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Screenprinting experiments

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

With our imminent continental move I realised just how much craft supplies I’ve accumulated during the past two years. I also have to pack my jewellery – the perfect excuse to take some time to play with screenprinting – something I’ve always wanted to do.

Whenever I learn a new craft I always experiment – and yes – that means a lot of not so perfect prints (I just call them mistakes). To keep my morale up I give myself a side goal – use the supplies by making packaging for my jewellery.

Here you can see some thank you cards and ring boxes I’ve made with my screenprinting mistakes. Slight misprints, bleeds and blocks on the screen would not work for proper prints – but it’s a perfect recycling solution for the high quality paper I use to learn the craft. I have to admit – I love them.

I also made cards and paper envelopes for each piece.

Not too shabby. All my jewellery (and it was close to 150 pieces) now have their own handmade cards, envelopes, containers – nicely stored in ziplock bags. Ready to be packed into boxes just before we move or send off to buyers. I’ve used up most of my paint and learned a lot about screen printing.

I should have done it this way from the start and have already come up with a grand scheme to index and store everything after the move. (I am an information architect and can’t resist a good organisational structure.)

Now I just have to find a way to get through all the moulding supplies I still have.

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Playtime at the craft zoo

Saturday, March 5th, 2011

Well, not really. But sometimes when I’m experiment mode, I do feel like a little monkey. Just trying things.

I’m working on a new range of pieces, but still need to crack the method of fulfilling my vision. I decided to look at Shrink Plastic, it’s something I’ve had my eye on for a while, because it’s a flexible material that results in a strong acrylic flat piece.

What is it?

Basically it sold in sheets, about the thickness of 300gram paper, and you draw/ stamp onto it. Then you pop it into the oven and it shrinks (between 7 and 9 times) depending on which brand you use.

Attempts

My first attempt was an unmitigated disaster, I did not put it onto a baking tray and it overcooked. My dear husband says it looks like demon spawn and I have to agree. Anyway, this morning I had much better luck with it.

Shrink plastic steps

As you can see, there is still a lot of work. But I had a very enjoyable and productive day. I even got to draw a bit, something I haven’t done in an age.

Posted in Design process, Experiments, Process | 153 Comments »

Playtime: Balancing discipline and fun when running a craft business

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

My favourite part of the design process is to make prototypes. It suits my personality. I’m a dreamer and I like to figure things out. The problem is that often results in a lot of half-finished projects.

Last year my personal focus was to finish things. But knowing myself I also started building in a bit of playtime into my schedule every day.

The importance of playtime

Creativity

It’s the equivalent of staring at clouds. It may not look like you’re doing work but your brain runs in the background and all of a sudden, bam! New ideas start pouring out.

Improving skills

With this one I draw the analogy to the importance of play in the development of mammals. Similarly to, say, a lion cub, learning to hunt while playing. Playtime is important to me in developing my skills as an artist.

Note: this is quite a big field of study, so I apologise for the passing reference.

Failure

A.K.A Lessen self-imposed pressure. The short of it is, you’re not setting your expectations to finish something that’s polished enough to sell. Because you don’t worry too much about the end product you focus on the process and learn something along the way. (If you’re lucky.) Worst case scenario – you had some fun.

Evolution

It’s important to the evolution of your work. If you always consider yourself to be ‘on the clock’ while creating it stifles the progress of your work.

My playtime

Today I spent my playtime prototyping some bracelet clasps.

I’m really happy with how it turned out.
My idea’s evolved – I know how to make my rivets invisible now. It’ll look better.
The catch is a bit short, so I need to tweak that for comfort
I’m testing the piece. I know it’s easy to open and close with one hand.
I used to be a rubbish riveter. But I’ve been practising a lot. This was however the first time I riveted metal onto a soft object. So it was good to play around with the rivets to see how much leeway I have with leather.

I’ve been struggling to get some of my other bracelet designs to work. This base piece will solve those problems and hopefully I can turn those ideas into beautiful pieces now that I’ve figured this base design out.

Now, I really hope my new copper solder will arrive tomorrow. Because it will look so much better if the catch is soldered on.

The best thing about it? This one belongs me! Mwaahahahaa.

Posted in Craft business topics, My stuff, Process | 66 Comments »

Starfinder range

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

I’ve been very lucky the past few months. My Starfinder Range have received some attention. They’ve been on Etsy’s frontpage, recently in the Merchandising Desk on the Etsy blog and Crack the Sky featured it in her Welcome February post. Thanks for the features everyone!

Inspiration

I make a lot of things merely because I think it’s pretty. But the pieces I’m really interested in revolves around my intellectual pursuits.

I’m fascinated by world views. How people perceive and make sense of the world they live in. That’s usually where the science bit comes in. As our knowledge of how things work improves it also influences our world view.

This is the crux of the inspiration.

When the Babylonians started staring at the sky it resulted in the starting points for astrology and astronomy although they supposedly gained their knowledge from the Sumerians. The Greeks, Romans and as far as I can tell, most cultures have stared at the sky coming up with stories and more importantly contributed to our knowledge base. A body of knowledge important for navigation, improved mathematics and agriculture to name a measly few.

The shapes of the constellations is a thread connecting me to all those people in the past. It’s also a hope I have for the future, that we as a species can go out there and explore the universe, in person, via technology – any way. To fulfill our need to know more, understand more and see more.

The pieces

I’ve made quite a lot of pendants and earrings with this as a theme. I’m particularly proud of my wayfinding rings, showing the Polestar and Southern Cross in their design.

You can find my available pieces in my Etsy shop.

The big idea – a confession

I thought it is high time that I talk about how I came upon this range. It first popped into my head in April 2010. So you might ask yourself why it took me until October 2010 to start working on it?

The honest answer is. I have not figured out how to make that ideal piece I had in mind yet. Thus far I’ve only done derivitive work but I hope I have that design sorted now. I just need to learn a few more skills before I can make it. Keep your eyes open, hopefully that it will be ready soon.

Posted in Jewellery range, My stuff | 3 Comments »

Bohemian necklace

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

A sense of adventure, dash of history and completely my style

I like big, bold, colourful pieces. I like a little bit of tribal influence, a dash of ancient history. The kind of thing that a patrician lady in Rome would wear. Or a warrior princess.Well, what my overly romantic imagination paints as a a warrior princess piece.

One of the reasons I started making jewellery was because I could not find the pieces I had in my head in the shops. But with all my varied interests and ideas, I don’t always get around to making them.

So I was really pleased with myself when I came up with this:

I’ve had the shape in my head for a while now and drew it out weeks ago.

While finishing the piece a lot of the things floating around in my head just fell together. I uploaded this one to my Etsy shop.

The best thing about it, is that it sent my creativity off on another tangent. I’m working on more pieces that I’ve dubbed, nicked from the museum. Oh, wait, maybe another tangent is not what I needed.

Are there any pieces in your personal creative journey that you think defines your personal style? Send me a link. I love featuring other artists.

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