Creativity

Yesterday the temperatures were in the 80's and the leaves are almost fully out on the trees.  Now is the time to get out there and get inspired to create art! No matter what art media you are involved in (I suspect most of you are jewelry makers), inspiration can be found anywhere. Nature is probably THE best inspiration for art.  Look for the following:  colors and color harmonies; textures and patterns, especially in foliage; repetition of color & texture in a scene.  Take a trip to a botanical garden and take pictures of pleasing color combinations amongst the flowers.  Reading books on landscape design are very helpful in learning these principles of art and design.

Email me (lwjlynn@frontiernet.net) a digital .jpg photo of a Nature inspired art piece you have recently created  and I will try to post them throughout the summer on my blog. Please tell a short story of what in Nature inspired you to create your art.

Sarah's Ring

It was no coincidence that I posted the quote below on Sunday. I knew what my next blog was going to be about: Sarah’s Ring.

Sarah and I met through the young adult singles group at a church I went to 20-25 years ago. Like most people in the group, I eventually got married and lost touch with most of my friends and acquaintances. The last time I saw Sarah was at my wedding in 1993. That was a coincidence. She was attending a banquet at the same hotel/convention complex and saw the sign for my wedding on the door and she poked her head in to say hi. In 2006, I began my jewelry training at the local technical college. I knew she taught there and I hoped I’d run into her sooner or later. Well, it was more later, but to shorten the story some, I saw her at a bake sale and invited her to our student jewelry show/sale. She brought with her a beautiful 10x14 oval jade cabachon and a mangled ring that it once was set in. She said it was her mother’s ring (she had passed away) and could I make a new setting for it?

This was my first major commissioned piece, and in 14K gold which I had less experience working with than sterling silver. I found a beautiful filigree head that was about the size of the stone. She loved it as much as I did and so I ordered it. Unfortunately, it was a fraction too small for the stone. Now, my stonesetting experience at the time was limited to about 6 rings I made in stonesetting class, barely enough to get my feet wet at the skill. I put a few inquiries out to jewelry making forums on how to do this. As you may know, it is not typical to set cabachons in 4 prong settings but it certainly can be done. Getting written advice is definitely not as good as seeing someone else do it, but I plugged on with it SLOWLY.

Being a perfectionist and knowing the trials and tribulations I went through with jewelry class projects, I did not want to get ahead of my abilities. And I did not want to have to do things over or repair them in process. I did not work on the ring when I did not feel I could give it my best, so it took me awhile to complete the ring. Just when I thought it was completed I decided the stone hung over the setting too far unprotected on the ends. Now what was I going to do? After thinking about it for a few days, it dawned upon me to use the end prongs from her old setting which were still usable. I had some difficulties getting those on the new ring and one broke off once so I had to redo it, but I persevered and yesterday I finally delivered the finished ring to Sarah. This piece is a redesigned family heirloom that she will pass on to her niece someday when she herself passes on. The original end prongs that I used to solve a problem that had arisen in process gave the ring even more beauty and sentimental value.

So what point am I trying to make? Perseverance allowed me to provide her with a beautiful heirloom ring. Taking my time allowed me to work through the challenges without having to redo things over and over, or having to replace a prong or two in the process. Was it all a joyful experience as I was working on it, and did I feel guilty for how long it was taking me? No, and you bet.

But I sure was happy yesterday when I saw the smile on her face when she got the ring. That smile and thank you made it all worth it. And I got the challenge of taking on and succeeding at a project that I would probably never had attempted or finished on my own. And, despite some minor imperfections, I was very happy with the finished product.

So don’t be afraid to take on a challenge, but remember to be patient and persevere throughout the process. I think perseverance has helped me get or achieve most all the good things I have in my life and that will probably be true in your life as well.

NOT GUILTY!

“How tedious is a guilty conscious”  - John Webster (English writer/playwright 1580-1632)

I don’t know about you, but I have dealt with guilt for many years about not having a “real job”.  These days EVERYBODY has, or used to have, a REAL JOB.  If you didn’t, there must be something wrong with you, or so I thought.  I guess this is why I never pursued any of my art beyond college, even I thought I thoroughly enjoyed it and did well at it (at least my teachers said so).  I convinced myself I wasn’t good enough to make a living at art.

So like many of you, I pursued other options that seemed right at the time, but never really made me happy.

This morning I decided to look up the definiton of guilt: 

1:    the act of having committed a breach of conduct especially violating law and involving a penalty.

2a:  the state of one who has committed an offense especially consciously

2b:  feelings of culpability, especially for imagined offenses or from a sense of inadequacy: self- reproach.

3. a feeling of culpability for offenses.

The only one that comes close to describing me is 2b, so I looked up the definition of self-reproach:

 - a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed)

- the act of blaming yourself

A “guilt trip” is defined as a prolonged feeling of deep regret.

Okay, so maybe I have been on a major guilt trip. But to where and for what?  What misdeed have I done? 

The loss of income?  Would that extra income have made my husband and I happier?  In many ways, no.

For not becoming the successful person I could have become?  It depends on how you define success.  And my life isn’t over, yet.

So I declare myself and anybody else out there who has felt this way, “NOT GUILTY!”

Go work on your art and try your very best to not feel any guilt about it, because you are not doing anything WRONG!  

You are doing something right, creative, and beautiful!

Sources:

guilt

self-reproach

guilt trip

Early Spring - Assessment Time

By our place in March and early April  it still looks like winter, even though it is officially spring.  Winter can be a long season up here, and it is lengthened because our property is wooded. The snow just doesn't melt as fast as in the open areas.  This time of year it is a little harder to stay motivated.  

Now is a good time to take stock of what art you have completed throughout winter and what projects you would like to do during the warmer months.  Perhaps this year some of us might try some plein air painting (painting outdoors in Nature). What appeals to me about this method is the looseness of the art.  You don't get bogged down in the details of every blade of grass or twig.  And since one of my medias is watercolor, that is what I am working towards.  Let your mind fill in the details as it looks at the painting and save yourself some time and energy.   This principle can apply to my jewelry work, as well.

My art themes for this spring and summer are: free, loose, abstract, small, and quick.  Does anyone want to join me?

Aim for Success - Not Perfection

I'd like to start this blog off with an inspiring quote:

"Aim for success not perfection...  Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person."   -Dr. David Burns

Share your comments on how this quote can be applied to YOUR artistic pursuits.