jewelrymaking

I had another one of those flashes of inspiration this morning as I was lying in bed reveling in the fact that we didn’t have to get up early and rush around getting ready for school etc.  The last time this happened to me was when I started working on my Captured Strata series.  The idea just wouldn’t let me stay in bed.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that today’s idea will work out as well as the Strata one did.  It’s a simple idea: basically I want to make a longish chain of polymer filled channels linked with rings.  I’ll need to play with the scale and construction to make it work.

Today, however, I can’t rush down into the studio and immerse myself in this design idea.  This idea is going to have to stay “on hold” until I can give it time and attention.

All of this started me thinking about how important paper has become for me as a tool.  I’ve been using sketchbooks and slips of paper to record ideas for years, but more recently I have begun to use paper as an integral part of my design process.  Silver is an expensive material to work in.  And metal is slower and harder to work than polymer clay.  My old design process when I was working exclusively in polymer clay, had me diving right in and trying things out.  When I started incorporating silver, I found this style of work not only added up to expensive mistakes, but it sapped a lot of my creative energy as well.  It made the process of refining a design arduous to the point where I’d get frustrated and stop before I worked the problems out fully.

A selection of my templates (some a bit worse for the wear)

This year, I started making paper mock-ups of my design ideas and it has helped me immensely.  I generally use index cards, construction paper or card stock so that the paper models are sturdy enough to try on.  Not only does paper help me refine my ideas, but it gives me a pattern to follow when cutting the silver sheet.  It’s a fun process and it keeps me excited while I work out some of the basic issues of scale and placement.

Artist name: Lora Hart

Location: California

Website: LoraHart.com
Blog: Lora Hart Jewels
Flickr: Lora Hart’s photostream
Etsy: Lora Hart Jewels Etsy Shop

Do you have a dedicated studio/artistic space? Well sure!

Where is it located? In a tiny corner of my tiny 500 square foot apartment.

Is it a large or small space? Umm, tiny.

What medium(s) do you work in? Do you have a separate area for each? I pretty much just make jewelry. Mostly metal clay, but I’m getting more into metalsmithing. I dabble with knitting, but I have to look up how to cast on every single time. Not any kind of an expert with that. It took me a year to finish a single purse. I only work in the Studiolo. The rest of the space is just for living.

What one word would you use to describe your studio? Compact.

What do you think is the best feature of your studio? The fact that it’s in my “house”. Very early mornings are my best time for creative work (like 6 am), so I can toddle out of bed and get going without even changing out of my PJ’s.

What would you change if you could? The size. I dream about a 900 - 1200 square foot space. I like to keep my dreams manageable.

Can you share an organizational tip? Containers are your friend. And labels. I love those little plastic drawers I get at the discount store. Each drawer holds a single item. Jump rings, soldering supplies, gem stones, metal clay supplies etc. And each drawer is labeled for times when the senior moment strikes.

Describe the usual state of your work table? It’s pretty much 50/50. Half the time it’s a disaster and half the time it’s relatively clean. Because my Studiolo (as I like to call it) is in my living space, I like to try to straighten it up at the end of the day. Sometimes straightening just means I make a nice looking pile instead of actually putting things away.

Does your work table face out into the room or toward the wall? Out into the room. The window faces a parking lot and facing a wall would make me claustrophobic. And looking into my living room means that I can also glance up at the tv in case Judge Judy is saying something profound. :¬ )

What’s one drawback of your studio/artistic space? Broken record playing again. The size.

Do you have any studio mascots (pets, mannequin whatever)? Not really. I own a scaredy cat who pretty much lives in the closet, so he doesn’t bother my desk/bench at all. The hair he continually sheds keeps me company though.

Do you have an idea wall or inspiration board? I have a bulletin board that does double duty. I have Post-It® Notes all around the edges with all my passwords and account numbers for all the computer stuff I need to remember. Hosting site, my mobile phone number (who ever calls themselves), my Adobe Contribute serial number which I use to update my website. That sort of thing. In the middle of the board are postcards of work by other jewelry makers; pictures of my parents when they were young; an ATC I made in an Artist’s Way workshop that says “Let Your Thoughts Fly Free”; a couch I really want to own and an original “get well” piece of art from a friend in Asheville. I’m also really into Anahata lately, so I printed out some images of her beautiful work which I love looking at. I try to imagine what kind of jewelry her ladies might wear. And there’s an Ikea shelf underneath the bulletin board that’s just three inches wide . It’s supposed to house works in progress so they don’t get broken, but it’s been gathering interesting and yes, inspirational flotsam and jetsam lately.

Do you listen to music in your studio? What kind? If I’m playing music, I’m not making jewelry. I start singing and get distracted so silence is golden when I’m working. Or the tv which I’m pretty good at tuning out. Sometimes I just forget to turn the morning news off and it becomes white noise. One weekend I “woke up” from an intense session to find that a football game had been on for more than an hour.

Do you display your own work in your studio? Other artists’ work? I display jewelry in my bathroom of all places. There’s not an awful lot of space for displays in the Studiolo. Oh, but now that I look at the little shelf, there’s a mini display bust with a necklace of mine on it. Don’t remember why or when it got there.

What’s one quirk or unusual feature of your studio? Mmmm… Not too quirky. Except that it does double duty as my regular correspondence and computer station too. And bill paying center and anything else I need a desk for. Everything has to do double duty in such a small space.