September Synchroblog -- Inspiration
The Artists Synchroblog is a group of bloggers who post on the same topic on odd months and on even months we take on a Pinterest Challenge where we each take inspiration from a Pinterest picture, creating something (art, a meal, a DIY project, etc) and then posting about it.
This month's topic: September
INSPIRATION/INFLUENCES
“My inspiration comes from…”
Wow - what a loaded topic that is for me? Who knows, quien sabe, no lo se, and any other English or foreign phrase that says- most days, I have no clue what I'm going to do until I get to the bench and start. I could say I am inspired by nature and architecture because I love both and get loads of ideas while in my garden or on walks. Travel to other countries has opened up a whole world of texture and design for me that I love. BUT, I do not consider myself an artist - what I like to do is make things - I love the whole process of making the parts and watching them go together to make something beautiful and wearable.
As you can see from the two photos above- this was a construction conundrum! This was a huge piece of diamond rough, no real flat spot to make a normal cup for a setting and the customer wanted a specific side to show. I had so much fun working with my mentor to come up with a way to hold this stone and make it into a wearable ring. So maybe that's my inspiration- the challenge of designing so it works and still looks good?
My other inspiration is again a challenge. I love to try to learn a new technique as often as possible in between filling orders. My current challenge is learning to bead set. If you don't know what that is, it is drilling a hole to perfectly fit a stone inside, then instead of holding the stone by pushing the metal over the edges as in flush setting, you take a tool called a graver, which is a very sharp instrument and can do bodily harm if not used properly :) (ask me how I know). And you use the graver to cut through and push the metal up to the edge of the stone and create a small pile of metal. You then take another tool- a beading tool, and round that pile so you have just made very tiny prongs on 4 sides of the stone to hold it in place. All this is assuming you have done it correctly, not broken off one of the beads by pushing it to far or the graver has gone on it's own path and you have to start over again.
I do hope you've enjoyed my ramblings about what inspires me and I hope you will take some time to read some of the blogs below to see what inspires others in our Synchroblog group.
This month's topic: September
INSPIRATION/INFLUENCES
“My inspiration comes from…”
Wow - what a loaded topic that is for me? Who knows, quien sabe, no lo se, and any other English or foreign phrase that says- most days, I have no clue what I'm going to do until I get to the bench and start. I could say I am inspired by nature and architecture because I love both and get loads of ideas while in my garden or on walks. Travel to other countries has opened up a whole world of texture and design for me that I love. BUT, I do not consider myself an artist - what I like to do is make things - I love the whole process of making the parts and watching them go together to make something beautiful and wearable.
My other inspiration is again a challenge. I love to try to learn a new technique as often as possible in between filling orders. My current challenge is learning to bead set. If you don't know what that is, it is drilling a hole to perfectly fit a stone inside, then instead of holding the stone by pushing the metal over the edges as in flush setting, you take a tool called a graver, which is a very sharp instrument and can do bodily harm if not used properly :) (ask me how I know). And you use the graver to cut through and push the metal up to the edge of the stone and create a small pile of metal. You then take another tool- a beading tool, and round that pile so you have just made very tiny prongs on 4 sides of the stone to hold it in place. All this is assuming you have done it correctly, not broken off one of the beads by pushing it to far or the graver has gone on it's own path and you have to start over again.
I do hope you've enjoyed my ramblings about what inspires me and I hope you will take some time to read some of the blogs below to see what inspires others in our Synchroblog group.
