We have a coordinated marketing effort with an email campaign and a facebook presence.

I wanted to share this with you.      You may want to make a worthy donation to his cause.     You may also want to learn from his successes.

David wrote:

 

Hello,
At some point in the past  you expressed interest in what I have been doing, specifically about my writing a book.  Well for the past three years I’ve been living in North Carolina doing an artist residency at Penland School of Crafts.  I am now working on a large finale piece.  a 2000 pound window for the front of my house. I am going to be blogging  and posting on Facebook about it as I make progress. I invite you to become a fan of the Community Crow by joining my fan page on Facebook.   I am including a link to a video I have done to introduce this project… fair warning, United States Artists, where you will find this video and a link to my blog, is helping me to raise money for this project.  Fear not, while I am welcoming all donations, you need not feel obliged, and I welcome your interest whether it comes with a donation or just good wishes.  I hope this finds you well.

 

You can find some more requests from other artists, craftspersons and performance artists for “Personal Philanthropy” on this web-page:

http://www.unitedstatesartists.org/projects

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Paul Flato Hollywood Whimsical Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on December 19, 2010

Paul Flato – Hollywood Whimsical Jewelry

Paul Flato, who died at 98 in 1999, was known as the Jeweler To The Stars.    In the 1930′s and 1940′s, he brought European styling to costume and fine jewelry, and added some Hollywood whimsical touches.

He grew up in Texas near the King Ranch, in a well-to-do family.   He began making jewelry and bejeweled saddles there.

After a stint at The University of Texas at Austin, Flato moved to Manhattan and attended Columbia University, then spent several years working for jewelers before he went into business for himself, opening a boutique on 57th Street.

He advertised in VogueHarper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair; hosted lavish jewelry fashion shows; had a booth at the 1939 World’s Fair; and soon sold his extravagant jewels to Brenda Frazier, Doris Duke, Norma Shearer, Katharine Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich, Millicent Rogers, Linda and Cole Porter, and dukes and duchesses.

His genius lay in eccentric assemblages and unlikely color combinations of stones that were theatrical and conceptual.

n 1938, Flato opened a store on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood at the urging of George Cukor and designed jewels for the movie Holiday with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Then came five more motion pictures: Hired WifeThat Uncertain FeelingBlood and SandTwo-Faced Woman and The Lady is Willing.

Perhaps you’ve seen some of these pieces of jewelry from old movies and fashion magazines.

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Beading For Children Focuses The Mind

Posted by learntobead on January 3, 2011

Beading for Children Focuses The Mind

Cherly McMahan of the Icenhower Intermediate School, Mansifield ISD, in Arlington, Texas, shared this article she recently wrote.   The article was about Instructions for children’s beading projects for use in project based learning and therapy for children with autism.

http://knol.google.com/k/cheryl-mcmahan/just-bead-it/1bvwxgiggyj0d/25#view

I thought you would enjoy reading it.

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VOTE FOR ME

Posted by learntobead on January 20, 2011

VOTE FOR ME

I entered my jewelry work in a contest called ARTISTS WANTED: A YEAR IN REVIEW. There are many judging levels to the contest. One of them is a public review. The public is asked to judge and rate the collection online. If you have the opportunity, I would appreciate if you would visit the website. At the top right corner, are a five star rating system, with 5 as the highest score. Voting ends around February 8th.

Go to:
http://www.artistswanted.org/oddsshop

Thanks — Warren

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Legacy of Atelier Janiye

Posted by learntobead on January 27, 2011

Fuller Craft Museum Presents The Legacy of Atelier Janiye and the Legacy of Master Jeweler Miye Matsukata

The Fuller Craft Museum in Boston presents The Legacy of Atelier Janiye and the Legacy of Master Jeweler Miyé Matsukata celebrating the work and legacy of Boston-based jewelry artist Miyé Matsukata (1922–1981).

This exhibition open January 22, 2011 – July 24, 2011, presents together for the first time a retrospective selection of Matsukata’s work, alongside the work of her colleagues Nancy Wills Michel, Alexandra Solowij Watkins, and Yoshiko Yamamoto.

Atelier Janiye is a jewelry design house, representing goldsmiths who excel in manipulating the metal into very naturalistic and organic forms.     Their pieces are associated with fine craftsmanship.    Each artist has a very strong sense of style.

Miye Matukata (1922-1991)

Born in Japan, lived in Boston.   In 1968, Miyé Matsukata said, “I would like to maintain a spirit of design that is quiet and free. I feel metal can have a life if it has motion and less rigid confines.” With the layering of fluid shapes, this bracelet assumes the lightness she hoped to achieve.

Nancy Willis Michel

Alexander Solowij Watkins

Yoshiko Yamamoto

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Ornella Ianuzzi

Posted by learntobead on January 27, 2011

Ornella Ianuzzi

http://www.ornella-iannuzzi.com/

Cosmic Mushroom Brooch

Ianuzzi is a french jewelry artist inspired by nature, fascinated with art nouveau, intrigued by the growth patterns of natural minerals.

Take Care of Me Pendant

She likes to experiment with electrolysis process which allows metals to grow into various organic shapes and textures.

Eruption Ring

She combines minerals, which are compounds found in living things, with vegetal elements, to create wonderfully organic shapes and forms.

On The Rock Ring

Each of her pieces are hand carved.

Magnum Opus In Crucible Earrings

Christmas in the Alps

Eruption Brooch

Waterfall

rings

Rooted Memories Cuff

Necklace

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ador(n)ed

Posted by learntobead on February 9, 2011

ador(n)ed

Museum of Contemporary Craft

February 3 – March 12

Exhibit of new jewelry by: Baharal-Gnida, April Higashi, Christy Klug, Erica Schlueter and Jan Smith


 

Each of these jewelry artists have established themselves in unique ways. With studios that span the country, The Gallery presents a collection of high-caliber jewelry tied together by geometric forms and eye-catching focal pieces. With a range of styles and techniques there is something for everyone, including oxidized silver, bouton pearls, felt accents, and non-precious metals like copper and steel.

It’s well-worth a visit to each of these artists (above) website to check out their artistry and craftsmanship.


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The Designers Gazette, Winter 2011

Posted by learntobead on February 9, 2011

Winter, 2011, Designers Gazette

READ THE FULL ISSUE ONLINE

CLICK HERE http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/pdf/wg021511/winter2011pdf.pdf

 

Ice, Snow, Pause. A yearning for regeneration. A time to reflect the sun’s rays back upon the elemental components, the icicly-dangling drops, the whites and grays and blacks, the gaps of color, texture and pattern between each bead and within each negative-space. The cold touch of gemstone, glass and crystal. A time to jump cliffs and rebound with newfound energy. Feel your jewelry as it comes alive. And let yourself transform these winter days into creative splendor.

 

- On the blog

- Huib Petersen Workshops

- Sherry Serafini Workshops

- First Dibs Sale at Land of Odds

- Beaders’ Circle

- Bead Study Notes

- Downloadable project: Square Stitch Garden Walk Bracelet


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Margie Deeb’s New Color Report

Posted by learntobead on February 27, 2011

Margie Deeb’s
Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers
Spring/Summer 2011
www.margiedeeb.com

Margie Deeb is a very prolific color artist and jewelry designer.    She has written many books, and puts out many articles, including her Color Reports.     These are for sale on her website.

In her periodic Color Reports, she discusses the current fashion colors, how to combine and match them in jewelry designs.

I was particularly struck by the piece on her cover.     This piece was done by Jamie Cloud Eakin called “Garden Party.”   I think it’s a brilliant example of contemporary jewelry art.

The color choices — a green turquoise, a blue turquiose, and a antique rose work well together.

Her placement of each color, and the proportions of each color are spot on.

The style of the piece — what is called a “jewelry profile” — is very contemporary.     We basically have an oversized pendant hung close to the neck like a choker.     You see this style widely in New York and California, and on the soap operas and news casters on TV.      It’s been an evolving style for about 5 years now, but has not really caught on in the rest of the country.

In our bead studies classes, we refer to the general style as wearing a sign around your neck.    And I think that’s one reason the style hasn’t spread widely.     Often, the pendant’s relationship to the strap is poorly designed, and so the piece looks like someone is wearing a sign around their neck.

But Jamie’s piece solves this problem wonderfully.    I think many factors are operating here:   The incline along the top, making the one side of the strap hang higher than the other.   Her incorporation of the antique rose color in the one side of the strap at the bottom.    The strap on one side is single, and on the other side, it is 3-stranded.

The piece is somewhat asymmetrical, yet very balanced.       Jamie has clearly made something noteworthy out of the ordinary.

The piece has movement, and it has dimensionality.      These are very important components of contemporary jewelry design.

Last, with turquoise or turquoise and red, you often end up with something very strongly associated with the Southwest US.     If you don’t want the viewer to interpret your piece that way, it’s difficult with these colors.     I think Jamie has succeeded here, as well.

This is a superbly designed piece.    I suggest that everyone study its details closely.

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On the more avant garde side with CoutureLab

Posted by learntobead on March 1, 2011

On the more avant garde side with
CoutureLab
www.couturelab.com

 

“Avant-garde” means at the leading edge or vanguard.   It is a label associated with jewelry that is more experimental, more innovative, cutting edge, resonant.    There is something witty or unusual.    There is something that gets people talking about the pieces.

CoutureLab represents an ever-evolving stable of avant-garde jewelry artists.    These are artists that other jewelry artists and galleries talk about.     They sell to upper end clients who want to associate with the hip and new and artsy.

While you may not personally want to be “avant-garde”, an exploration of these artists’ works is a great learning experience.    You learn about color combinations, balances and proportions.   You learn about new jewelry profiles — that is, how to shape jewelry relative to a person’s body.   You learn new techniques of construction, new materials, and combinations of these things.     Viewing the works of these kinds of jewelry artists is a great way to stimulate new ideas within your own work.

It is also useful to explore some more of the “details.”   Visit the CoutureLab website, and look at the prices for the artists’ works.    In your mind, determine how the price might relate to the amount of work and the cost of materials.   How much of the price might relate to the artists’ reputation?   In some cases, there seems to be a good match between price and object.   In other cases, some prices are rather low, and you wonder how the artist can make a living selling jewelry.    In the CoutureLab website, very few pieces, to me, seem over-priced.

Another good research -exploration is to examine the jewelry artist’s website.  How is it organized?   Is there an excessive use of black backgrounds and flash-utilities (allows movement, almost like watching a slide show or movie)?   A black background makes the text hard to read.   Flash looks fantastic, but the average customer’s computer often locks up, because of flash utilities.   Is the information organized well?   How about the navigation within the site?    Do the images sufficiently convey the details about the pieces?    How distinctive and memorable is the website?

Also do a Google search on the artists name.    Ideally, you would want the artist’s website to be at the top of the search list.    When it doesn’t appear at or very near the top, you need to wonder about the artist and their long term survival.

Here are some of my favorite artists currently represented by CoutureLab.

 

Alexis Mabille
www.alexismabille.com

COUTURELAB: “A graduate from the houses of Ungaro, Ricci and Dior, the couturier fuses his playful imagination and technical affinity to create a joyful and dynamic universe.  … What adventures will you attract in Alexis’s “Black Mischief” art-deco style necklace? Faceted black crystals – precisely graded in size – hang in delicate suspension, catching the light with your every move. Emerald and round-cut crystals, claw-set in lustrous white metal, form the complementing cluster at the top of the pendant; a silvery hoop with ornate hook clasp secures the piece around your neck.

Black Mischief Necklace by Alexis Mabille

 

Ann Demeulemeester
http://www.anndemeulemeester.be/

COUTURELAB: “As part of the Antwerp Six Anne Demeulemeester was responsible for creating a radical new vision for fashion in the 1980′s. The strong sense of innovation and creativity inherent in her work means her designs still look fresh and has a strong sense of appeal in current times.  …With this silver plates bracelet, Demeulemeester has taken simple polished silver rectangles and worked them in to a stunning piece which fuses armour and accessories, the silver plates have a brushed surface which has a subtly shiny finish. Each plate has a fluted edge linked by small polished silver circles and the bracelet fastens with an innovative clasp where one plate slots through another and is secured with an oversize clasp.”

Silver Plates Bracelet by Ann Demeulemeester

Bea Valdes
http://www.beavaldes.com/

COUTURELAB: “For Bea Valdes, each piece is an exploration and the material her muse – the sway of glass drops, the sheen and shine of metals, ribbon’s sensual embrace. Hand-made in the designer’s native Philippines, these painstakingly conceived and executed compositions stand testament to her philosophy of ‘Just one bead at a time’.   …A beautiful combination of grey, green and beige beads and crystals, Bea’s “Hannibal” Necklace adds luxurious glamor to your outfit. Beige enamel drops and a beautifully carved olive-green skull lie between the dazzling oval and pear-shaped crystals in shades of green and grey. The necklace is edged with tiny beads to ensure a dynamic display against your skin or outfit. A chain of brass-effect links closes the circle. Use the extender section to adjust the necklace’s length, then secure with the lobster-claw clasp. For a comfortable fit, the whole main assembly is backed with fabric-covered padding; flexible construction contours the design closely to your body. ”

Hannibal Necklace by Bea Valdes

COUTURELAB: “Select Bea’s asymmetrical Green “Sprawl” Necklace for its avant-garde charisma. Dazzling beads and crystals in shades of green and gold – round-cut, pear-shaped and tubular – group to form clusters connected through metal chains in brass-effect. Pear-shaped crystals hang suspended from the cluster. A chain of metal links closes the circle. Use the extender section to adjust the necklace’s length, then secure with the lobster-claw clasp. For a comfortable fit, the whole main assembly is backed with fabric-covered padding; flexible construction contours the design closely to your body.”

Green Sprawl Necklace by Bea Valdes

 

Christian Lacroix
http://www.christian-lacroix.fr/

 

COUTURELAB: “A beautiful display of subtle jewels and antique golds, this piece is mesmerizing. Featuring a rustic, sculpted finish, the gilded chain pendant is encrusted with amber-colored gems. Christian Lacroix gives equal value to his accessories and jewelry line: “I give a lot of care and attention to shoes, bags and jewelry because they define a posture, an overall look – they are as important to me as clothes”. It is this attention to detail that makes each one of his pieces, whether large or small, a handcrafted work of art.”

Antique Golden Necklace by Christian Lacroix

COUTURELAB: “Truly unique, this golden bejeweled piece is mesmerizing. Sculpted to a rustic finish with a chunky chain necklace, the gilded keepsake pendant is encrusted with amber-colored gems and stones and adorned with draping delicate chains.”

Keepsake Necklace by Christian Lacroix

Delfina Delettrez
http://delfinadelettrez.com/

COUTURELAB: “Italian designer Delfina Delettrez is renowned for her skill in melding unusual and exotic materials, to create character pieces full of charm. Infused with romance and the macabre, these pieces reflect your strength of personality and stylish wit.  Delfina’s Brown Wudu Necklace has a raw tribal quality to its design. Set on a rich black leather necklace is a woven bib section containing rows of grinning skulls carved from sumptuous silver and glossy bone with fringed soft suede tassels. The unique materials complement each other and create this edgy statement piece which will add a strong accent to the simplest of outfits.”

Brown Wudu Necklace by Delfina Delettrez

 

COUTURELAB:   “With these Orgy earrings she has created a range of sensual statement pieces guaranteed to be a talking point. Wear Delfina Delettrez’s Orgy Earrings for their bold statement. Each piece is carved from exquisite silver, featuring the couple in a different position. Combined with the risqué motifs, these stunning earrings create a heady mix of Kama Sutra and couture, making them extremely covetable.”

Orgy Earrings by Delfina Delettrez

 

Eileen Coyne
http://eileencoyne.com/

COUTURELAB: “Mesmerizing reflections and refractions, colorways and constructions, surfaces and textures – these are the raw materials for Eileen Coyne’s alchemy. From her London atelier, the designer creates jewelry, kaftans and precious-skin belts inspired by the aesthetics of ethnic peoples around the world. Make the primal charisma of Eileen’s agate and boar’s tusk necklace your own. Spherical and egg-shaped agate beads array with carved and contoured pillars of blackened silver to form seven interwoven ropes. At one end, these are fixed to an arc of boar’s tusk, its exquisitely grained surface festooned with textured silver. At the other end, the ropes attach to a rough-hewn silver ingot which hooks onto the tusk to close the circle around your neck.”

Agate & Boars Tusk Necklace by Eileen Coyne

Erickson Beamon
http://www.ericksonbeamon.com/

COUTURELAB: “Erickson Beamon’s eclectic take on costume jewelry makes their pieces a must have for the fashion cognoscenti. They effortlessly mix materials to create stunning statement pieces which enhance any outfit. Their designs reference everything from current style to Bedouin souks ensuring each has a rich individual charm.  Choose Erickson Beamon’s eye-catching Gold Body Harness for its striking allure. The chain of plated base metal links is beautifully crafted to wrap delicately around your body, adding instant charisma to your look. The antique gold effect adds a luxurious shine and makes this an extremely covetable piece.”

Gold Body Harness by Erickson Beamon

Fernando Jorge
http://fernandojorge.co.uk

COUTURELAB: “Taking inspiration from the rich and varied concepts of body, gender and sexuality found in the culture of his home country, Brazilian-born Fernando Jorge exploits the blurry crossover between stereotypes and identity. His designs focus on Brazil’s association with sensuality, perpetuated through ‘the foreign eye’, the one that registers only what is different. The results are his elegant and ambiguously provocative pieces, translating the latent sensuality associated with his vibrant country.  Add sensuality and luster to your look with Fernando Jorge’s Fluid Neckpiece. The fluid 18 carat yellow gold chains delicately drape around six bespoke milky quartz in stunning asymmetry. This neckpiece beautifully sprawls over your body with its exquisite long gold chains.”

Fluid Necklace by Fernando Jorge

 

Lotus Arts De Vivre
http://www.lotusartsdevivre.com


COUTURELAB: “Into your life, Lotus Arts de Vivre brings objects of outlandish beauty inspired by the flora, fauna and legends of south-east Asia. Rather than mass produced to meet a pre-prepared design, each piece is hand-crafted in Thailand to observe and enhance the unique forms and traits of the natural materials that comprise it. Fabulous sea shells and coral, rare animal skins, hulks of ancient wood, jungle seed pods, precious and semi-precious gems – no two examples exactly alike – are honed and combined to make jewelry, accessories and home-wares beyond compare. Machine working is minimal. Instead, teams of artisans deploy traditional decorative skills – all but extinct beyond the region – to invest each creation with timeless fascination and eternal value.   Wrap your wrist in the electrifying embrace of Lotus Arts de Vivre’s dragon bracelet. Sections of precious ebony wood, and silver rings plated with radiant 9K rose gold and encrusted with rubies, interface to form this spectacular circuit; silver is hand carved and coated with gold to form the fantastical creature’s head. Elastic wire, invisibly threaded through the centre of the piece, allows it to flex for an exact and comfortable fit.”

Dragon Bracelet by Lotus Arts De Vivre

 

 

Vicente Gracia
http://vicentegraciajoyas.com/

COUTURELAB: “Own for yourself the transcendent charisma of jewels by Spain’s Vicente Gracia. Through his work, this multi-award winning designer seeks to re-engender the original symbolic meanings of gemstones as a bridge to the divine. Vicente’s native city, Valencia – its ancient traditions, myths and environs – and metaphysical sources, including sacred literature and symbolic art, are his inspirations. Ranked by Vogue as one of the world’s 20 most prestigious jewellers, Vicente conjures investment pieces that radiate an exquisite joy. Each of his creations for CoutureLab is a unique one-off.   Vicente’s “Ascenso Celestial” (“Heavenly Ascent”) necklace is set to guild you with a unique charisma. Coursing your collar is a dense and flexing mesh of fine silver links gathered at each end into shimmering cups. Across this lattice, four fantastical birds are exquisitely carved from sterling silver, embellished with rose, black and white enamel, and pave-set with sparkling diamond accents. Scattered across and trailing beneath are ribbons of feathers carved from 24K, 18K and 9K gold and silver, each textured section fluidly linked to the next to conjure a multi-toned play of light. A blackened silver chain with simple hook clasp completes the sublime effect. ”

Ascenso Celestial Necklace by Vicente Gracia

 

Walid
http://www.walid-atallah.com/

COUTURELAB: “Walid’s accessories combine his extensive fashion knowledge and love of history with the best in vintage and unusual materials. This wonderful statement necklace combines antique gold fringing, with dark wooden beads and sparkling citrine teardrops. The result is a heady mix of rich gold colours and textures which will inject some statement style into any outfit. the ingenious combination of vintage materials and modern design give this piece a timeless quality and make it one to treasure.”

Chunky Citrine Necklace by Walid

 

COUTURELAB: “A fabulous arrangement of antique gold passementerie, antique carved wooden beads and faceted tiger’s eye teardrops make this necklace a truly unique piece. Hand finished it fastens with a mother of pearl and Swarovski encrusted box clasp.”

Chunky Tiger's Eye Necklace by Walid

 

COUTURELAB: “ Inspired by antique garments, interiors and art, the designer produces one-off pieces that evoke the past while electrifying the present. Let Walid’s Silver and Gold Lattice necklace swathe you in its scintillating embrace. White-metal curb chains, backed with fabric for a comfortable fit, form the vertical supports for strings of faceted and globular beads and rope-style links. Coursing your body in a series of scintillating silvery and golden crescents, these converge above your navel to sculptural effect. To put the piece on, simply slip your arms into the armholes and tie the waist chain behind your back.”

Silver & Gold Lattice Necklace by Walid

 

COUTURELAB: “Project beauty and mystery in Walid’s “Sanctum” necklace. A broad satin band encrusted with 19th-century gunmetal beads wraps comfortably around your neck. Joining the ends are fascinating perforated crochet ribbons, from which chains of smoky metallic beads cascade low over your body, catching the light with your every movement.   Formed only from vintage materials, this piece may contain signs of age or wear. These are to be seen as unique memorials rather than flaws.”

SANCTUM NECKLACE by WALID

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Tiffany Video

Posted by learntobead on March 12, 2011

Tiffany Video
Opening of their Flagship Beijing Store

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbDRbqemEDc

 

On October 29, Tiffany lit up the night sky in a groundbreaking extravaganza. In anticipation of the December 2010 opening of the new Tiffany Beijing flagship, a breathtaking display was projected onto the store’s façade, with jewels coming to life in astounding 4-D.

This is a great video.  Runs 3 min 21 seconds.

These videos are also related to their Beijing opening:
http://www.youtube.com/tiffanyandco#p/c/92DD5FB78BCC2BC8/1/jYEuofkrhXM

http://www.youtube.com/tiffanyandco#p/c/92DD5FB78BCC2BC8/3/4L3uE6sJ50s

 

 

0000

Tiffany also makes some great marketing use of YouTube.    Here’s where you’ll find some of their other videos:

http://www.youtube.com/tiffanyandco

 

 

 

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Australian Jewelry Topos

Posted by learntobead on April 3, 2011

Australian Jewelry Topos
http://www.92y.org/shop/event_detail.asp?productid=T-AA5JW01

http://www.galleryloupe.com/exhibitions.php?sn=0&exhibit=35&p=5

A recent lecture and discussion by Robert Baines on  the relationship of jewelry to place in Australia.

“This exciting exhibition brings together eighteen young Australian artists, all graduates of the Gold and Silvermithing Department at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. The theme of topos, place, is explored through a diverse and fascinating group of jewelry objects. Place includes locations in the physical world, such as homes and public squares, crowded cities and untouched forests. Place can also refer to states of mind, webs of memory and association, and other metaphorical spaces. Drawing on traditional and non-traditional materials and techniques, the artists featured in this exhibition challenge viewers to deepen their understanding of places we inhabit.

Participating artists are Katherine Brunacci, Robert Baines, Elfrun Lach, Anita Van Doorn, Dougal Haslem, Julie Mitchell, Karla Way, Dr. Kirsten Haydon, Lucy Hearn, Mel Miller, Natalia Milosz-Piekarska, Nicholas Bastin, Nina Oikawa, Penelope Pollard, Renee Ugazio, Linda Hughes, Christopher Earl Milbourne and Nicole Polentas.”

 

““Jewelry is a bearer of cultural and historical meaning and memory. In particular it is concerned with the relations of those meanings with the personal and urban settings, acting as a way of defining and interpreting ‘topos’ (meaning ‘of place’, Greek). The concern of this jewelry research is to recognise and explore the ways the jewelry artefact opens our engagement with, and understanding of, the personal and external places we inhabit. Jewelry conveys settings of human identity and presence as well as external settings such as urban spaces and ‘topos’ takes on a broader significance as place itself becomes an expanded notion. Jewelry Topos explores the ways jewelry engages with our understanding of the physical and metaphorical places we inhabit.”                                            Professor Robert Baines

 

The design question here is to what extent is an artist able to create a piece of wearable, fashionable jewelry that also conveys the artist’s personal relationship and understanding of a place?     Can the artist accomplish this without, either bursting way outside the boundaries of something “wearable”, or reducing the “meanings” to such a symbolic level that they no longer convey what was on the artist’s mind?

 

How familiar does the viewer (or wearer) have to be of the Australian place references for the artist and his or her jewelry to be judged successful?   Or does it not matter?

Looking at these pieces, what do you think?      How successful or satisfying are these pieces?     I think all of these have artistic merit, but not necessarily “artistic jewelry” merit.     Jewelry as art is only art as it is worn.

How has the artist manipulate the aesthetic to achieve a sense of place?

How has the artist manipulated materials to achieve a sense of place?

How has the artist manipulate techniques to achieve a sense of place?

 

 

 

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Erotic Watches Auctioned Off

Posted by learntobead on April 13, 2011

Erotic Watches Auctioned Off
By Antiquorum, The Leading Watch Auctioneer
http://amazingcentral.com/swiss-collector-puts-up-a-rare-collection-of-erotic-pocket-watches-on-sale/
http://www.antiquorum.com/home/

A unique collection of more than 30 erotic watches and system objects are among the timepieces Antiquorum offered on March 27 here as part of its “Important Modern and Vintage Timepieces” auction.  The highlight of this collection was a repeating musical watch with four actions and a concealed erotic automaton. Dubbed “Musique d’Amour” and made in 1810, the watch is believed to be the work of Genevan watchmaker Henry Capt, and which was expected to fetch around $90,000.

A Google search of images under the keywords “erotic watches” turned up 4,500,000 images.   So I guess, given this large number of images, erotic watches are very popular and here to stay.    And probably good investments.

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Bracelets in 3-D Print

Posted by learntobead on April 13, 2011

Bracelets in 3-D Print
Beate Eismann
www.beate-eismann.de

I am so very fascinated by the design possibilities new 3-D copy machines allow.      These machines allow more intricate dimensionality and integration than you might be able to achieve the “old-fashioned” way.

Some people use these new machines to fashion machine parts.   Others for creating artificial human organs, like bladders and veins.    And now jewelry artists are using these machines to expand their horizons.

Beate Eismann is one such artist.

She uses her skills in computerized CNC production, such as lathing, milling or rapid prototyping, to make jeweelry that she then works up using convenstional goldsmithing techniques.

With these new computerized programs and 3-D print machines, artists can actually generate forms, shape and create.   The artist creates the computerized sketch.  The machine produces the components of the piece.   The artist combines these components using traditional techniques and does some final finishing.

 

 

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Three Artists at SOFA NY April 2011

Posted by learntobead on April 13, 2011

Ornamentum
Three Jewelry Artists at SOFA NY
http://www.ornamentumgallery.com/gallery/index.php
http://www.sofaexpo.com/

SOFA stands for Sculpture Objects and Functional Art.     Their exhibits at various locales in the US and throughout the year, showcase outstanding contemporary “sculptural” objects, including jewelry.     I always like to check in on the artists they elect to showcase.   There is so much you can learn from each artist’s ideas and approaches.

Their current NY exhibition runs through 5/1/2011.

Jennifer Trask
http://www.jennifertrask.com/Site/Home.html

From her artist statement:

What do we carry with us in our bones? Literally, and metaphorically?

Used to express definitive physical sensation and emotional sentiment (e.g. ‘bone weary’), bone is considered the absolute reductive essence of our physical selves.  Bones linger,  incorporating evidence of what we ate, how we worked, injuries, illnesses, and environmental conditions during a given lifetime.  Lead, copper and iron, among other metals, bind to our bones as obscure mementos of our experiences.


 

What if those amalgams were to flourish and grow?

What would we see if we could view concepts and ideals, not just the verifiable physicality?

 

My process is a strange dance between the factual, or scientifically based research and the associative, or intuitive and non-verbal.  As I move between the two places, factual and intuitive, internal and external, the results are cross-species hybrids that embody a peculiar romanticized vision of the natural world that betray a very human concept of separateness, of dominion over nature.


Looking deeper still, we see a measure of the unanticipated, in traces of internalized abstract experiences and ideals.

Implicit and explicit.
Internal and external.

 

Jiro Kamata
http://www.artaurea.com/jewelries/101-jiro-kamata

Jiro Kamata’s enthusiasm for the lenses of old reflex cameras developed into a long-lasting design concept.  Kamata believes that the lenses capture and keep special moments like secrets and thinks that this could spark the jewelry wearers’ imagination.

 

Sergey Jivetin
http://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/SergeyJivetin

Jiventin takes an engineering eye, an intuitive understanding of mechanical physics, and the properties of unusual materials, like watch hands, human hair, fishing hooks, eggs, porcelain handles and syringe needles, to create very alive pieces of jewelry.

He sees his jewelry as helping the wearer make the connection between a person’s sense of self and humanity, and that person’s relationship to the work or industrial setting around her.

 

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Spring Has Sprung

Posted by learntobead on April 13, 2011

Spring Has Sprung
The Perfect Spring Ring By Janel Laza

Made from sterling silver and moss.

To see more of her work, visit her photo page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/janellaza/page3/

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Huib Petersen Workshops – 5/20-22/2011

Posted by learntobead on April 20, 2011

Be Dazzled Beads,
and The Center for Beadwork & Jewelry Arts
in Nashvile, Tennessee

welcomes

Huib Petersen
May 20th-22nd, 2011

Art Nouveau Sweet Pea Necklace
Friday, 5/20

Playing with Butterflies and Bugs
Saturday/Sunday, 5/21-22

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Click Here 

Huib Petersen is known for his creative translation of nature’s themes, wonders and little inhabitants through beadwork. His necklaces tell little stories about how nature’s elements come together and play.

What a wonderful opportunity to expore our craft with the artist in person — share special insights, get that master-level perception, understand her craft and artistic strategy!

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Jade Carving Event

Posted by learntobead on May 4, 2011

World Jade Symposium
http://www.jadesymposium.com/

40 artists will be given the assignment to carve a wonderful object from a similar block of jade.

On this website, you can register to vote for the winner.  Voting begins 10/15 and concludes 10/30 of this year.


Also on this website, you can view profiles about each artist, and view some of their works.    I’ve included images of some of their pieces here.

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The DESIGNERS GAZETTE, Spring, 2011

Posted by learntobead on May 12, 2011

The DESIGNERS GAZETTE
Spring, 2011
Now Posted Online
Click Here 


Poetry In Motion, Spring, Rejuvenation. 
The contrast of Spring green against winter brown.
The unfolding of a bud, the gradual opening of a flower,
the capturing of sunlight and moisture and nourishment.
Securing the essense in quartz and crystal and glass.
Creating pathways and fences and sign-posts with wire and metal and clay.
Nothing beats Spring for inspiration and jewelry.

Articles, Events, Classes, Ideas…..

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HIS and HER Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on June 30, 2011

HIS and HER Jewelry

 

Today, I decided to travel again on the Google Highway, and explore what came up when I typed in “His and Her Jewelry”.

I’m not a “match-y” kind of of person.     If I were coupled, I don’t think I’d wear matching jewelry with my partner.

I’m not androgynous.   I don’t like to were very feminine jewelry myself, although I make a lot of jewelry for women that have “male” elements and sensibilities.

I’ve never designed jewelry for a couple or two partnered people.    But I’ve had a lot of customers in the shop who came in looking for jewelry they could both wear, and somehow coordinated or matched.

What are my design options?   What should I consider when designing his and her jewelry?

Here are some of the things I found:

TRIBAL HOLLYWOOD
http://www.tribalhollywood.com/StoreFront.bok

Two piece pendants.

Design elements:
Two separate pieces designed as if they originally were one piece, and then cut in half.   Each piece is to be worn by 1 partner.    Here we have an image cut in half.

Four separate pieces designed with different images, 2 more male or dominant, and 2 more female or recessive.   Each pair is to be worn by 1 partner.

Two separate pieces designed as if they fit together like a puzzle.   Each piece is to be worn by 1 partner.

One pendant to be worn by each partner.   The fish supposedly symbolizes friendship.

 

REMIST
http://www.remist.com/his-her-couple-necklace.php 

Two coordinated pendants.
Design Elements:

Paired designs, one smaller than the other.

 

Paired designs, one cut out from the other, and smaller.

 

These ideas are cute, and I’m sure very saleable.    But this male dominance/female subordination thing subtly, or not so subtly, going on, makes me a little uncomfortable.    I don’t want my partner to be less than I am.    But I also want her to be cute.    Dilemma.     Aesthetics vs. social conscience.   And again, I’m not into the matchy-matchy thing.

 

 

DH Gate.com
http://www.dhgate.com/

 

Design elements:
Matchy pieces with engraving on each one.

 

 

DiamondVues.com
http://www.diamondvues.com/2008/01/nuts_and_bolts_wedding_rings.html

For some reason, I like these rings.   Must be the sexual innuendo.

 

 

COOLBABYJEWELRY.COM
http://www.coolbabyjewelry.com/servlet/StoreFront

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Design element:
Here we have similar pendants, with the design (the spiral) going in opposite directions — clockwise and counterclockwise.

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Japonisme

Posted by learntobead on June 30, 2011

The Japonisme
Influence of Japan on Western Jewelers, 1867-1917

There is a current exhibit at the Wartski Gallery in London entitled “The Japonisme: From Falize to Faberge: The Goldsmith and Japan”.     This exhibit showcases the influence of Japan on western jewelers, such as Tiffany, Falize, Cartier, Boucheron, Faberge.

Here are some of the kinds of things you would see at this exhibit:

Tiffany: Pearl Flower Brooch

 

Vever: Cherry Blossom Brooch

 

 

Wartski Promo for Exhibit

 

 

Boucheron: Brooches

 

Western jewelry artists took much inspiration from the artistic works of Japan.    Specifically, they:

1) Incorporated cloisonne (enameling) techniques
2) Used fragments to capture the essence,
such as using a flower blossom and branch to capture the essence of a whole tree, and nature itself
3) created more of a sense of delicacy in their pieces
4) Built in a sense of poetry into their designs.

 

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Papal Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on June 30, 2011

Papal Jewelry

Papal jewelry has been in the news recently, because a jeweler in North Carolina, of all places, has offered up a cross and and a ring belonging to Pope   Paul VI      for sale.

 

Here are some images I found online of other Papal Jewelry:

This is the papal ring of Pope Paul II, who served as pope from 1464-1471:

Pope Paulus II bronze, rock crystal ring:

 

 

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Any Lessons To Learn From Nail Polish Trends?

Posted by learntobead on July 1, 2011

Any Lessons To Learn
From Nail Polish Trends?
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/06/30/why-did-wild-nail-polish-go-mainstream-10/nail-polish-is-the-new-lipstick

From Alllacqueredup.com

I read this article recently in the NYT, how women are using many more colors of nail polish than the traditional reds and pinks, and that the use of the full color palette of nail polish colors is getting very institutionalized and accepted.

The writer offers a point of view here for discussion.   Her main point, is that in an era of a weak economy, Chanel nail polish offers at a much lower cost the same cache as purchasing the more expensive Chanel perfume or clothing.   People still want status and the qualities associated with it.   They can not afford the top of the line items they used to.

Many of us are in the business of selling jewelry.     In this economy, how do we survive and thrive as a jewelry design business?   How do we preserve our brand — especially if most of what we sell is on the high-end side?

Is it enough to lower our price points?  Or must we also maintain very visible links and symbols to ideas of status, quality and sophistication?    And if we are to stand out from the pack, should we push things like out of the ordinary colors, textures and patterns?   How far do we push things like color, texture and pattern, to get noticed?   How far can we push these kinds of things, and still be accepted?

 

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To Be, Or Not To Be?

Posted by learntobead on July 22, 2011

New article posted in our How To Bead  A Rogue Elephant column.

TO BE, OR NOT TO BE?

To be a Jewelry Artist, or not to be?

What should I do? Will I succeed? How will I succeed? I’m afraid to change careers. I’m afraid no one will like my stuff. I’m too shy to get stores to sell my stuff. I haven’t learned everything I need to learn. I don’t make necklaces as well as so-and-so. I don’t have enough money to start a business. I don’t know how to start a business. I need to take more classes. There are four more books I want to read and work through before I get started. I don’t have the supplies people want.

Ponderings, ponderings, ponderings. Thought paralzyes action. Your Rogue Elephant keeps charging at you, and you’re too scared to even get out of the way. You’re toe juice. You should have run away. But things happen too fast. Things are too much. Too difficult. Too unknown. Will that Rogue Elephant veer off to the right, or maybe, a bit to the left, or will that Elephant step right over you.

SQUISH!

Do you see yourself in these posed dilemmas? Or are you too hesistant for even this shallow reflection? Do you find yourself in such an existential crisis that you are too blind or too tired or too scared or too angry to sense your Rogue Elephant on your horizon? Or find your Elephant on your beaten path? Or comtemplate him? Or even bead him?

Maybe there’s too much Hamlet in you. The Hamlet Trap. Shakespeare’s Hamlet, for most of the play, cannot make up his mind. Should he / Shouldn’t he? Will he / Won’t he? Could he / Can’t he? ….

Continue reading….

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Ceramics and Clay All Grown Up As Jewelry Medium

Posted by learntobead on July 28, 2011

Ceramics and Clay All Grown Up As Jewelry Medium

There have been some prominent exhibits and collections around the country highlighting the work of ceramics artists in jewelry.   Some of it is high-fired clay, some raku, some polymer clay and some metal clay.      It’s always very exciting to see how artists can achieve good jewelry design goals with new materials or new applications of materials.

Wearable Ceramics

One of the most prominent exhibits was called Wearable-Ceramics, at  Pewabic Pottery, in Detroit, Michigan.

From their promotional materials:

Wearable Ceramics: Jewelry from International Artists is a collaboration between Linda Ross Contemporary: Art + Projects and Tara Robinson, Curator of Ceramics, Pewabic Pottery. It brings together some of the finest established and emerging artists who are staking out new territories of design, transforming clay into jewelry often combined with found objects and other non-traditional materials. The show features a collection of intriguing and innovative brooches, necklaces, earrings and rings which demonstrate the bridge between ceramics and functional objects for the body; form and material. The tactile nature of ceramics creates a particularly visual language when translated into functional objects to wear – clay is fragile, yet direct contact with the body provides a personal resting place that is warm, protective and very intimate.

Sixteen established and emerging artists representing six countries are participating in the exhibition. The new generation of Dutch designers will be well represented in the show. True to their country’s reputation for producing outstanding craftsmen, they bring a unique international overview of avant-garde jewelry design to the mix. Likewise, artists from the U.S., Spain, Taiwan, Germany and Australia are all masters at technique and highly innovative makers who are staking out new territories of experimentation.

Some works of artists featured:

Rian de Jong. eft to right: Porcelain Necklace: gold luster, copper, tombac | Brooch: bone china, copper, garnets | Brooch: bone china, copper | Brooch: bone china, copper

Iris Eichenberg. Brooch: porcelain, coin and bone

Maria Hees. Necklace: foam, porcelain, rubber

Peter Hoogeboom. “Shaoxing Peony”, Brooch: porcelain, silver, lacquer, nylon, steel

Jet Mous. Necklace: porcelain w/luster and patina

Pauline Wietz. Limonges Eggs | Materials: Porcelain, ceramic transfers | photo credit: Ron Zijlstra

Shu-lin Wu. “Mokume Olive”, Necklace: carved porcelain, steel wire and silver

Shu-lin Wu. Mokume Game series. By hollowing out motifs in the colored porcelain, I achieved a layered polychromatic effect.

Shu-lin Wu. Earrings

Gaby Wandscher. Necklace: porcelain, pearls

David Eliot. Necklace: Vitreous porcelain beads, metal oxide pigments, sterling silver clasp

Evert Nijland. “Rococo,” 2010, Necklace: porcelain, hand-woven linen

For & Forlano. Brooch: polymer clay, metal, colored oxides

Featured Artists:
Sebastian Buescher
Pilar Cotter Nunez
Rian de Jong
Iris Eichenberg
David Elliot
Ford & Forlano
Caroline Gore
Maria Hees
Peter Hoogeboom
Jet Mous
Evert Nijland
Karin Seufert
Andrea Wagner
Gaby Wandscher
Pauline Wiertz
Shu-lin Wu

A Bit of Clay On The Skin

Another exhibit, running through september 2011, is this new ceramics jewelry show at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City.

Some of the works on display here:

Peter Hoojeboorn. Collar

Ceramics always have great eye-appeal.  They are very alluring.   They can have stark colors, or unusual colorations and color blendings.   They can be almost unnervingly smooth, or have many different kinds of textures — all drawing the viewer to want to touch.   Ceramics can be modelled or cast, and are very versatile.

It is fascinating to see the many ways ceramics are used in jewelry.  In some cases, they are used to mimic traditional jewelry materials and forms.  In other cases, they are a material cast against type.

In the thousands of years between Egyptian faience and today, ceramics, for the most part, have not played a major role in jewelry.   People found the material too close to the earth, too humble to use to convey wealth and elegance.    But this is changing.

Gesine Hacklenberg

Gesine Hacklenberg

Gesine Hacklenberg

Marie Pendaries

Marie Pendaries

Wearable Ceramics Gallery

This online  Gallery showcases sculptural jewelry by Canadian artist Erika Ferrarin.   Some of her pieces:

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American Gypsy Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on July 28, 2011

American Gypsy Jewelry

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tips/gypsy.html

The Antiques Road Show has a fascinating article about American Gypsy Jewelry on their blog.

Gypsy Jewelry dates from the 1900-1930′s period.   During this time, many gypsies migrated to America and brought their jewelry-making skills with them.

Gypsy Jewelry is a rare form of jewelry with strong associations to the romance of the gypsy.   Much of the jewelry is 14KT gold.   Many pieces have embedded stones, but more likely the stones are synthetic.  Gypsies didn’t have a way to verify the worth of stones.   They used synthetic stones so they wouldn’t be a position of having to value them.

Gypsies were excellent at jewelry craft because they always carried their wealth with them.   It was easier and safer to carry their wealth in the form of jewelry.

Gypsies used a lot of coins in their jewelry.   They liked to represent the profiles of women, like cameos, which they called gypsy queens.

Gypsy jewelry is worth thousands of dollars.

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Jewelry Appraisals

Posted by learntobead on July 28, 2011

Jewelry Appraisals

Homeowners insurance rarely covers the full value of jewelry, in the event of loss or theft.

To cover the full value of your fine jewelry or collectible art jewelry, you should have a professional appraiser evaluate each piece, and then have it covered by your insurance as a separate policy or attachment to your current policy.

Choosing A Qualified Appraiser

Check out the following:
1. Educational Background.    Certified gemologist?  Certified jewelry appraiser?   Training by American Society of Appraisers?

2. Does the jewelry appraiser follow the Uniform Standard of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)?  Not a requirement, but a good indicator of quality.

3. Works full time as an appraiser.

4. Associated with a jewelry store or manufacturer

5. Ask for references.   Especially from other professionals, such as banks, lawyers, or trust companies.

6. How does the appraiser charge? The fee for a professional appraisal should only be on an hourly rate or a piece rate based on time and complexity, and never a percentage of the value of the item appraised.

Be prepared to give the appraiser any documentation you have, such as receipts.
Be prepared to be charged a flat fee up front, typically $50.00 or more.
Verify with your insurance company how often they require appraisals, for the insurance to remain valid.

 

Valuing Costume Jewelry

Most costume jewelry has little inherent value because it is not made from precious metals or with precious stones.

So, the value of costume jewelry has to do with such things as:

Desirability
Condition
Re-Sale Value
Sentimentality

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A Novel Way To Fund Creativity

Posted by learntobead on July 28, 2011

KICKSTARTER.COM
A Novel Way To Fund Creativity

I had recently read an article about Kristy Lin, a jewelry artist who was attempting to launch a new jewelry line, and was searching for money.   She turned to a website called Kickstarter.com to get some assistance in creating a fund-raising campaign.    Now-a-days, you need to be very creative to get your creative endeavors off to a start.

Kickstarter.com is one of a new set of fundraising platforms called “crowdfunding”.    The website facilitates gathering monetary resources from the general public.   This model circumvents traditional avenues for raising money.

People must apply to Kickstarter to have a project posted on the site.   Projects are promoted for a fixed timeframe.  They have millions of visitors to their site daily.  They can invest as little as $1.00.   The artist much reach the full target amount to receive any funds.   Otherwise, no funds are provided.     Kickstarter keeps 5% of the funds raised.    They do NOT keep any rights over your intellectual property.

Kickstarter offers an online tutorial for how to package and write up your project for maximum impact.

They promote both big and small projects.   They define a “small” project as something a group of friends might want to accomplish in a weekend.

And Kristy Lin was successful.   She sought $10,000 in start-up funds, and received $10,015 within the alotted time.   Click Kristy‘s name to view her Kickstarter.com campaign.

 

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The Artist As Jeweler

Posted by learntobead on July 28, 2011

The Artist As Jeweler

Originally, I was a painter.    I didn’t begin making jewelry until I was in my late 30′s.     When I began, I tried to make every necklace, bracelet and pair of earrings, as if these were to be painted.   Never worked.  These things have to be engineered.    Hopefully you end up with something both beautiful and functional.

Today, I see jewelry as “art”, but something somewhat different than painting or sculpture.   But occasionally the urge to paint jewelry arises.

There is going to be an exhibit at the Museum of Arts & Design in New York City on Artists as Jewelers.  The exhibit, to run from 9/20/11 thru 1/8/12, will be entitled “Picasso to Koons: Artist as Jewelry.”

Whether they were as successful as jeweler’s as they were painters or sculptors, well that’s something for you to decide.     All I know is that it is difficult to transition from one to the other.   Here’s some of what you might see:

GEORGE BRAQUE

 

 

MAX ERNST

 

LUCIO FONTANA

 

bracelet

 

 

 

LOUISE NEVELSON

 

 

ANTHONY CARO

 

 

ANISH KAPOOR

 

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Jewelers’ Werk Gallery in DC

Posted by learntobead on July 28, 2011

Jewelers’ Werk Gallery in DC
http://www.jewelerswerk.com/ 

I am always on the lookout for galleries that sell and promote hand crafted art jewelry.     Not that easy to find, when you are not in one of the few more enlightened communities in the United States.     Most art galleries in Nashville, for example, shy away from jewelry.   They either view it as craft, not art.   Or not particularly relevant to arts in general.

One gallery in the Georgetown section of Washington, DC is known the world over for innovative contemporary jewelry by international artists.    Jewelers’ Werk Gallery.      When visiting DC, don’t forget to stop by for a real treat.

Some current artists at the Gallery.

TALYA BAHARAL

 

 

SVENJA JOHN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IRIS BODEMER

 

 

REBECCA HANNON

 

 

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SINGING BIRD PISTOLS

Posted by learntobead on July 30, 2011

SINGING BIRD PISTOLS

Watch this video of these 200 year old Singing Bird Pistols.   They recently sold for over $5 million at auction.

http://www.christies.com/features/singing-bird-pistols-en-1422-3.aspx

 

Made of gold and enamel and set with pearls and diamonds. They are the only known surviving pair and
attributed to the Geneva firm of Freres Rochat.

 

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THE DESIGNERS GAZETTE, Summer, 2011

Posted by learntobead on August 15, 2011

THE DESIGNERS GAZETTE, Summer, 2011

Summer, 2011, The Designers Gazette
READ THE FULL ISSUE ONLINE (or, if you cannot see the images),
CLICK HERE http://www.warrenfeldjewelry.com/pdf/su081511/summer2011pdf.pdf

Articles, insights, workshops, happenings, CBJA course listings

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New Column Posted to “How To Bead A Rogue Elephant”

Posted by learntobead on September 2, 2011

New Column Posted
“How To Bead A Rogue Elephant”

Getting Started in Beading and Jewelry Making
Excerpts from this book on the following topics…
Click here 

- Catching the “Bead-Bug”
- What Can You Do With Beads
- Getting Started
- Finding Inspirations
- Shopping for Beads
- What To Look For In A  Bead
- How Not To Shop
- Be A Good Customer
- Buyer Beware
- Tips for Buying Beads At A Bead Show
- What Should I Create?
- Planning Your Necklace
- Anatomy of a Necklace
- Measurements You Need to Know
- Working from a Palette
- How Do You Learn?
- The Types of Things You Need to Learn
- On My Own, Through Books, or Through Classes?
- Reading Patterns and Instructions
- Self-Esteem — Making Choices
- Selling vs. Keeping
- Beading Aphorisms

Posted in bead weaving, beads, beadwork, jewelry design, Learn To Bead | 2 Comments »

New First Dibs Sale

Posted by learntobead on September 13, 2011

New First Dibs Sale
at Land of Odds (www.landofodds.com)
thru Mon, 9/26/11
Support our Sponsor 

Our FIRST DIBS SALES.
Don’t Miss Them!!!!!
Get merchandise at wholesale prices before we begin to price, merchandise and store it!

HIGHLIGHTS :

AMBER FIRE AGATE YELLOW (dyed)

BLACK ONYX

BLACK VEINED GRAY AGATE

BLUE FIRE AGATE (dyed)

GREEN BROWN FIRE AGATE (dyed)

GREEN CARAMEL AGATE (dyed)

PASTEL GREEN AND BLACK BANDED AGATE (dyed)

PINK BANDED AGATE (dyed)

PURPLE BANDED AGATE (dyed)

RED AGATE (dyed)

RED JADE (dyed)

RUBY JADE (dyed)

WHITE AND BROWN FIRE AGATE

WHITE LINED BLACK AGATE

Sale found here:
www.landofodds.com/store/firstdibson.htm

 

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The Ugly Necklace Contest – Enter To Win

Posted by learntobead on September 19, 2011

9th International  2012
The Ugly Necklace Contest
- A Jewelry Design Competition With A Twist

Deadline: mon, 3/15/2012

A jewelry design competition with a twist. The contest presents a challenge not often tackled – at least intentionally.   Here’s your opportunity to show your design skills, your visual acumen, your senses and sensibilities. Can you put together a well-designed and functional, yet UGLY, necklace?

It’s Not Easy To Do Ugly! Your mind and eye won’t let you go there. As research into color and design has shown, your eye and brain compensate for imbalances in color or in the positioning of pieces and objects – they try to correct and harmonize them. You are pre-wired to subconsciously avoid anything that is disorienting, disturbing or distracting.

And that is lucky for most jewelry designers.   We are pre-wired to avoid negative things.  This makes it easier to end up with something beautiful.   And more difficult to end up with something Ugly.     Ugly goes against our nature.  It’s hard to do.

To achieve a truly hideous result means making the hard design choices, putting ourselves in situations and forcing us to make the kinds of choices we’re unfamiliar with, and taking us inside ourselves to places that we are somewhat scared about, and where we do not want to go.

Join the Fun!   Learn Some Things About Jewelry Design!

 

Entering is easy.  Take three good color snapshots or scans of your necklace, and write a short poem about it.
Visit the website for the full listing of Official Rules, as well as a listing of special requirements for the 2012 9th International Contest.     Images of past years’ winners and submissions are posted.

 
Contact Info
Land of Odds
The Ugly Necklace Contest
718 Thompson Lane, Ste 123
Nashville, TN 37204
615-292-0610
warren@landofodds.com

 

Website
http://www.landofodds.com/store/uglynecklace.htm

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Join Warren in On-Line Discussion Seminar

Posted by learntobead on October 9, 2011

JOIN WARREN IN ON-LINE DISCUSSION SEMINAR

Warren will be leading this discussion on Bead Chat/Facebook next Tuesday, 10/11, 10:00am central time (11:00am eastern time). Please join us.

EMPOWERING THE JEWELRY ARTIST:
5 Questions Every Jewelry Designer Should Have An Answer For!

Time
Tuesday, October 11 · 10:00am-11:00am Central Timel (11:00am -12:00pm Eastern Time)
Location
Bead Chat Room
http://www.facebook.com/groups/261514230535263/
Created By
Auntie’s Beads
For Bead Chat (hosted by Auntie’s Beads)

Warren Feld discusses these questions in the context of art vs. craft, passion and inspiration, materials and components, techniques vs. skills, and when is enough enough. There is not one best answer. These are the kinds of things each jewelry designer must define for themselves, in a way satisfying to them, but anticipating their audience’s needs, as well. Join us for live chat with Warren!

About Auntie’s Beads Bead Chat on Facebook
Ask to join if you are interested in group chat discussions about beading and jewelry making topics. Chat is ongoing and informal, but we also post event notices and host these online events via chat…

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Existence For The Jewelry Designer Is Befuddling

Posted by learntobead on October 11, 2011

Read the column How To Bead A Rogue Elephant

EXISTENCE

Existence for the jewelry designer is befuddling.

Making jewelry is such a happy endeavor.  But is the designer always happy?   It is so scary, risky, fraught with anxiety, difficult to decide, sometimes impossible to fully visualize.    Yes, you answer to yourself and your own sense of aesthetics and construction.   But yet, you make things for other people to wear, perhaps to buy, perhaps to display, perhaps to comment and evaluate and criticize and tear to shreds.    Or ‘like’ it on some level.

Befuddling.   Yes, indeed….

Continue…

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EMPOWERING THE JEWELRY DESIGNER

Posted by learntobead on October 12, 2011

EMPOWERING THE JEWELRY DESIGNER
5 Questions Every Jewelry Designer Should Have An Answer For

Before I begin any discussion, it is important to understand something about Empowerment.   Empowering — why do you think it is important to Empower the Jewelry Designer?    What kinds  of powers do we want the Jewelry Designer to have?   What kinds of things happen when the Jewelry Designer is not empowered?

It is important that the Jewelry Designer feel comfortable and confident in making choices.    These kinds of choices could be as simple as whether to finish a piece, or not.    Or whether to begin a second piece after finishing the first one.    The designer will make choices about how to draw someone’s attention to the piece, or present the piece to a larger audience.   She or he may decide to submit the piece to a magazine or contest.   She or he may want to sell the piece and market it.      The designer will make choices about how a piece might be worn, or who might wear it, or when it might be worn, in what context.

And for all these choices, the Jewelry Designer might need to overcome a sense of fear, or boredom, or resistance.  The Designer might need to overcome anxiety, a sense of giving up, having jeweler’s block, feeling unchallenged, even laziness.

We want the Jewelry Designer to be empowered to be able to make the necessary choices, in the face of everything that might slow him or her down, or prevent any kind of progress toward a satisfactory end.

And there are other powers we want the Jewelry Designer to have.   We want the designer to be primed to learn more, and be aware of more.  We want our Designer to make smart choices about construction.

We want our Designer to be empowered to better able handle contingencies — to fix problems and make substitutions, as the needs arise.

Our Designer should be empowered to be better able to create an aura of resonance resonating from the piece of jewelry, perhaps giving an edge to it.    The Designer wants to evoke an emotional response from the audience.    This is accomplished by the choices the Designer makes to better use color or a more controlled use of line or a better and more frequent use of forms, themes and components, or a better mixing of materials.

One more critical power we want our Designer to have.   We want the Designer to be better able to have the jewelry reflect the artist’s hand and style.

The successful Jewelry Designer should be very empowered.

The empowered Jewelry Designer should have answers to 5 critical questions.    These have to do with:
1) Art vs. Craft?
2) How To Decide What To Create?
3) What Materials Work Well Together?
4) How To Evoke Emotional Responses To Their Work?
5) When Is Enough Enough?

Let’s start with the first question.
Question 1:  Should BEADWORK and JEWELRY MAKING be considered ART or CRAFT?
What do you think is going on here — why the distinction between Art and Craft, particularly as it applies to jewelry design and beading?     Why is this distinction important?   How does this distinction affect what we do as jewelry designers?

The Jewelry Designer confronts a world that is unsure whether jewelry is “craft” or “art”.    When defined as “craft”, jewelry is seen as something that anyone can do — no special powers are needed to be a Jewelry Designer.   As “craft”, there is somewhat of a pejorative meaning — it’s looked down upon, thought of as something less than art.    But as “craft”, we recognize the interplay of the artist’s hand with the piece and the story-telling underlying it.   We honor the technical prowess.    People love to bring art into their personal worlds, and the craftsperson offers them functional objects that have artistic sensibilities.

When defined as “art”, jewelry is seen as something which transcends itself and its design.   It evokes an emotional response from the viewer.   It has more of a sense of clarity of purpose and choice, a sense of presence.    Functionality should play no role at all, or as a compromise, merely be supplemental.

The Jewelry Designer must be clear on why his or her work should be categorized as “art” or “craft”, or as both as “art” and “craft”.

The Art World accepts jewelry as art from an aesthetic point of view.   It sees jewelry as a subset of painting or sculpture.   It judges its success as if it were sitting on an easel or perched on a mannequin.   It teaches the Jewelry Designer that the only important choices to make are ones associated with art theories.     The Art World often exhibits so much disdain for Craft, that it ignores functional considerations entirely.

With jewelry, ignoring function — durability, movement, flow, drape, structural integrity, context, psychology, sociology, anthropology, sexuality — can lead to disaster.    Jewelry should be judged as art, but only as it is worn.    The choices the Jewelry Artist needs to make are much broader than art, and all choices are equally as critical.

The more appropriate skills involved here are ones of design, where aesthetics are balanced with function, and where conflicts between art and craft are resolved in a satisfactory way, but sometimes to the detriment of aesthetics.

The Jewelry Designer should be very aware of how she or he has applied themselves to their work.   This brings up the next question.

QUESTION 2:  How do you decide what you want to create?    
What kinds of things do you do to translate your passions and inspirations into jewelry?   What is your creative process?  How is it organized?   How do you know it’s working best for you?

Applying yourself creatively can be fun at times, but scary at others.    It is work.   There is an element of risk.  You might not like what you end up doing.   Your friends might not like it.  Nor your family.   You might not finish it.  Or you might do it wrong.

It always will seem easier to go with someone else’s project, already proven to be liked and tested — because it’s been published, and passed around, and done over and over again by many different people.

Sometimes it seems insurmountable, after finishing one project, to decide what to do next.

The Jewelry Designer needs to be confident and comfortable making creative choices.    So, some advice here.

Set no boundaries and set no rules.

Be free.   Go with the flow.   Don’t conform to expectations.

Play.

Pretend you’re a kid again.    Have fun.  Get the giggles.

Experiment.

Take the time to do a lot of What If’s and Variations On A Theme and Trial and Error.

Keep Good Records

Make good notes and sketches of what seems to work, and what seems to not work.

Evaluate.

Learn from your successes and mistakes.   Figure out the Why did something work, and the Why Nots.

As you play and experiment and evaluate with all the parts, you will become more familiar with the characteristics of the materials.     This brings us to the third question.

QUESTION 3:  What kinds of MATERIALS work well together, and which ones do not?   
Why is this?

 The choice of materials, including beads, clasps and stringing materials, set the tone and chances of success for your piece.   These choices

…affect the Look
…affect the Drape
…affect the Feel
…relate to the Context

These choices involved such things as:
- Type of material(s)
- Thickness and other physical parameters of the parts, such as whether they have been stamped, fabricated or cast; interaction with sunlight, ultraviolet light, heat and cold; how the pieces have been finished off
- Cost of materials
- Durability of materials
- Compatibility of different types of materials
- Structural integrity and integration of materials, particularly in multi-media art jewelry or related pieces.

I always suggest using the highest quality materials your budget will allow.

When you try to mix different kinds of materials, the strengths and weaknesses of each material become more apparent.    Mixing different materials and achieving successful pairings is hard to do.    It is difficult to mix glass and gemstone.   It is difficult to mix glass and crystal.    Or glass and plastic.

There are textural issues.   There are color issues.   There are issues related to the reflection and refraction of light.   There are issues how one material changes the perception of another material, when put side by side — simultaneity effects.

Take, for example, mixing glass and gemstones.   Usually this doesn’t work.    When the eye/brain interacts with most glass, the light hits the surface of the material and is reflected back.   When the eye/brain interacts with most gemstone, the light both hits the surface as well as is drawn into the bead below the surface, and then reflected back.    Going from glass bead to gemstone bead can be very irritating for the eye/brain.   So as best as you can duplicate the eye/brain interaction with gemstone with the eye/brain interaction with glass, the more satisfying the mixture will become.     So you might use opalescent glass or color lined glass, which mimics the light/eye/brain interactions of gemstone.

Mixing media present another example.   Usually, when you mix media, say fibers and beads, you need to let one media predominate in your piece.   Each media has its own material properties and structural characteristics, and compete with one another.

The power to making creative choices about materials and their arrangements is a core skill of the Designer.   And this leads us to the next question.

Question 4:   Beyond applying basic techniques, how does the Jewelry Designer evoke an emotional response to their jewelry?
Beyond learning basic techniques, what kinds of choices does the successful jewelry designer need to make?
A related question:   Beaders and Jewelry Makers focus too often on Techniques and not often enough on Skills.   They learn techniques; they don’t learn skills.  How can we get away from focusing too much on Technique, and instead, focus more on Skill?
It is important to draw distinctions between Techniques and Skills.   What distinctions?   Why?   What kinds of skills do we bring, as Jewelry Designers, to our pieces, which make them Resonate?
What is Technique?   What is Skill?  What are your Skills?

An artistic and well-designed piece of jewelry should evoke an emotional response.   Techniques are necessary but not sufficient to get you there.    You need Skills.

The classic analogy comparing Techniques and Skills references cutting bread with a knife.
Technique: How to hold the knife relative to the bread in order to cut it.
Skill:  The force applied so that the bread gets cut successfully.

Skills are the kinds of things the Jewelry Designer applies which enhances his or her capacity to control for bad workmanship.     These include things like
- Judgment
- Presentation
- Care and dexterity
- Taking risks

So we can see our skillful Jewelry Designer choosing materials and colors.   Or marketing.    Or managing thread or string tension.    Color blending.    Mixing materials.   Developing variations on techniques.  Having a personal style.   Trying out something new.

Classic Art Theory holds, that if you need to talk too much about Technique underlying your piece, your piece is not art, it is craft.    And in our classes and discussion groups, the conversations are terribly concentrated on Technique as if there were nothing else to discuss.   I blame the bead magazines for ignoring the role of choice in writing instructions.   Everything is presented so mechanically.    But jewelry design is so much more.    And Jewelry Designers need to aim for the ‘so much more.’

It is this process of linking the technique to the materials that is “art”.   A successful process requires an understanding of the intrinsic values of the materials.    It requires an understanding of how to manipulate the materials to elicit a positive response from others.   It is expressive, intuitive and evokes emotions.   The critical focus is not on the techniques.   The critical focus is on the linking of technique and material to create something that others emotionally interactive with.

Creative engagement with materials.    Expressive.   Imaginative.    A sense of audience.

Jewelry Design is an avocation which requires you to know a lot of things.   You need to know a lot about materials.   You need to know a lot about quality issues underlying these materials, and what happens to these materials over time.   You need to be mechanical and comfortable using tools to construct things.   You need to learn many basic techniques.   You need to understand physical mechanics and what happens to all these materials and pieces, when jewelry is worn.    You need to be familiar with art theories and their applications.   You need to understand people, their psychology, the dynamics of the groups they find themselves in, and their cultural rules which get them through the day.

The Jewelry Designer, when creating a piece of jewelry, has a lot to do, and has a lot of skills to bring to bear on the project.   And this leads to our 5th and last question.
QUESTION #5:  When Is Enough Enough?
How does the Jewelry Artist know when the piece is done?  Overdone?  Or Underdone?    How do you edit?

In the bead and jewelry arenas, you see piece after piece that is over-embellished, or gets too repetitive with the elements and materials.    If 5 fringe look good, 20 fringe would be better.   If 6 colors are appealing, 9 colors would be better.    If 6 repeats of a pattern looks good, 8 repeats would look better.

On the other hand, you often see pieces that can be described as  ’not quite there’.    They need something else.   A tweak.   A change in arrangement.   Some additional material or color.   A better or smarter clasp and clasp assembly.     Pretty, but they don’t resonate.    They don’t sufficiently touch their audiences.

For every piece of jewelry there will be that point of Parsimony.    Where adding or subtracting one more piece will make the experiencing of the whole somewhat less than the sum of its parts.

To get to this point, the Jewelry Designer must exercise great skill and great technique.    The Designer must show restraint and control.

And to get to this point, the Jewelry Designer must have a point of view, and a clear understanding of the point she or he wants to make through this piece of jewelry.

In this way, the Jewelry Designer can show nuance.   The Jewelry Designer can most satisfactorily arrive at a design which makes the ordinary ‘noteworthy’.

And this concludes our discussion of 5 questions every Jewelry Designer should have answers for.   The Empowered Jewelry Designer will have these answers, though not every Designer will have the same answers, nor is there one best answer.    And it is unacceptable to avoid answering any of these 5 questions, for fear you might not like the answer.

Each Jewelry Designer needs to answer these kinds of questions for themselves, in a way that is satisfying and motivating.    The answers they come up with influence how they present themselves and their work to others.

These 5 questions, in effect, define the who and what and how a Jewelry Designer is, and how to empower them.  Jewelry Designers have definable sets of interrelated skills which can be taught, creatively applied, and further developed.  These skills can be used to create and enhance color, shape, texture, sensibility, perception, sensuousness and emotion.  They can be applied to bring meaning, cognition, culture, connectivity and wisdom to a situation.   They can be used to create the tangible from the intangible, and the object from nothingness.

The skills of combining materials of physical and/or aesthetic wealth into wearable art forms and adornment — this is Jewelry Making and Design.
Empowered Jewelry Designers

Creatively combine and manipulate

Materials and components

By applying interrelated skills, and

Exercising judgment how best to enhance experience and meaning

Posted in bead weaving, beadwork, jewelry design, jewelry making | Leave a Comment »

BEADED TAPESTRY COMPETITION SEMI-FINALISTS SELECTED

Posted by learntobead on October 21, 2011

BEADED TAPESTRY COMPETITION SEMI-FINALISTS SELECTED

Images of our semifinalists entries posted on facebook
The Illustrative Beader: Beaded Tapestry Competition, 2011
Theme: Mystery Genre Book Covers
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Illustrative-Beader-Beaded-Tapestry-Competition/176006269128968?sk=wall

KAY FIELDEN

Auckland, New Zealand

“The Lovely Bones”
by Alice Sebold

JUNE JACKSON and JAMIE BRUNS

Bryan, Texas

“Lizzie Borden”
by Elizabeth Engstrom

DOT LEWALLEN

Westerville, Ohio

“Black Notice”
by Patricia Cornwell


PATTY ROCKHILL

O’Brien, Florida

“When Night Falls”
by Jenna Ryan

Voting online for the winner will begin around 11/7/2011 on the land of odds website –

http://www.landofodds.com/

http://www.landofodds.com/store/tapestry.htm

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SODAmore 2011: Contemporary Art Jewelry

Posted by learntobead on October 25, 2011

SODAmore Summer 2011: Contemporary Art Jewellery
Istanbul
http://bijoucontemporain.unblog.fr/tag/geo/turquie/

 

 

 

 

 

SODA is a relatively new international jewelry exhibition held this past summer in Istanbul.   There are so many, many wonderful ideas and designs by over 70 artists.   Their main webpage shows many examples, as does Google Images.

Michihiro Sato

These selections are good places to explore for ideas about using different materials, components and arrangements.   You see the Creative.  You see the Unconventional.  You see Current Trends in Jewelry.

Sele Ozus

 

Zwetelina Alexieva

 

Ritsuko Oqura

 

 

Tanel Veenre

 

 

Nikolay Sardamov

 

Ozay Emert

 

 

Burcu Buyukunal

 

Ara Kuo

 

 

 

 

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LOOT 2011

Posted by learntobead on October 25, 2011

LOOT 2011
Museum of Art & Design, New York City
http://madmuseum.org/events/loot-2011-gala-benefit
http://madforjewelry.tumblr.com/ 

Sarah Abrahmson

LOOT 2011 is Mad’s annual fund raising jewelry exhibition, which occurred last week.    Here are some of the pieces of jewelry that were for sale.

Sara Basch

 

Bona Ha

 

Danielle Gori-Montanelli

 

 

 

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Cristobal Balenciaga

Posted by learntobead on October 25, 2011

Cristobal Balenciaga

http://cristobalbalenciagamuseoa.com/Ingles.html

Cristobal Balenciaga was a Spanish fashion designer who began selling fashion and accessories aroun 1919, but came into prominence in the 1950′s.   He’s known for building in very broad shoulders into jackets, blouses and gowns.    He also brought into fashion the Tunic Dress, and the high Empire Waist dress and gown.

He was a hands-on designer, making many of his own clothing, as well as jewelry.

He was considered one of the all-time great couturiers.    His pieces are very collectible.

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