Try Something You've Never Done Before

I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.

-Pablo Picasso

The last few weeks have been frustrating for me. I am always trying out new ideas and sometimes the final product is not what I was attempting. These "challenges" seem to come in clusters and so, I've had one disappointment after another recently. When you are working with found objects or just trying something new, there's often no clear cut method. It takes so much experimenting to not only get the technique, but to then get it to do what you need.

It is difficult sometimes to go against the norm. If only a simple clasp or a traditional setting were all I needed to complete a piece of jewelry, life would be so simple. But, there is something inside me that just doesn't see the purpose of creating another piece of jewelry that you've seen a million times before. I always have to be different and so do my creations. Believe me, this does not make life easy, even though it does make it interesting.

I was feeling a bit disjointed today, eyeing all my unfinished projects, when I saw the above quote from Picasso.

Picasso was always trying out new styles and techniques. So, he must have always been doing things he did not know how to do. He did them anyway, and kept on doing them, because he wanted to learn how to do them.

This quote inspired me to take a fresh look at some of my recent unfinished projects. And do you know what? They all came together. I see a solution. I can combine the different techniques I've been working on to get exactly what I was aiming for.

I'm off to do this now. Meanwhile, I hope the quote inspires you too. Don't be afraid to try something you've never done, it's the only way you'll learn how to do it.

Asbury Park Images at the Boardwalk 2009

I have several 100 year old postcards on my site of Asbury Park NJ circa 1909. I took some pictures last week of some familiar spots as they are now in 2009. Here you'll see, Convention Hall, The Paramount, The Casino, Madame Marie's, and the now empty Carasoul building.

More Inspirations from The Met

Just last week, a new exhibit opened at the Met called Art of the Samurai - Arms and Armor 1156-1868. Learning the properties of metal and moving that metal is what jewelery making is all about. Those who make the Samurai arms are total masters of metal. So, this exhibit was interesting to me, from a jeweler's perspective.

The first half of the exhibit is mostly the blades themselves, shining in space, incredibly old and looking as though they were made yesterday. All I could think of while looking at them was to wonder at the knowledge and the strength of the person who forged them.

The second half of the show was the armor. This was interesting. Again, some of the pieces were hundreds of years old, but in perfect condition. Most were kept in families through many generations. It turns out, each Samurai had a special style of his own. They liked the bold, over the top look! Check out the guy in the gold necklace who is the poster boy for the show. His actual armour is in the show. The antlers are black lacquered and glittery! I just love the huge gold prayer beads he wore.  They contrast with the black just right. This was a fun show to go through, opening my mind to different approaches to metal and ornament.

GARNET BUCKLES
On the first floor there is a hallway that I often find myself in at the Met. It's on the way back to the Great Hall. There are some ancient pieces of Celtic and Frank items. I'm always drawn to a few of these and finally took a picture, so that I might be able to use them as an inspiration someday. The red is slivers of sliced garnets. I think these were from the 500s AD. Someday I'd like to make something like this. I'm starting to think about buckles and this would be a good start, don't you think?