Jewelry Lovers

The design sources of many of the jewellers whose work is illustrated are as diverse as can be, but their inspirations derive from four broad categories: the materials they use; historical influences; looking at what is around them with an open mind; or a strong commitment to a concept that they want to encapsulate in their jewellery design.

Material inspirations

Time and again, jewellers will state that their main inspiration stems from the material with which they are working. Often, the jewellery will be based on their realization of how, to their mind, beautiful that material is — be it warty burr wood, like that used to such good effect by Hayley Smith or twisted wire, such as that used in the creations of Mary Farrell.

The jewellery then becomes an interpretation based on revealing and enhancing those aesthetic qualities and discovering how many permutations and effects they can achieve with their chosen material.

Sometimes of course, sheer happenstance takes a hand, and a chance discovery of a cache of anything from beads or broken glass to marbles, coins or shells, will provide the starting point for a new design. Frequently, the actual techniques needed to make a piece of jewellery are extremely simple, as has been shown in the many examples.

Western jewellery has for so long been concerned with the aesthetics of expensive materials that the new wave of designers challenging that ethic has not yet reached its full potential. There are still so many new materials to be discovered and some in the most unlikely and mundane of places — from supermarkets to auto-repair stations, to toy and model stores — that budding jewellery designers should keep their eyes open wherever they go and be willing to experiment with any new material that seems interesting.

The reverse process is also possible — expensive metals and precious stones can be used in a rough and raw way, denying the attributes this type of jewellery normally possesses. Tom McEwen’s work displays this modern boldness, as does Alex Raphael’s amulet and talisman necklace, despite the exquisite workmanship.

Historical influences

History is an important influence on modern ideas and techniques in jewellery-making. You will find a huge quantity of books about jewellery and costume on the market, and most local libraries will stock at least a handful of the more general texts, which are usually packed with illustrations. More detailed literature will have to be researched in university libraries, art history libraries and museums.

One or several trips to a museum’s jewellery department will provide you with much inspiration. Most major cities will have such a museum department.

Some historical eras are particularly rich in inspiration for the modern jeweller— Egyptian, Medieval, Baroque and Art Nouveau are just some of the influences that immediately spring to mind. Of course, as a budding jewellery designer, you may be ‘inspired by the feel, look or effect of jewellery from the past. But by aiming to recapture or reinterpret it in different types of material, you will end up with a highly original style.

Not only can the jewellery of the past be an inspiration, so too can all of the fields of artistic endeavour. Sources quoted by jewellers range from classical architecture, paintings, costume design, fabric and rug design, medieval armour, interior design and sculpture, which, because of its three-dimensionality, is particularly important.

It is possible to borrow heavily from other artistic traditions. Roman architectural motifs, executed in miniature in modelling clay, have been used to make earrings; painted copper, echoing the appearance of old bronze sculptures, has been used to fabulous effect as a jewellery material. The shapes and motifs of prehistoric jewellery have also been an inspiration to countless jewellery designers, as have all the widely differing types of ethnic jewellery from around the non- European world. Natural factors

All of nature – trees, flowers, plants, fruits, animals,birds, insects, rock and cloud formations, the sun, moon and stars – is a major and inexhaustible source of ideasfor jewellery-making.

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Jewellery Designing Sources