Wednesday, July 25, 2012

FAI part 2

that title is shorthand for 'Feedback as Inspiration' part 2.

You may have ready my post from the other day about how much feedback I had received on a ring that I made quite some time ago. Since I haven't been feeling ulta inspired lately or uber-creative, I decided I'd use that ring as a bouncing off point for some work. It sounded great when I was thinking it, and really it IS a great idea to use one's own work to move forward (more on that later) but I'm not sure I enjoyed the process. In fact *GASP* I'm not sure I've enjoyed my time at the bench at all this past week.  And I'm not sure why. . . . . .

Maybe it's because I don't know what I want to make. I gave myself some guidelines (as above) but maybe my heart just wasn't in it.

I have this constant urge to go down there and sit at the bench and MAKE. 

something.

anything.

But it's just not 'flowing'......and that really sort of pisses me off. Bench time can be hard to come by and so when I have it, I like to use it well.

Don't get me wrong - I do give myself permission to NOT create sometimes - to draw, or paint, or do whatever else I feel like doing. But when I have the desire to create and then I sit at the bench and stare and everything BRAINDEAD.....it just bites.

I did get started on three rings loosely based on the one seen in that other post.

Then, very uncharacteristically, I melted one RIGHT at the end. So I ended up with TWO rings.

And a pair of earrings that were intended to be different than they ended up--what I pictured in my head is not how it went at the bench.

(sorry for the bad photo - just wanted to get one quickly of them together)

Doxallo Designs Studio - Handcrafted Sterling Rings and Earrings (and amethyst and garnet)
I went back to the bench last night to recreate that melted ring because it was my favorite of the three.

Guess what?

I melted through it again.  I think that ring just doesn't want to be made. Or maybe it wants to be different. I don't know. Maybe the third time will be the charm (as 'they' say).

I did start another ring - oddly enough when I attempted to recreate the earrings that were in my head the other day.

THOSE earrings apparently don't want to be made either. so much so that they turned into a ring - but the sizing is a bit off ...... so I need to give some thought to where to go to finish it. For now it's just sitting where I can see it when I'm puttering around the house and I hope that inspiration hits me like a bolt of lightening (don't you LOVE when that happens!!??) and I decide what direction to take it in to finish it.

Anyone else have some bad bench mojo lately? If so, what are you doing to shake it off?