Quote for Monday, July 6, 2015

Aside

“Alchemy…is an encounter with the substances in the world around us, an encounter that is not veiled by science…alchemy is the best and most eloquent way to understand how paint can mean….”

James Elkins, What Painting Is

Not So Simple Line

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Maya Necklace. Megan Auman. Blackened Steel and Sterling.

Maya Necklace. Megan Auman. Blackened Steel and Sterling.

Line is the simplest element of design. It should not, however, be dismissed as boring. Line is filled with possibility. Just ask any kid with a crayon.

Proof of this is in Megan Auman’s “Maya Necklace,” made of sterling and blackened steel wire. Created from interlocking, tear-shaped links, the work is a great study in the use of line: line to create value, form, movement, and visual weight.

When working with a pencil, a thicker line equals darker value. Although Auman has used wire of all the same gauge, that is disguised by the way she layers the links. The value appears darker where she has used several links together—like lines in a doodle that are scribbled over will look darker. Single steel links look lighter in value, and where the silver and blackened steel links are jumbled, the value becomes distinctly gray. This is all punctuated by the simple silver links—the lightest value of all.

The loose connections between the links create actual movement, of course. However, by varying the way the links are joined, and by overlapping layers of wire, Auman creates a playful, scribble quality that gives the necklace high visual energy. Even if the links did not actually move, the necklace looks like it’s in motion. The randomness keeps the eye moving, too, always looking for the next area of interest.

One of the neatest tricks of “Maya Necklace” is how Auman uses a simple, lightweight material, combined with the open interior of the links, to create a feeling of volume and form. Our mind sees the outline of the total shape of the necklace, and says, “Hmmm. Big shape. Must equal big weight.” So our brain assigns the piece the piece more substance that it actually has. This is the kind of thing that is especially useful for jewelry artists who might want to work in an expensive material without a lot of expense. You can create a statement piece with a minimum of materials.

Value, form, movement, playfulness, substance—all with a simple line. Maybe not so simple after all.

Review: Simple Soldering, Kate Ferrant Richbourg

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Simple Soldering coverSimple Soldering: A Beginner’s Guide to Jewelry Making, Kate Ferrant Richbourg, Interweave Press, 2012. 159 pages, color, includes instructional DVD. $29.95

If you’re interested in making jewelry or taking your jewelry skills to the next level, Kate Richbourg’s Simple Soldering is a good place to start. She assumes her readers are starting without any background in metal work, so the first four chapters provide a soldering overview, a guide to setting up a work space, vital safety considerations (after all, a torch flame and red-hot metal are nothing to be careless with!), and an introduction to tools and materials necessary to the craft. The impatient (i.e., me) may be tempted to skip these chapters, but don’t. Richbourg provides lots of good information that will make your progress much smoother and your learning much more successful.

The first chapter where you get your hands dirty (literally: copper can be dirty to work with) is filled with 16 small projects that teach you all the skills you need to use in the remaining projects. Richbourg designs these projects as a sampler, reminiscent of the needlework samplers of earlier days when needlework was an invaluable and highly valued skill. Completing this sampler, too, will give you invaluable skills. So despite the fact that you will not have a finished piece of jewelry when you have completed these projects, they are vital. Richbourg wants you to be able to work without regard to the finished piece, instead focusing all your attention on learning about the materials, how to handle the tools, getting familiar with the process, and–very important–how to fix an oops when you have one (and you will).

The following 20 projects are organized so that you use increasingly more challenging techniques and combinations of techniques–and of course, each results in a much more satisfying piece of jewelry.

Soldered hollow bead. Kate Richbourg

Soldered hollow bead. Kate Richbourg

On the DVD, Richbourg has a very clear and pleasant presentation style. The visuals are excellent. However, though there is a presentation of the tools you’ll need, and sections on some of the more complex techniques, there is no demonstration of basic things, such as sawing and filing. True, this is a book/DVD about soldering, not metal working in general. But because the book is designed for complete beginners, the DVD would have been a great place to walk users through each piece of the sampler so there would be a visual guide to each technique.

I also wish that Interweave had used a binding type that would lie flat or, even better, fold back on itself (such as a spiral binding) so that a reader would not have to weight the book open on the bench.

That said, though, I think anyone wanting to learn soldering on their own, would be very pleased with what they can learn in this book. You can try this at home!