The look of hand made

Jewelry Discussion
61

Perhaps we need to differentiate “what the customer wants” from “what
the market will demand of you during your career”. That is to say,
today, a customer might ask you to make them a rough ring with all
the toolmarks left in, and no polishing, and if that’s what they
want, you should do it. BUT that is not going to happen every day,
and even if there is a current fashion for “unfinished” work (in that
you see it in fashion mags and some trade mags), that fashion will
change. If you have a wide range of skills, you can move with the
changes, and continue to make your customers happy. If you can only
do one type of unfinished jewellery, you’ll be unable to please a
customer who wants anything else. Better to occasionally work down to
a low standard, than to never work up to a high one…This doesn’t
include intentional finishes, of course - but they have to be done
right. Let’s say that we are making a wedding band with a hammered
finish; I make several of these a year. First, make a wedding band, a
bit smaller than desired size.

Polish it, inside and out, to the highest possible standard. Now
polish the ball peen on a hammer to a similar finish. Now do the
hammering, sizing up at the same time. Now polish the inside again.
Now give to customer. Why would you do it any other way, unless you
aren’t able to complete one of those stages? Same with a frosted
finish - you need smooth surfaces before you frost, or else it will
be hard to achieve a regular finish.I’m no master, and I’m not always
pleased with the work I do, but I do aspire to do it well - once in a
while, I get asked to make something look bad, and I will do it, but
it makes me miserable.

Jamie Hall

62 
Since your own store sounds mostly oriented to more traditional
looks, those customers who bought things with less traditional
design or technique, including work that's clearly hand made,
and/or "artist made", or otherwise different in aesthetic than the
work you carry, are more likely to take it back to the store, or
type of store, where they originally bought it. So you may see much
less of this type of work.

I thought I was clear in my post, I do mostly traditional engagement
and wedding jewelry as well as custom colored gem jewelry, but I
have the work of 10 local metalsmiths, “art jewelers”, so I have
exposure to clientele from both worlds. I am the store they buy it
from, and bring it to, and I am sent customers from other stores for
jobs more traditional jewelers do not work on. I also do a small
amount of molds and casting of “rustic” textured pieces for other
jewelry artists. I have to mold, cast, and finish to preserve the
look of the original. I learn things by my associations with other
artists and those that work or have worked for those who produce
gallery work. You would be surprised at who has parts cast and
incorporated in fabricated pieces sold as handmade fabricated.
Texturing removes evidence…

Richard Hart G.G.
Denver, Co.

63 
Tool marks? Why not! Just make them deliberate, so it is obvious
they are a part of the design.

That is very important distinction. The “tool marks” become
appropriate when they seize to be tool marks and become brush
strokes. The question of course is how do we tell one from another. I
can suggest work of French sculptor Rodin. He modelled with small
bits of clay and never bothered to smooth them out. Nevertheless,
when we look at this work, the roughness of the surface does not
bother us. It is the surface and without it his work would loose it’s
dynamism. I have also seen bronze reproduction of Rodin, when this
feeling was destroyed by incompetent chasing. Such reproductions are
very annoying to look at. That tells us how very thin the line is
between “tool marks” and “design features”.

About “every surface should be rendered”. Another way of expressing
this idea is that every surface must have function. It must
contribute somehow to the design. Term “rendered” should not be taken
literary.

Leonid Surpin

64

This reminds me of the built in book shelves and cabinets we had made
in the great room of our previous residence, in Palm Beach County,
FL. We were fortunate to have a neighbor who was a master wood
worker, whose customer base included many of the ultra wealthy living
on Palm Beach and Jupiter Island. For them, everything needed to be
perfection, and the price was generally 4 times what he would charge
the “average” person for the same piece. (He once told me that if he
tried to bid a job at a more reasonable price, the client would
consider the job unworthy). At any rate, I preferred something with
more of an aged look, and helped him distress the pieces before he
put them together. He was delighted with the opportunity to “age” the
pieces, exclaiming “sh-tty is pretty! sh-tty is pretty!” the entire
time.

Linda in central FL

65

Would the perceived value of that piece be greater, or less, than if
the receipients had sat and watched you make the same piece?
Wouldn’t that be up to the customer? We are spending a lot of time on
the customer’s perception. If they like the look, then they may buy
it, if they don’t then selling it to them is not likely. Finding
people who like what you are making, that is really what it is about.
I do like a cruder look in some pieces. I used to do some simple
spiral earrings that were covered with hammer marks (carefully placed
hammer marks) and they sold well. I also like to do some earrings
with paired faceted stones in contrasting colors. You won’t find a
hammer mark on those, they have a high polish. It’s what the work
needs to look right to me. Hopefully it looks right to someone else.
I think this thread started with a gallery owner rejecting some piece
as (my words) too slick for the gallery. Sure, in that case, find a
different gallery for that work. To me, if the piece looks right, it
is right, the rest of the journey is finding someone who likes it
and wants it. So if John likes to leave tool marks on his work and it
works for him, and if Joe likes to bring every surface to a high
polish, and if Sally likes to do some one way and some another, they
are all correct. They can all be “hand made” too. Personally I’d
like to get away from hand made. I want to envision the piece and
have it form fully created from my thoughts. I’ll let you all know
when I get that one down!

Ben Brauchler

66 
The "tool marks" become appropriate when they cease to be tool
marks and become brush strokes.

What a wonderfully simple, elegant, and effective description that
by itself puts to rest much of this whole thread’s confusions.
Thanks, Leonid. I wish I’d thought of that phrase… (I did take the
liberty of fixing your typo in spelling “cease”…)

Peter Rowe

67

Right on, Peter.

I would have said the same thing except I didn’t have Leonid’s
eloquence. But that line resonated with me as well. I’ve been
thinking that there are probably enough good ideas and ways of
thinking to save the world three times over, but what is hard to
find are the very few voices eloquent enough to raise the really
useful ideas above the eternal squabbling of people who just want to
win arguments and get their way, right or wrong.

Marty

68 
The "tool marks" become appropriate when they (cease) to be tool
marks and become brush strokes.

Well said! Leonid, that’s the final word in this discussion. Sums it
up perfectly.

Al Balmer
Pine City, NY

69

The “tool marks” become appropriate when they (cease) to be tool
marks and become brush strokes.

Well said! Leonid, that's the final word in this discussion. Sums
it up perfectly.

Yes, I think Leonid knocked this one out of the park.

Jim
James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

70 
Thank you for sharing your story on Orchid - I really enjoyed
hearing of your experiences - especially your appreciation of the
wonderful old "complete drop stampers workshop from 1851."

Thats just the background to the way Ive worked. Now to look closer
at this question of hand made from my perspective. Most of what ive
made over the past 4 decades have been items that people wear. either
on the skin or near it. So, It has to meet some rather important
criteria to be suitable for purpose, not just any old way, but really
well. Let me give an example. What ive enjoyed making most of all are
bracelets, or torques. they in my view are an art form in themselves.

they have to be,

  1. perfectly comfortable,
  2. non snagging to the wearers clothing
  3. non reactive metalurgically,
  4. enhance the wearers persona
  5. give pleasure to the wearer every day.

Now it doesnt really matter how much of the production process is
hand made, or involves the use of machinery.

The solid copper torques in the bronze age style are hot forged on
an anvil, by hand. They couldnt be made any other way, tho the insides
are always polished smooth so they are really comfortable to wear
despite being some 4 to 6 oz in weight. As I said in my last post, the
item HAS to speak for itself. I dont have to say my work is hand made
or not. Everything on display has been made by me. My whole
exhibition says that. My work involve my hands my heart and my heart.
If im forging a bowl in silver, or bronze or titanium The hammer
marks are part of the design to say that it was hand made, especially
as the silver bowl is some 16in dia and weighs 10lbs of silver.

So it isnt “on” for the bracelet to be rough, sharp edged, or
snagging. the customer will very quickly find out its faults and be
back with a complaint. Every one is signed and dated. As any real
craftsman knows if you put yourself into your work it shows.

Now I dont just make one design of torque, I have display boards some
4ft high by 2ft wide each with a particular style on display in the
whole range of sizes that I need to meet the size variation in
peoples anatomy.

so the design range is as follows, working in the way I do means that
the display boards are destinguished by historical periods.

Starting with the bronze age,
then the iron age
then the dark ages
then the rennaisance
then the victorian period
then today,
and finally the space age.

They all have to meet the 5 items listed above, With the design
predominantly reflecting a period in history, there is really no need
to make an issue of tool marks and their esthetic value or not… That
in my view is really a very secondary to the overall design.

Ted Dorset in UK.