Obviously inspiration comes in many forms, but at its base it is a re-interpretation of nature, objects, feelings into a different medium such as painting or in my case metal-smithing. One of the things I find exciting about my art, is the ability to transform something that currently exists in one form into something new. One of the ways I like to do this is through collaboration. Not that I've done much, but I definitely find much inspiration in other artists' work and love to share in the creative process with others.
A few years ago, I was able to collaborate with my friend Sirron Norris on a ring that I made for my brother. It involved etching his design onto a piece of metal and then forming it into a ring. It turned out amazing and its a shame that it got lost. But that experience has always stuck with me as a really fun and unique way to find inspiration from others and give their artwork an extension by transforming it into a different and utilitarian form.
Stay tuned, I have some ideas in mind for some collaborative efforts and eventually perhaps working with other artists more regularly in this way..if you know of anyone who's work could transcend other mediums - let me know.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
My emotional attachment to a spider
I just finished my commissioned piece, the money clip and its funny even though I would never have any use for it - I am having trouble letting go. When I started making jewelry 5 years ago, I remember going through this same process...the investment of myself that goes into each piece is hard to let go of. My creations feel like part of me so letting go of them is a bit painful. I feel emotionally connected to them, which made me think of the Buddhist tenet - to be free of attachment means true freedom. Once you stop clinging and let things be, you'll be free, even of birth and death.
In the past, I got to a point where I was okay letting go and I am trying to find that place again. And there is a happiness in sharing my creations with friends and family (especially the nice ones that pay me - ha ha) so I guess in the end I will be okay in letting the spider go.
In the past, I got to a point where I was okay letting go and I am trying to find that place again. And there is a happiness in sharing my creations with friends and family (especially the nice ones that pay me - ha ha) so I guess in the end I will be okay in letting the spider go.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
multi-tasking or A.D.D. ..and a spider comes to life
Coming up on my last class for the season and made the realization that I have a lot going on. I currently have about 5 ongoing pieces to finish still.
Here's a short list:
-Cuff bracelet inspired by Andy Goldworthy - still need to add a few more pieces and file the ends so they are not to spikey, its pretty cool
-A ring with dicroic glass made from a stamp I got from my mom's scrapbooking collection of supplies
-Same design, but most likely will make a pendant
-Still have hoop copper earrings that I enameled and am not quite happy with...might have to file off the color and see where that leaves me
-Some funky circular textured earrings I made from my copper / silver gate inspired disaster...not quite happy with the way they are laying
-Also did a mold of my cuff bracelet in order to make a couple of copies..since my mom keeps asking for one...and I may be able to sell another.
-And lastly a piece commissioned by my friend Chris, my very first since I've been making jewelry again :) Its a money clip.
I'm psyched because it is actually turning out to be very cool. It is inspired by the Nasca lines in Peru, which I am totally fascinated by although I've never been there. They are amazing drawings made in the the Peruvian desert that hold much mystery and intrigue. No one quite knows their meaning or how they got there - they can only be seen from the sky, each design is quite large and they range from images of birds to monkeys to a figure that looks like an astronaut. The design I picked is this spider. I took a copy of the design and copied onto acetate paper. Using an iron, I then placed my clean metal piece with the toner side down onto it on a hot iron and proceeded to push down on the design with a piece of leather.
This basically transfers the ink onto the metal. This picture is not of my piece but shows how its done
Here's what my spider looked like right before it was to go into the acid bath, with the design transferred onto the metal and the back covered with a special tape so to protect it from the acid.
The next step is to put the piece into an acid bath which will eat away at any metal that does not have any ink on it. And here it is in the acid bath. Everything in Adam's studio is a bit jimmy-rigged and this is no different, we used fishing wire to hang the piece design down in the acid and then set it on a machine that vibrates it to activate the acid (i think)
After etching it, I sawed its shape out and even cut out the lines around its body and legs. I am kind of rethinking the original concept because it is looking so cool, I think I like it standing on its own and having the clip attached to the spider's body but am not sure this is the right way to implement...need to discuss with Adam.
Here's the latest:
Maybe its the connection with Nasca or the fact that it is so bad-ass - either way, I'm really happy with the way it is turning out. Even though in Peru, these are quite the touristy symbols (like cable cars are to SF) ..I think they are so cool and think I see another monkey, bird or spider in my future.
Here's a short list:
-Cuff bracelet inspired by Andy Goldworthy - still need to add a few more pieces and file the ends so they are not to spikey, its pretty cool
-A ring with dicroic glass made from a stamp I got from my mom's scrapbooking collection of supplies
-Same design, but most likely will make a pendant
-Still have hoop copper earrings that I enameled and am not quite happy with...might have to file off the color and see where that leaves me
-Some funky circular textured earrings I made from my copper / silver gate inspired disaster...not quite happy with the way they are laying
-Also did a mold of my cuff bracelet in order to make a couple of copies..since my mom keeps asking for one...and I may be able to sell another.
-And lastly a piece commissioned by my friend Chris, my very first since I've been making jewelry again :) Its a money clip.
I'm psyched because it is actually turning out to be very cool. It is inspired by the Nasca lines in Peru, which I am totally fascinated by although I've never been there. They are amazing drawings made in the the Peruvian desert that hold much mystery and intrigue. No one quite knows their meaning or how they got there - they can only be seen from the sky, each design is quite large and they range from images of birds to monkeys to a figure that looks like an astronaut. The design I picked is this spider. I took a copy of the design and copied onto acetate paper. Using an iron, I then placed my clean metal piece with the toner side down onto it on a hot iron and proceeded to push down on the design with a piece of leather.
This basically transfers the ink onto the metal. This picture is not of my piece but shows how its done
Here's what my spider looked like right before it was to go into the acid bath, with the design transferred onto the metal and the back covered with a special tape so to protect it from the acid.
The next step is to put the piece into an acid bath which will eat away at any metal that does not have any ink on it. And here it is in the acid bath. Everything in Adam's studio is a bit jimmy-rigged and this is no different, we used fishing wire to hang the piece design down in the acid and then set it on a machine that vibrates it to activate the acid (i think)
After etching it, I sawed its shape out and even cut out the lines around its body and legs. I am kind of rethinking the original concept because it is looking so cool, I think I like it standing on its own and having the clip attached to the spider's body but am not sure this is the right way to implement...need to discuss with Adam.
Here's the latest:
Maybe its the connection with Nasca or the fact that it is so bad-ass - either way, I'm really happy with the way it is turning out. Even though in Peru, these are quite the touristy symbols (like cable cars are to SF) ..I think they are so cool and think I see another monkey, bird or spider in my future.
Friday, April 24, 2009
recycled ring
Since I am almost done with my silver wire, I had been collecting silver scraps and unused pieces to melt down to have for my next project. So it was coincidental, that I saw a friend wearing a ring that was silver-plated and it literally made me gasp - eek, "silver plated, you have got to be kidding." So,I offered to redo one of the pieces from my "melting scraps" him.
Recently Adam had shown us a way to make rings smaller using a hydraulic press and metal dapping block. As you press the bottom plate up against the top with the press and ring inside - it essentially squeezes the inside, shrinking it in size. The problem that we encountered was that with a ring so think, the shape can start to get distorted which was happening with my ring - making it lopsided. We were able to partially resolve the shape by taking the punch and hammer the sides. The punch which looks like a rectangular block with a circle on it was also what I was using to create a concave shape (comfort fit). Only problem was that the more I used the punch, the larger the ring got - getting me to my original problem - it being too big.
After all that effort expended, ended up having to cut a segment of the ring and re-solder it shut. Then I cleaned the join up so it no longer showed a seam. After that I spent a lot of time sanding the top and bottom of the ring on a sheet of sand paper. The simple repetitive motion kind of put me into a meditative state. It was quite relaxing and seemed to release the tensions of the day. I often feel like that when I am making something..so totally engrossed in the process - I am not thinking of anything but that particular task - truly feels like I am in the present.
After some time sanding and meditating :) I went back to creating the concave form. Supposedly this also creates what's called a comfort fit ring. After it was formed, I felt the design still needed something to draw the eye to the center..something to accentuate the form so I stamped the center with punch..it created a pretty cool design. After I added some liver of sulfer, which darkened the design and gave it a nice contract.
It turned out looking pretty cool - I was afraid it might come out being too big, but my friend Sam - really liked it. And was able to get rid of his crappy silver-plated one.
Recently Adam had shown us a way to make rings smaller using a hydraulic press and metal dapping block. As you press the bottom plate up against the top with the press and ring inside - it essentially squeezes the inside, shrinking it in size. The problem that we encountered was that with a ring so think, the shape can start to get distorted which was happening with my ring - making it lopsided. We were able to partially resolve the shape by taking the punch and hammer the sides. The punch which looks like a rectangular block with a circle on it was also what I was using to create a concave shape (comfort fit). Only problem was that the more I used the punch, the larger the ring got - getting me to my original problem - it being too big.
After all that effort expended, ended up having to cut a segment of the ring and re-solder it shut. Then I cleaned the join up so it no longer showed a seam. After that I spent a lot of time sanding the top and bottom of the ring on a sheet of sand paper. The simple repetitive motion kind of put me into a meditative state. It was quite relaxing and seemed to release the tensions of the day. I often feel like that when I am making something..so totally engrossed in the process - I am not thinking of anything but that particular task - truly feels like I am in the present.
After some time sanding and meditating :) I went back to creating the concave form. Supposedly this also creates what's called a comfort fit ring. After it was formed, I felt the design still needed something to draw the eye to the center..something to accentuate the form so I stamped the center with punch..it created a pretty cool design. After I added some liver of sulfer, which darkened the design and gave it a nice contract.
It turned out looking pretty cool - I was afraid it might come out being too big, but my friend Sam - really liked it. And was able to get rid of his crappy silver-plated one.
Goldsworthy Inspired Cuff
My cuff is coming along - this week, Adam introduced me to a nifty tool called a cup burr that I used to round the sharp edges of my bracelet. Here, I thought I was going to have to file each of the sharp edges down using a file or sand paper. Which would have taken hours on each point. With this tool, I was able to round the points in a matter of 1-2 minutes.
I'm liking the progress but realized when I went to shape the cuff around my wrist a couple of issues...
1) its not lengthy enough and
2) the edges around the inside of my wrist are quite sharp...so I guess I'll need to add a few more pieces of silver.
Slow going - but it looks pretty cool. Kind of like Japanese writing or calligraphy - also has kind of a retro 80's feel. I like it, just hope its functional. Another challenge, striking the balance between form, beauty and intrigue.
I'm liking the progress but realized when I went to shape the cuff around my wrist a couple of issues...1) its not lengthy enough and
2) the edges around the inside of my wrist are quite sharp...so I guess I'll need to add a few more pieces of silver.
Slow going - but it looks pretty cool. Kind of like Japanese writing or calligraphy - also has kind of a retro 80's feel. I like it, just hope its functional. Another challenge, striking the balance between form, beauty and intrigue.
Couldn't have said it better myself
Thought these words were incredibly deep and inspiring - came from a friend reacting to my post about the element of surprise at final outcomes..
"....it is not about knowing what I am doing so much as just opening to the small and quiet intuitions and images and the big, loud, and crushing ones- that the best things come out of something too complex and mysterious to ever completely master or understand. art like love and living life well has to do with imagination and trust and not so much knowing or certainty, courage and grace and not so much power and will."
"....it is not about knowing what I am doing so much as just opening to the small and quiet intuitions and images and the big, loud, and crushing ones- that the best things come out of something too complex and mysterious to ever completely master or understand. art like love and living life well has to do with imagination and trust and not so much knowing or certainty, courage and grace and not so much power and will."
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