John C. Campbell Folk school, that i am in NO WAY PROMOTING, offers
a class specifically in how to take those things you’ve tossed into a
drawer or box and rework them into actually viable ( or so the course
ads assert) pieces of art jewelry…so it is more universal than not
that most beginners at sometime have scrapped somethings.This course
takes one’s hand as you open the box in the presence of others with
similar boxes thus relieving the initial hesitation to open it at
all!and makes problem solving the focus…one of their better classes
in that you arrive with things started and don’t wind up paying a
fortune to fabricate one ring,or pendant in a week or so.
I never start over, I fix a problem.
I too never start over. However, as I make mostly one of a kinds, I
have a rule that if I make 3 major mistakes while working on a
piece, it means I am too out of it, tired or distracted to continue.
If that happens, I make myself stop, and go to work on something
else, or take up to an hour break to regroup. Sometimes, depending on
the size of the mistakes, I make myself stop working for the day.
Saves me a lot of gold and stones.
Lisa, (107 in the studio yesterday. Woof!) Topanga, CA USA
http://www.byzantia.com
does anyone on orchid have any experience on selecting a suitably interested publisher for such a project.
Ooooh! I would LOVE to see a book made of your work James! Try Lark
Books, or perhaps Harry N Abrams Inc. 100 Fifth Avenue, Ny, Ny
10011. They did a glorious book of Daniel Brush’s work some years
back. “Daniel Brush Gold Without Boundaries”. It showed his studio,
and process. Please let us know if you do plan to publish.
Lisa, (So hot I am working in a bathing suit…lol) Topanga, CA USA
http://www.byzantia.com
Hello all;
I can’t remember the name of the original poster of this thread, but
I do remember the question. He was asking if other people noticed
they were starting over on wax carvings, specifically. I have been
carving wax since some time in the early 70’s, and I’ve carved
everything you can imagine. And I too, come to think of it, have a
fair number of do-overs when carving waxes. I’m not sure what the
issue is, but I have several theories.
-
You get better insight into problems at about 20 or 30 years into
it. It’s much easier to re-carve or adjust a wax than it is to try to
fit a stone in a slightly too small head, for instance, after it’s in
metal. Or, you notice that there’s a risk of an area being too thin
after finishing, and you know it probably can’t be corrected in
metal. Or that channel seems that it might be a hair to wide, so you
know that if that’s true, you’ll have a miserable time setting. Years
before, you might not have noticed these details and just struggled
with it after casting, never putting two-and-two together. -
You’re just plain picker about the work. Your eye for a good
balance and proportion is better, but you’re still using habits of
working without thought. You didn’t listen to the small voice in your
head as you laid the dividers on the ring tube to mark it off. It
said, “maybe that’s a bit shy, do you really want to cut it that
close?” You work on, until you give up, knowing it’s going south on
you and you start over, prepared, this time to give yourself room for
better. You are not becoming a perfectionist, you’re appropriately
raising the bar on yourself because you’ve lost your tolerance “good
enough”. -
You’re doing stuff that’s harder. When all you did was formulaic
stuff, the generic man’s signet, the cathedral ring, the
"step-and-channel" designs of the early 80’s, it was all dividers and
files. Now it’s got to have some style, and it’s still “clean line
organic” but it’s symmetrical, or you’re carving heads when before,
you didn’t design for any heads you couldn’t buy and solder in. -
Lastly, you’re getting forgetful. You’ve always done them over,
you’ve just forgotten how often you used to have to. Haha. -
I’m sure there are other reasons, but I smell burning rubber so I
suspect I’m spinning my wheels now. Personally, I wouldn’t worry
about it. Just charge more to cover the time you need to “do it
right”. I know people who spend hours on a wax I can whip out in 45
minutes, and I’m not exaggerating. If I do it twice in an hour and a
half, the customer is still getting a bargain at 75 bucks, since
they’d be doing it themselves if they could do it better and/or
cheaper.
David L. Huffman
I think that part of maturing or seasoning as a metalsmith is
knowing when to stop, throw it aside and start over. Best if you can
do it without carrying the baggage of the lost time with you. Really
those rejects are just failed prototypes, and it’s as important to
know what not to do as it is knowing what to do.
What begins to separate experienced, fast smiths from less productive
ones is that the longer you do it the fewer mistakes you make. I mean
you can only make the same mistake so many times before you learn
what not to do, and that just takes time at the bench…years. You
begin to see several steps ahead. In the case of wax carving, you can
see where your going, see the piece inside the hunk of wax. You begin
to see it but almost don’t realize it, you work intuitively.
The beauty of working like that is that it sort of pushes everything
else out of your mind. Whatever crap may be going on in your life is
pushed a thousand miles away. And the next thing you know you’re
done and it looks great.
As far as helpful concrete suggestions. The most frequent mistake I
see people make is that they don’t mark their waxes. It’s critical
that you at least mark you centers at all times, just a very light
line with a divider. Best to mark your widths, heights and details
and be sure you aren’t filing away your markings before you use them.
Mark
things you've tossed into a drawer or box and rework
When I decide I need to start over on a piece (usually soldering
mistakes) I am usually so annoyed with myself that I take the flawed
piece over to the bench shear and take out my bad spirit and cut it
up. Or I put it on the anvil and hammer it into a pancake.
Maybe I should save the ones I hammer and attach a bale to it and
call it “Rick’s Angry Art” or “Rick’s Therapy Art.” 
Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Rocky Mountain Wonders
Colorado Springs, Colorado
http://rockymountainwonders.com
I start over every day.
Sometimes when the mess is really bad I put down the sharp tools and
walk away before I hurt myself…and wait to see if the wax gods are
smiling on me any better the next day.
Some days the piece wins and some days I win. AND some days your
power tools give out…like today…when you are preparing for a
competition that coming Saturday. It’s pretty hard to clean bronze
with a evil stare, I have noticed.
groan
Simone
I don’t count anything until it is finished and in a box. Taking a
few steps backwards, even to the start is often just another part of
the process, same as casting, soldering or polishing. I do try to
avoid needless steps, but it is the finished piece which matters not
the journey. And yes, I do re-start when needed but I don’t regret
and don’t keep score.
Jeff
But then again, the mark of a craftsman can be covering his mistakes well.
This is perfectly said. Leave the piece of Jewelry your making alone
till the next day and with fresh eyes and rest its better to start
back working. The Quote I was taught was " Leave well enough alone".
Thanks Buddy Moon’s Jewelry cira 1980
Hi,
Well, this is certainly a subject that is near and dear to my heart!
I usually never follow a piece exactly the way I planned or sketched
it. This is because I get creative flashes during the production
process and therefore need to implement my enhancements. This part
of my “sketching” process I guess, only real time! This is why I
almost never do custom work, ha ha!
I could never be at peace with myself if I did not create a piece
that is less than what I deem perfect in every way for that
piecedesign, use of color, craftsmanship, and wearbility/usability
factors.
I compare this to Life. You make plans but need to be flexible as
the situation arises. Still, you do need to start somewhere and be
pointed in the right direction. Who know where you will end up
though. That is creativity for you and part of the fun!
Keep shining and creating,
D