Stu dy n at ure, l ov e n atu re, st ay c l os e to nat u re. It wil l nev er f ai l y ou . – Fran k Ll oy d W ri ght
This weekend is about tapping into what makes you feel creative and that will be something different for each of you. I invite you to slow down, take in the natural world around you and see the everyday with a fresh perspective. The following creative prompts aren’t a traditional scavenger hunt; there is no contest or prize other than the inspiration I hope you find! Don’t rush through the field trips this weekend. Take time to make observations and to soak in the sights and sounds. Go at your own pace. It’s okay to wander off a bit on your own and really study something for a few moments. Take as many photos as you can. Turn off the flash, get up close and personal for great close up shots with your macro setting on your camera. Capture anything that you find interesting, hunt for colors, textures and shapes that you may have overlooked before. So follow me now, along the sandy shores, through a colorful market and into the woods as we uncover nature’s treasures.
To se e t he wor ld i n a gr ain of sa n d, a n d t o s ee hea ve n in a wild f low er, ho ld i nfini ty in the pa lm of yo ur ha n ds, an d e ter nity i n an h o ur. – Willia m B lak e
Sea Think about all the different textures here on the beach. It’s quite a contrast. You could find rocks in every texture imaginable – from glassy smooth to stones encrusted with fossils. Each little rock is world unto itself. Think about the waves lapping at the shore: the crest of the water as the wave breaks, the placid look of the sea as you scan across the horizon, to the water soaked sand at the edge of the shore. How can this translate into beads? To the casual passerby it’s sand and water, but to the observant jewelry designer it’s a sea of inspiration. Think of a teal blue ribbon flowing though a chain with wire-wrapped rough cut stones to remind you of the water chasing a rocky shoreline. Envision beads encrusted with bumpy glass frit and stones as smooth and clear as the water in shades of aquamarine with accents of lace tied unto silver wire work. This could be those tiny grains of sand soaked with waves and breakers crashing over the shore.
Insp i rati on H u nti ng : 1. Look around for a new texture on the beach – it could be a piece of driftwood, an interesting stone, the shifting sand or the grass near the walkway. 2. Find something small that you like and take it home as a memento. 3. Engage the senses – take a moment to make a note of the following during our field trip: What do you see?
What do you feel?
4. Name three things that remind you of the sea? 1. 2. 3. 5. Now look around and find something here on the beach that is new to you or uncommon. 6. Find three things that are visually appealing – take photos or make a note in your sketchbook. 1. 2. 3.
C reat ivit y i nvo lves b rea ki n g o ut o f estab lis hed patte rns i n o rd e r to loo k at t hi ngs in a d i ffe re nt wa y. - Edwa rd de Bo no
Garden The garden is an explosion of color. Flowers alone can teach you all you need to know about color. You could study a different flower every day of the year and come up with a new color palette every time. Also look beyond the blossoms today to enrich your color vocabulary and design sense in the abundance of fruits and vegetables. Line may not be something you’ve considered before when making jewelry, but each piece of jewelry certainly has a line. Whether it’s the curl of a wire that mimics a flower petal or an overlapping of leaf charms to create a bib collar of a necklace, those lines that are found in nature can add interest and beauty to the shape of a design. So how do we get from the Farmer’s Market to stunning jewelry? Everyday objects, like beets or pumpkins, will now be a field of inspiration ready for harvest. What could be as common as a pile of pears can now be pure gold for your design inspiration. Consider layering golden hue beads from the palest cream to rich golden to amber hues of burnt sienna in clusters on a golden chain. Color block a few stands of beads according to the hues lined in those little wooden baskets on the market table – deep plums, glowing reds and crisp greens, to create a bold bracelet.
Inspiration Hunting: 1. Find an unusual shaped fruit or vegetable and snap a few pictures of it. Look at the lines, could you see this translated into wire or a beaded shaped. Think of ways you could translate that shape into jewelry. 2. Find one shape at the market and think of a bead that it reminds you of, now picture them in a cluster on a chain or wire design. What is the shape from and what is the bead? Bonus points if you take a minute and sketch it in your notebook! 3. Engage the senses – take a moment to make a note of the following during our field trip: What do you see? What do you feel?
4. Name your three favorite things from the garden? 1. 2. 3. 5. Now look around at the market and find something from the garden that is new to you or uncommon. 6. Find three color combinations that really grab you – take photos or make a note in your sketchbook. 1. 2. 3.
Bonus: Look for color palettes that represent these three color harmonies and snap a photo of them: 1. Analogous: Colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. 2. Complimentary: Colors that are across from each other on the color wheel 3. Monochromatic: Variations in lightness and intensity of the same color.
A traveler without observation is a bird without wings. -Sa'di
Woodlands Let your eyes scan the forest today for patterns on both a grand and minute scale. Look for relationship and connections in the play of the pattern of the branches swaying above our heads. Take in the immense quality of the massive trees and how that relates to the tiny wisps of leaves that are now showing autumn’s fiery hues. Notice the way the branches overlap or the sunlight dapples through the leaves. Let your eye follow the rhythm of the trees and river, look for areas where your eye pauses, ask yourself why do you linger there – what has captured your attention? Rhythm is how your eye travels over a piece of jewelry – does the pattern cause us to scan over it quickly with abrupt lines with interest and excitement or does it gracefully flow slow and steady with design elements that harmonize with each other? The shapes, colors and textures will relate to each other and influence how your creation reads visually. So how to do we separate the trees from the forest and translate our new inspirations into beaded designs? Think of stick pearls in groups of three with rutilated quartz beads separating the clusters to remind you of the branches and leaves, use an amazing bird focal bead as the centerpiece. Or offset a woodland themed clasp that is worn in the front with strands of wood beads and stones in the hues of the autumn foliage. Keep the beads the same size and shape and let the clasp be the focus of the design. Consider creating a charm bracelet with a large brass chain and brass, Lucite and enamel leaves in a playful asymmetrical pattern.
Inspiration Hunting: 1. Find a pattern here in the woods and make a note of it. Why are you drawn to it? Does it repeat an even or odd number of times? 2. Find something small that has a pattern that you like and take it home as a memento. 3. Engage the senses – take a moment to make a note of the following during our field trip: What do you see? What do you feel? 4. Name three things that remind you of the forest? 1. 2. 3. 5. Zoom in on a common object here in the woods and see it through your camera’s macro lens – find something stunning in that leaf or branch that you might have passed by if you weren’t paying attention.
6. Find three things that are examples of stunning repetition in the forest – take photos or make a note in your sketchbook. 1. 2. 3.