Art Jewelry: What Is It, And Why ...
When you buy art jewelry, you are buying so much more than a piece of
jewelry. You are buying a creative process – concept to design to
execution to finished product. It may not be too much to say that you will
be wearing a little bit of the artist on your wrist or finger or lapel.
Concept
Conceptually, many of my designs, although not immediately apparent,
are inspired by nature. In some of my floral embossed silver pieces, this is
easily seen. In the plastic, though? For one thing, Mother Nature is not
shy about color – just look around you – all colors go together in nature.
In art, people often talk about forms being “organic” or “geometric.”
Generally, this means that organic forms are “natural” and geometric
forms are not. I’m not sure I agree with this – examine the different colored
strata in a wall of rock, for example; or that exquisite blue line against the
night horizon. Abstracted, yes, but much of my plastic work has nature in
mind. And I kind of enjoy the irony of representing nature with this most
human-made material.
I also love human-made things – especially cars, which are really just
kinetic sculpture. Clothing, shoes, jewelry, dishware, glassware. All of
these things are seeds for new designs.
Design
In this sense, design means how the piece is put together. Sometimes the
simplest looking piece may have required a lot of planning. I have found
that the more I work with plastic, especially, the more I am able to indulge
my love for simple, clean, dramatic forms. The material lends itself well to
this kind of expression.
Design also considers how the piece will work – does it slip on, cuff on, or
have some kind of hinge or clasp mechanism? If so, how is this
constructed? How can the piece be good looking, and also wearable –
easy to put on, take off, not get caught in one’s hair?
Execution
Jewelry making is an often dirty, loud, and hazardous process that results
in something that would never make us think of dirt, noise and/or danger.
Here is where you are actually purchasing the artist’s blood, sweat and
tears.
The simpler and cleaner the form of the piece, the more care must be
taken on the finishing step. Without details to distract the eye, small flaws
can be glaring.
Check out the “Black and Blue” bangle series elsewhere on my site –
each bracelet took approximately 10 hours to construct and finish into
wearable form.
Finished product
Each piece of jewelry on my site is either one of a kind or a limited edition.
The fun of art jewelry is that you don’t usually see it on anyone else. And I
hope that way, that little piece of me expresses a whole lot about you!
When you buy art jewelry, you are buying so much more than a piece of
jewelry. You are buying a creative process – concept to design to
execution to finished product. It may not be too much to say that you will
be wearing a little bit of the artist on your wrist or finger or lapel.
Concept
Conceptually, many of my designs, although not immediately apparent,
are inspired by nature. In some of my floral embossed silver pieces, this is
easily seen. In the plastic, though? For one thing, Mother Nature is not
shy about color – just look around you – all colors go together in nature.
In art, people often talk about forms being “organic” or “geometric.”
Generally, this means that organic forms are “natural” and geometric
forms are not. I’m not sure I agree with this – examine the different colored
strata in a wall of rock, for example; or that exquisite blue line against the
night horizon. Abstracted, yes, but much of my plastic work has nature in
mind. And I kind of enjoy the irony of representing nature with this most
human-made material.
I also love human-made things – especially cars, which are really just
kinetic sculpture. Clothing, shoes, jewelry, dishware, glassware. All of
these things are seeds for new designs.
Design
In this sense, design means how the piece is put together. Sometimes the
simplest looking piece may have required a lot of planning. I have found
that the more I work with plastic, especially, the more I am able to indulge
my love for simple, clean, dramatic forms. The material lends itself well to
this kind of expression.
Design also considers how the piece will work – does it slip on, cuff on, or
have some kind of hinge or clasp mechanism? If so, how is this
constructed? How can the piece be good looking, and also wearable –
easy to put on, take off, not get caught in one’s hair?
Execution
Jewelry making is an often dirty, loud, and hazardous process that results
in something that would never make us think of dirt, noise and/or danger.
Here is where you are actually purchasing the artist’s blood, sweat and
tears.
The simpler and cleaner the form of the piece, the more care must be
taken on the finishing step. Without details to distract the eye, small flaws
can be glaring.
Check out the “Black and Blue” bangle series elsewhere on my site –
each bracelet took approximately 10 hours to construct and finish into
wearable form.
Finished product
Each piece of jewelry on my site is either one of a kind or a limited edition.
The fun of art jewelry is that you don’t usually see it on anyone else. And I
hope that way, that little piece of me expresses a whole lot about you!
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