Recently I was going through old sketch books attempting to identify so different patterns of creativity. I don't generally sketch out as many ideas for my jewelry or beads as I do work out ideas for my paintings and other work.
I found my sketchbook I kept in my very first jewelry class and was really taken by how much my ideas took shape over the pages. I thought I would share some from the very first project from my metals class took shape.
A large part of my senior thesis in painting had to do with birds. Here is one sketch where I was working out ideas for a painting.
The requirements of this first project was to complete a piece using cutting-and-piercing metal and any cold connections. Here you can see where I was working out different ideas for the sawed parts and various designs that did not make "the cut".
In between sketches, there were brief little pages of notes that I took in class or wrote down the names of artists whose work inspired me. A neat little hint that I wrote at the bottom is to bend wire solder at the end into a semblance of the shape of the letter rather than attach a label that will most like fall off before you finish the length of solder.
Here you can see my final idea and a tiny mock up I made beforehand. This specific professor often encouraged us to make models or mock ups before we began to help us work out specific design problems that might arise during the process. (That's a polaroid of me a friend took at the time! I can't believe I ever had hair that short!)
Here is an image of the finished pendant. I'm still not good at tube rivets! Finished piece: Copper, Nickel, Cardboard, Laser Printed Acetate, Feather, Stamping, and Texturing.
After reminiscing through this old sketchbook, I'm excited to begin trying more mock ups and design sketches as I work on a piece.
Do you keep a sketchbook of your jewelry ideas? Do you sketch items out or make models to avoid potential design flaws? I'd love to hear if you do!
