How Many Earrings?

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A teacher in one of my workshops years ago brought her gemstone catalogue to look at during our breaks. Surely, she didn’t plan to look at it during my “captivating” lecture! She told me that she just loved to make earrings. At the time, I thought that sounded pretty boring. How many ways could you make a pair of earrings? Little did I know what a silly question I had asked myself.

This week as I prepare for an upcoming art show, I’ve been trying to make some relatively inexpensive earrings to sell. I previously made a number of pair using various copper shapes and doing some riveting and etching on a few pair. Yet, in planning for this next set, I wanted some unusual designs that differed from what I usually make. Luckily, Magpie Gemstones (www.magpiegemstones.com) offered an online tutorial of how to make your own ear wires and that got me started. Rather than tell you about some of the pairs I’ve made, how about a gallery of a few?

I have allergic ears and don’t wear earrings so my mother kindly tried all the above sets on to be sure they worked OK. There were a few pair that she noted she wouldn’t wear, but she said perhaps someone might like them. She’s so tactful!

I didn’t even ask her to think about wearing these bottle cap earrings. Let’s just hope someone does like them! There IS a limit when you’re almost 90.

My next step is to make a few of these pair in sterling silver. Can you tell I’m having fun with these? I hope that teacher, wherever she is, will forgive my initial unkind thoughts about her love of making earrings. I think the passion for them is beginning to grow on me.

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Children and Problem-Solving

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I was somewhat bothered by a short five paragraphs in the Parade section of last Sunday’s newspaper. I waited several days to comment in order to see if my thoughts changed. They did not. The title of the article was “Teach Problem-solving to Prevent Bullying.” It was based on research conducted through Louisiana State University and the University of California the results of which indicated that those youngsters who have trouble with solving problems are more at risk of being bullied.

Bullying has also been on the television news lately as a result of the school bus incident during which a child was bullied and her father later threatened her attackers. This child, who is handicapped, would probably fit the profile suggested in the abovementioned research.

It wasn’t, however, my concern about the relationship of bullying and lack of problem solving skill that concerned me about the article. I believe that is a good point. It was the fact that the article focused solely on how games could help develop problem solving skills. I was pleased that the author mentioned checkers and chess since these do require rational strategic thinking. We might add to that dominos, chicken feet (played with dominos) and a number of other similar games that require thinking. None of these rely solely on chance like so many of the simple spinner type games.

I wanted the article to also talk about the place of art in the development of problem solving skills. I believe that almost any form of art requires this type of thinking. Even when the child is merely drawing a picture, he/she must figures out and plan where things go on the page, what colors work well and often what to do when a mistake occurs. Consider why a cardboard box is so often a child’s favorite toy. The child must solve the problem of how to create something out of very little. Also, if the art form selected requires tools or supplies, a young artist may need to solve the problem of what to do with limited supplies or lack of tools.

Many of of schools have no art classes other than what the classroom teacher might squeeze in. With extremely tight budgets most of the “frills” of education are gone. I have heard parents at school board meetings plead for retention of arts programs. Among other things, their rational is often based on the value of art (including music) in bringing joy and self confidence to the child. Should we instead be discussing the higher level thinking and problem solving skills that the arts teach our children?

My most recent example of difficult problem solving in art comes from the angels I first mentioned on September 11. I have continued to work with them for days trying to solve the problem of their crooked halos and messy backs covered with too much solder. Finally, after considerable work (problem solving) I completed some angels that are working. The halo now goes around the angel rather than just in front and the solder is hidden between the body and the wings.I’ve also solved the problem of how to display/market them in boxes with a small poem. Doesn’t everyone need a guardian angel? (www.dreamcatcherdesigns.etsy.com ) I wish I could send one to each child who is forced to endure bullying.

This problem solving adventure is only one of so many that we find in art. Does that mean I’m ready for those big bullies? Hmm . . . I’d still just as soon they stayed away from me and from everyone else. Maybe the bullies need the opportunity to learn problem solving skills in order to direct their misguided energy down a better path.

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Blooming

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Is it Spring yet? I seem to be all mixed up in the studio this week. I’ve been busily enjoying making fancy flowers and trying to ignore the fact that it will soon be Fall. It doesn’t feel like Fall in South Texas with temperatures still in the high 90s; so perhaps that’s the problem.

I just learned to make these flowers and, as usually happens with new things, I’ve gotten a bit carried away. I’m using organza and tulle in various color combination to produce flower brooches and hair accessories. One of the store owners where I sell jewelry asked why I was “sewing” instead of making jewelry. Do you think that was a hint? I made her a couple of necklaces and think she is happy now.

I’ve been seeing flowers on all sorts of things in the magazine ads and one of the boutiques just got in a sweater with velvet flowers on it. A boiled wool jacket at the same store has chiffon flowers already attached to it.

I took a basket of these to the nursing home today to show Mother and could hardly get down the hall for people stopping to look at them. I hope these folks are around when I need to sell them! In the meantime, I’ll just keep blooming.

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Copy Shamelessly?

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I enjoyed going to the Texas Metal Arts Festival in Gruene today. It’s a fairly small gathering of metal artists displaying both large and small pieces. For example, there were giant metal flowers that stood about 3 feet tall and tiny metal flower earrings made from aluminum cans. This particular artist group always has demonstrations going on and this year these included torch formed metal clay, fold forming and many other techniques. Unfortunately, I always find it way too hot to sit outside and watch these demos; but happily, there were plenty of hardy souls who appreciated this opportunity.

My husband has been kind enough to go with me to this festival the past couple of years. Today, he figured out that it’s really a reconnaissance mission where I compare my work and gather ideas. On the way home, he queried what I learned. This year was enlightening because I could see that my work appears to be getting closer to those of the artists I admire. While there is still much to learn, I was able to recognize techniques they used and think about the needed materials and tools.

It’s always interesting to see that some artists want to share how the work is done but shut down the conversation when they realize you are trying to learn rather than trying to buy. Others will tell you everything about a piece and are excited to share and encourage you. So at what point is it rude to ask about process? Since I meet monthly with a group of people who are willing to share everything about what they make, I may be a little too brazen with my questions. At least I didn’t take my camera today. . . I think that would have been over the top!

It appears to me that people who are both teachers and artists are quite willing to share and encourage others. For example, my friend at Magpie Gemstones always encourages me to copy her designs and is helpful regarding technique. So, when is copying a design the same as plagiarism in writing? I think it’s very difficult to tell when a design is your own as opposed to a version of something you’ve seen.

As an example, the necklace shown here was inspired by Sally, an artist at Sunroom Studios in Ellicott City, Md. (sunroomstudiosonline.com). I wrote to her about a necklace on the Sunroom Studios website and she was kind enough to answer my questions. While my necklace may resemble hers, it is also quite different. Should she sue me? Gee, I certainly hope not. I hope she will be flattered to learn that someone liked her piece well enough to make it the inspiration for another. But, where do we draw the line?

I don’t have the answer to that question. All that I know is that my conscience is my guide and I hope that someday, if someone wants to view my work as a starter for their own, I’ll be willing to share.

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9-11

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What should you do on the anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy?

I watched some of the news reports and heard some of the names of the fallen as they were read aloud, but I wasn’t sure what to do. 

My family was fortunate that we did not personally lose anyone on that day. My son, who was working in NYC at that time in a building not far from the towers hadn’t gone in to work that day. My daughter, who was working at one of the high rise offices in Atlanta was evacuated and sent home since authorities feared the possibility of other attacks. When my husband and I talked with each of our children, the distance between us seemed extreme, yet we felt close, and we wished we could still protect them as we did when they were little. Alas, we wondered if any of us would ever regain the sense of security taken from us on that day.

Of particular interest to me on the news was the report on the Ground Zero Memorial that is to open in another year. I was taken by the description of the two pools, titled Reflecting Absence, that are to lie in the footprints of the towers. The reporter referred to them as the inverted vertical of the buildings that formerly rose so high above New York City.

Today was 9-11. Today I made angels. It was the least I could do.

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Things That Fly

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A friend at our last wire workers meet up showed me her new book, Metalworking 101 for Beaders, and I was off and running. As she flipped through the pages, a metal bird caught my eye and it didn’t matter what else was in the book, I was certain I needed it.

After four order attempts, it finally arrived this week. I won’t bore you with the sordid details of the various online bookstores and delivery services that kept the book from reaching the ranch, I can only say “Thank you Amazon!”

The bird on the left is somewhat similar to the one shown in the book. Of course, I can’t make anything EXACTLY like the directions. I added the bottom piece of wire and can’t quite decide if he is a “bird on the run” or “a bird sitting still on a branch.” There’s probably something philosophical in that, but I won’t get into that either.

Another bird, much more like the one in the book will probably become a wall hanging for my mom who is an avid birder. When I told her I was making metal birds, she wanted to know what kind of birds. This was something I hadn’t considered, but she showed me how the birds at her window feeders had various unique distinctions. Not knowing if I could recreate my metal birds to her specifications, I changed the subject.

Another day, I minified the bird and created a necklace with the third creature.

These birds are actually quite simple to make and I’m hoping people will like them.

I made another type bird several weeks ago from a cabachon and sterling silver half round wire. He’s cute, but I’m not sure he will be popular. He was also tricky to make since his silver tail melted off once while I fused the pieces.

Well, you cannot think of birds without thinking about flight. My winged friends will fly out of here either as gifts or customer purchases. Flight will get them where they need to be just as flight got me where I wanted to be last week. (Yes, I know this is a stretch, but I wanted to include the picture below.) We flew to Atlanta to visit family and enjoyed the little cherub below. Hmm . . . I wonder if he needs a bird . . .?

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How Do Creative People Succeed?

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For more than 20 years I have read everything I could get my hands on to help me learn about creativity. That has even included grabbing the newspaper away from my husband if I noticed a headline with the “C” word. The latter happened last Sunday when a newspaper article titled “Creative people must take action to succeed” caught my eye. Author Robert Pagliarini suggests that no matter what your art, “your only goal should be to create.” Hmm . . .  there are those other goals such as how will I earn enough to feed myself and put a roof over my head; yet, I do think Pagliarini has a point. The focus is to create. He suggests that we shouldn’t ever call ourselves “aspiring” as in aspiring designer, aspiring artist, aspiring musician. Those people only talk and dream about creating. Those of us who do create ARE designers, artists and musicians. The author states that artists shouldn’t wait for approval or permission to create.

We could read hundreds of books about both successful and unsuccessful creatives, however, with Pagliarini’s words as thought stimuli, I’ve been open to finding lesser known people who currently create. One of those must certainly be sewing enthusiast and author Deborah Moebes whose new book Stitch by Stitch is available through her blog (http://whipstitchfabrics.com/blog/page/4/) or from Amazon. Moebes has taken her creative talent and turned it into a book for beginning sewers that is easy to understand and extremely helpful. I call this success.

An imaginative artist named Jean Piche developed his own musical software and has been awarded as a composer for other people’s films. Now, he has created his own films in a genre called Video-music. He uses abstract video painting accompanied by his own musical score.

Both of the aforementioned people appear to have used creative thinking to be successful. While many of us may not achieve the type success achieved by some creatives, we can certainly achieve success of our own. It seems to me that we simply need to find the right ruler by which to measure success. Does it have to be monetary? Of course not! I remember feeling highly successful which I saw a copy of my first book, Creative Thinking and Problem Solving in Young Learners, (Available at Amazon.com). Even though I still receive royalties from all my books, I can hardly say I could have given up my day job based on this income. Yet, I have certainly felt successful. Currently when I wear one of my jewelry designs and someone asks me where I bought it, I feel successful.

One element that aids creative people is when they have managed a way to survive without requiring much income from their creative work (at least initially). While I haven’t studied the background of Jean Piche, it would make sense that his success as a composer for others may have afforded him the income to create something entirely his own.  Another example is of a young musician who was an executive in a software company. He quit his day job and took a year to travel and create his own music album. For this endeavor, he wrote the songs, performed all the vocals and all the various instrumentals and then produced them with his own recording equipment. The success of his former day job afforded him the chance to follow his creative endeavor for a while.  Also, I have been fortunate to be married to a smart business man who has always provided for his family allowing me to do my creative thing.

So, it’s back to the initial question. How do creative people succeed? I believe we need to set our own expectations for success and judge it in a manner that keeps us creating. I, for one, don’t want to go back to simply “aspiring”. I want to BE.

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Can You Trust Oprah: Credibility About the Brain

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My husband took me out for breakfast this morning. It wasn’t a special day and he hadn’t committed any sin; he just took me out to eat. Yes, he’s a good fellow! Afterwards, we wandered through the bookstore, relaxing as we looked at magazines. Although I normally only look at jewelry design periodicals, today, I picked up a copy of Oprah’s magazine. It seemed to call my name. Hurrying to get on to the other jewelry magazine I had grabbed, I quickly thumbed through the Oprah pages and a picture of the brain caught my eye. The single page of information was divided into regions of the brain, but it was while I read about the hippocampus (No that’s not a school for hippos!) that I questioned the credibility of the article. The information stated that “Arthur Kramer, PhD,. . . show[ed] that exercise actually makes your hippocampus bigger. . . [perhaps] increas[ing] the number of capillaries in the region, which in turn helps new cells grow. “

Upon reading the above information, I basically dismissed what I had read, in the article, since I previously learned that we don’t “grow” new cells, but rather form additional connections. Past learning caused me to question the credibility of the article. Since credibility has to do with the believability of the source, I was quite sure that now I didn’t trust Oprah.  Of course Oprah didn’t actually write the article, but isn’t she responsible for “her people”? Why would THEY print something that was incorrect? That’s when it hit me . . . maybe I was the one who was incorrect.

It didn’t require much of an online search to learn I was the problem! The past few years of research have led researchers to believe that some neurogenesis IS possible. Halleluiah. I thought that I could only branch new dendrites, but now I know that I can actually generate new brain cells in my hippocampus. Here’s the only problem. Dr. Kramer says that one must sweat at least three times a week for this to occur. He’s talking about good aerobic exercise as opposed to simply walking into the grocery store in the Texas heat.

Now, as I sit in my comfortable chair and think about regular aerobic exercise, I’m wondering if I really need those extra neurons in my hippocampus. Those I have seem to have worked pretty well; but what about the cells that are being sloughed off? Hmm . . . maybe I do need to work out . . . let’s see, treadmill? stationary bike? jogging? . . . I’m going to have to sit right here in this comfortable chair and figure that one out.

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