Category Archives: Balance

Balance, Necklaces, Philosophy, Wire Work

Quality Control vs. Perfectionism

 

squiggles

Some of you may have just glanced at the picture above and decided that I’ve gone too far. About all my spouse could say when I put it on was that it was still strange.

The wire armature of this piece sat on the work table for several weeks. I tried in various ways and even wired beads on  it once. I was trying to make it perfect. The first time, my wire bindings weren’t even. The second time I felt the bead placement was wrong. Finally, I looked at the piece and realized that I was trying to find the “perfect” way to embellishment it. Yet, I didn’t really know what perfect for this piece should look like.

Finally, instead of thinking about perfection, I started to think about good technique that might lead to good quality. Could I get the beads on the armature without the ugly wire ends showing? How might I balance the piece without letting the beads take over the design. Could I make good jump rings without rough edges?

You may not like the look of it, but the piece won’t fall apart or snag your clothes. Of course, this finished necklace is not perfect and I could still pick it apart, but at least I was able to accomplish those elements needed for quality.  Sometimes that’s the best I can do.

Balance, Earrings, Necklaces, Pendants, Wire Work

Celtic Design

Most of my designs are composed of freeform, asymmetrical or random patterns. I’ve favored this style for so long that I wondered if I could actually follow a pattern. Even though randomness is not always a bad thing, I still remember what happened when I let the children in my elementary classes “do their own thing”. It was very difficult to get them back to the routine. Therefore, I usually saved this freedom for the end of the day and then quickly sent them home to their mothers. By the next morning, they were usually ready to get back to the routine.

I observed this same phenomenon with the graduate students that I taught. One evening, in an early childhood class, I let them experiment with drops of colored water on waxed paper. Each student had a straw and they were to observe the movement of the drops blown across the paper as well as the manner in which they combined. The drops move like liquid mercury. I thought we had put everything away and started my lecture only to glance up and note two women in the back of the room racing their water drops across the waxed paper as they blew through the straws. I bent down and met them at eye level just as the first water drop crossed the finish line. I was laughing so hard inside that it was hard to be stern. We never did quite return to full intellectual seriousness during that class.

With the knowledge of how freedom can trump rigor, I was concerned about following the Celtic knot pattern. Thankfully, I don’t have to go somewhere to get straightened out. I can still create a balanced pattern. The necklace shown here, composed of Celtic knots IS balanced. celtic necklace I have several acquaintances who really like Celtic knots, but I’ve wondered about their meaning. I retrieved the following information from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_knot

“Celtic knots are a variety of (mostly endless) knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, adopted by the ancient Celts. These knots are most known for their adaptation for use in the ornamentation of Christian monuments and manuscripts . . . “

This didn’t tell me much more than I knew, but the Christian connection is interesting. I like these knots because they are seeming endlessness. I had a great deal of trouble figuring out the pendant knot. The others on the necklace chain are not endless. Each is made of two separate figure eights that are brought together with jump rings on each end. celtic earrings This is more easily observed on the earrings.

This set has found a temporary home at Dovetails of Wimberley and if folks like it, the store owner suggested we make it in silver. We shall see whether or not I can replicate that knot.

You know, following a pattern wasn’t too bad. It was actually quite calming to know exactly what should come next in the design. (But I wouldn’t want to do this all the time!)

Balance, Diversions, Philosophy

Balance

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I was explaining to my younger friend, Dr. G, how I was trying to keep things in balance, indicating that perhaps this is more necessary as we grow older. For example, we might work at the computer until the backache sets in, then move to the jewelry making until that arthritic hand hurts, go to clean the kitchen, etc. and then start that cycle all over again. Hopefully, by the end of the day things all come together and reached closure (or nothing does!).

Today’s balance involved stopping in the middle of baking to go round up cows who for some reason wanted to stay in the shade rather than coming to the barn to receive their shots (go figure - - who’s smarter on that one?). Is it true that if you put your cookie batter in the refrigerator while you round up cows, it will actually taste better? I don’t really think so.

Design balance can also involve a little bit of this and that. I used to try to create asymmetrical pieces without much regard for balance. They either hung crooked because there was too much weight on one side or were not very attractive. You can always tell when people who normally look at your neck to see what jewels you are wearing suddenly start looking you straight in the eye. Something must be amuck with your jewelry piece and even the face looks better than the asymmetrical design. That means it’s time to go back to the design drawing board.

I recently received the Wee People Newsletter from my friend, the doll maker. She has wonderful artistic taste and her newsletters are a feast for the eyes, ears, and spirit. I hope she will forgive me for including the U Tube video below which she  shared with her readers. The photos are by Hans Silvester who also offer a book of similar title available on Amazon. Although I might dub this video with many titles, today it shows me balance. The stills that start part way through the piece show marvelous artistic balance achieved by individuals as they have decorated their faces and bodies. Often the Omo people shown used earth objects to form asymmetrical beauty. The photos offer a lesson in balance for designers. I’m hoping that if I watch it enough, I’ll begin to “see” better and transfer that to my designs. At the very least, the music and photos of the video together present a peaceful aura.

As for the balance from computer, to design table, to cows . . . I can only hope for the best.